Blog posts tagged with Kiva Lenders

Feb 2, 2009
Kivaworld!! By Fiona Ramsey
For those of us who heard all about the Kiva API but didn't quite understand exactly what all the fuss was about, here's a FANTASTIC example of what the Kiva API can be used for:




Kivaworld is a cool way to see the most recent Kiva loan activity, on a world map. You can see all of the current fundraising loans, or the 100 most recent loans Funded, Paid or In repayment.

Check it out here.

KivaWorld was created by Wonsys, an organization "born from the passion of a group of friends" whose "goal is to... Continue Reading >
Feb 2, 2009
Viva Kiva! By Fiona Ramsey
Check out VivaKiva, a website that explains Kiva in Italian (English translation here).

They've even made their own animation to explain the Kiva concept:



Who knows what we'll see next! Continue Reading >
Feb 2, 2009
Meet Aiesha! By Fiona Ramsey


For those who haven't read their February Kiva Newsletter, you haven't met Aiesha! Creative Counsel have captured the story of Kiva Lender Aiesha, of Brooklyn NY, as part of the 1000 Voices Archive.

Click here to meet Aiesha! Continue Reading >
Feb 2, 2009
<embed src="http://blip.tv/play/AeyMV5CfSQ" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" By Fiona Ramsey


Kiva was featured on Daily Grommet today, and Jules and Joanne are now Kiva Lenders!

Welcome, Daily Grommet! Continue Reading >
Jan 1, 2009
One Night Only! New Lender Challenge By JD Bergeron
During Kiva Fellows training, we are having a friendly competition to recruit new lenders. We have until 7am West Coast time Friday morning to recruit as many new Kiva lenders as possible. Please help us spread the word!

Please register at Kiva.org RIGHT NOW using this URL

Go to https://www.kiva.org/app.php?page=register

And write next to "referred by a friend" this email

team3@fellows.kiva.org

HURRY!!!

Continue Reading >
Jan 1, 2009
Did You Know? - Team Message Contact Preferences By Gerard Niemira
Way back in the summer when we launched Kiva Lending Teams, we had no idea how active some of our lending teams could become and how popular team message boards would be. Some of the most interesting content on our website is generated by team members posting to team message boards. 

If you're a member of a lending team, whenever someone posts to the team message board you'll get an email. As some lending team members will tell you (I'm talking to you, Team Obama), getting lots and lots of these emails can get a little difficult to manage. 

So...
Continue Reading >
Nov 11, 2008
Wow - Kiva Lending Teams are Amazing By Fiona Ramsey
Some of the Kiva Lending Teams are really amazing in the community spirit they create, and the way that they incorporate helping entrepreneurs through Kiva into an existing group - whether online or offline.

Congratulations to Team Obama for hitting $100k on 11/4. You've really shown that rallying a community around a goal - passing $100k on Election Day - can be unbelievably effective.

And congratulations to Team Virginia, who have even created a website for their team and are are selling their own team merchandise on Cafe Press!

I've certainly found myself... Continue Reading >
Oct 10, 2008
Build a Beard for Kiva By Anonymous

Zack is a Kiva Staffer and Alum of the Kiva Fellows Program

Ever had the urge to see what you would look like with the facial hair of Abe Lincoln or maybe Santa Claus? Well, now you can... And at the same time you will be helping fund loans for Kiva.

Add a cartoon beard to a picture of yourself and atto, a little multi-disciplinary design studio full of happy creative people, will give $1 to Kiva. Check it out: http://buildabeard.helloatto.com/ Continue Reading >
Oct 10, 2008
One opinion on an investment portfolio... By Fiona Ramsey
Today Kiva was copied on a Letter to the Editor, sent by a Kiva Lender:

Dear Editor:

I have two investment portfolios. One portfolio holds my investments in American industry. It has declined in value about 25% in the last two months. My other portfolio is with Kiva, a web-based organization that lets me invest directly in microloans to poor people throughout the world. My recent loans to the Cambodian pig farmer, the Azerbaijani clothing seller, the Bolivian cheese maker, the carpenters in Lebanon and Nicaragua, and a dozen others have been repaid in full. The only... Continue Reading >
Oct 10, 2008
"Who'd have thought kiva.org would out last Lehman brothers?" By Fiona Ramsey

Kiva Lender Andres Varela let us know that he recently heard Guy Kawasaki make the above observation at Barcamp Africa in Mountain View, CA. Guy Kawaski is a long-time Kiva supporter. Continue Reading >
Sep 9, 2008
Lending Teams for Events: Team number 301 shows you can support your friends and borrowers at the same time By Anonymous
Team number 301 -- Don and Jims Family and Friends -- is a cool lending team I think. This team was established so that supportive friends and family of Don and Jim could celebrate Don and Jims 25th year together, and now legal union, by making Kiva loans and attributing them to the lending team.

