Kiva

Kiva is an online non-profit organization through which donors can make micro loans to individuals in developing countries for small business start-ups or expansions. These loans are called microloans because the amounts from each lender are small.

Kiva is based in San Franscisco, California and currently lenders represent 186 different countries. http://www.kiva.org/about/help/stats . The goal of Kiva is to reduce poverty by giving people in developing countries the resources they need to earn a better living.

Kiva provides potential lenders the opportunity to choose who they fund by browsing through pictures and descriptions of borrowers, When enough money has been collected to fulfill the borrower's request (a process that often happens in a matter of hours), the money is transferred via PayPal to Kiva's field partners where it is dispersed to the entrepreneurs.

Field partners are responsible for dispersing, managing and collecting the loans. Once repayment is complete, the loan is transferred back to Kiva through PayPal and returned to the original lenders. Because Kiva is a non-profit organization, PayPal waives all fees associated with the money transfers.