70. Make a loan through Kiva

Kiva is a non-profit organization with a mission to connect people through lending to alleviate poverty. Leveraging the internet and a worldwide network of microfinance institutions, Kiva lets individuals lend as little as $25 to help create opportunity around the world.

Kiva works like this:
1. You browse for a loan that speaks to you - all of the loans on Kiva are worthy of funding.
2. You make your loan of as little as $25 and pay through PayPal (don't worry, you can check out as a guest if you don't have a PayPal account).
3. When the borrower repays the loan, it is credited to your Kiva account.
4. You can use your Kiva credits to make more loans or donate the credit for a tax deduction.

I made my first loan though Kiva today. I helped fund a loan for Vida Y Esperanza in Nicaragua, who wanted to borrow $350 to stock their dairy business. Kiva doesn't take any cut of the amount donated, so all your loan goes to help the borrowers, and they don't charge interest to the field partners that administer the loans.

For the first time ever, Kiva is offering 4,000 free trials to let new lenders make a real Kiva loan, at no cost to them. If you want to join Kiva, you can click though my link here.