Now that the festive season is over and we’re all breathing a sigh of relief and prepare to put our wallets away, I’m going to ask you to stop.
Just stop for a minute, hold your wallet in your hand and just hear me out.
What can $25 buy you?
It Can’t:
- Buy you breakfast at a trendy cafe in Melbourne
- Buy you lunch in a trendy cafe in Melbourne
- Buy you a pair of shoes
- Buy you the latest tech gadget
It Can:
- Change a life
- Alleviate poverty
- and empower an entrepreneur around the world to create their own business, to change their lives.
So what am I talking about?
I’m talking to you about Kiva microfunds. A website that allows people to donate money ($25) online to developing countries to provide funds for budding entrepreneurs.
How it works:
- You sign up and browse through the hundreds of projects listed from all over the world.
- You have the option to choose specifically, either by country, genre or the type of business an individual or group requires funding for.
- You pick a project and you can fund from the minimum of $25 or the entire amount of the project.
- The individual or group repay back the loan slowly
- You then have the option to donate that money to Kiva for their operation costs, withdraw it via paypal or loan it to another project
$25 can buy change, alleviate poverty, empower an individual/group to start/continue a business but most importantly it makes you feel amazing.
I received a $50 voucher as a Christmas present and I have to tell you it’s the best gift I’ve received.
How much would you pay for the gift to make a difference?
I think it’s priceless.
Melbourne, I know you’re generous and I strongly encourage you to get involved with Kiva.
If you’re wondering what I did with my $50, I picked two women in my country of birth El Salvador as an homage to my mother who one day found herself in a similar situation.
She took a chance and made a difference to her life – I wouldn’t be here writing about it, if she hadn’t.
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