Don and Jim, retired and living in Mexico, are devout Kiva lenders. They lend because they have found the people in Mexico to be lovely, honest, and hard-working, and they want... Continue Reading >
Sep 9, 2008
Lending Teams: From zero to 400 in no time! By Anonymous

Thank you to all of our lenders out there who have created or joined a Lending Team over the past week and who are now enjoying the new feature! With over 400 teams having been created so far, we could not be more excited about our lender community and the diversity of our lenders interests. There are teams for universities, businesses, religious affiliations, political affiliations, KivaFriends, and for cities and countries; there are even teams for Animal Lovers and Quilters!

To give you ideas about the types of teams you can join or create, we thought we would call attention...

Continue Reading >
Aug 8, 2008
How one 7th grader and her Chocolate Spoons are Changing the World By Anonymous
It was shaping up to be a normal Thursday afternoon at the Kiva offices in San Francisco. Most of the staff were wrapping up meetings, on the phones, or hanging out with their laptops on couches and at desks. Then the front door buzzer rang and all that changed.

Last Thursday afternoon the Kiva offices were treated to a surprise visit by a very special Kiva lender and her family. This special lender is Emma, a 7th grader who not only has a passion for helping entrepreneurs in the developing world, but who is also an entrepreneur herself.

To raise money for Kiva loans,... Continue Reading >
Aug 8, 2008
New Lending Teams Feature By Anonymous
I wanted to provide a sizzling hot preview of a feature coming soon to the Kiva website!

This fall, Kiva will be launching a new feature that allows Kiva users to create or join lending teams. Each lending team - company, school, religious organization, family, etc - will have a page on the Kiva website that will track and summarize the lending activity of all individual lenders associated with that team.

The way Kiva works is not changing. You will still make loans as an individual. Now you will have the added option of teaming up with likeminded lenders, inviting... Continue Reading >
Jun 6, 2008
Why Kiva Lenders Lend By Roma Jhaveri
We pushed out a release earlier this afternoon (and brought down the site for a little bit – sorry about that!). Briefly, the changes you might notice are:
  • We changed the metrics ticker on the home page a bit so it represents some more information we have
  • The Fellows blog is now on the Kiva site for easier access. Check it out; it has some great stories from the Kiva Fellows about their experiences as they work to help our partner Microfinance Institutions work most effectively with Kiva
  • We've changed the My Portfolio>My Account>Transaction History...
    • Continue Reading >
    May 5, 2008
    Here's a cool stat some Kiva Lenders found out.... By Fiona Ramsey
    Kiva Lenders are currently funding 2070 entrepreneurs who received Kiva loans through South Pacific Business Development.

    Samoa has 214,000 people: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samoa

    Kiva Lenders are currently funding 1% of the people in an entire nation! Continue Reading >
    May 5, 2008
    Stimulation By Anonymous
    Yesterday, a friend of mine sent me a link to a website called How I Spent My Stimulus. Most of the posts are what you'd expect - trips to Cabo Wabo, trips to the dentist, trips to Home Depot, etc.

    As I scanned down the page, I suddenly recognized one of the pictures as one of our borrowers! It seems Kiva Lender Dawson used his tax rebate to fully fund Patricia Tonumaivao. Nice one, Dawson - way to stimulate the Samoan economy ;)

    Continue Reading >
    Apr 4, 2008
    Vote for Kiva for the Webby People's Voice Awards! By Fiona Ramsey
    Kiva is up for the vote!!

    We've been nominated for a Webby People's Voice Award in the category of Society: Charitable Organizations / Non-Profit, but the competition is tough!

    Vote now and help us win our first ever Webby Award!

    1 - go to http://pv.webbyawards.com
    2 - Click on "Register now". You will receive an activation code that will allow you to start voting.
    3 - Once you're registered, you will see 4 ballots - click on Website (on the left)
    4 - Scroll down to... Continue Reading >
    Mar 3, 2008
    About Group Loans... By Roma Jhaveri
    Towards the end of last year, Kiva decided to allow partners to post loans for groups of borrowers in addition to individual borrowers. The main reason we decided to move forward with this is that it represents a truer picture of what’s happening on the ground since many borrowers actually borrow in groups. It also allows our microfinance field partners to more efficiently seek funding for larger numbers of entrepreneurs – before, they would be supporting groups of borrowers but would have to enter them one by one into the Kiva system.

    That said, we didn’t do a great job of... Continue Reading >
    Jan 1, 2008
    Vote for Kiva for MySpace Impact Awards By Anonymous
    We're thrilled to announce that MySpace has named Kiva a Finalist for this month’s MySpace Impact Awards, in the category of Poverty Relief.

    In the upcoming weeks, MySpace users will select a winner from among the three nominees.

    Vote for Kiva today!
    Continue Reading >
    Dec 12, 2007
    Vote for Kiva! By Fiona Ramsey
    Don't you think Kiva.org can help make the world a better place?

    If so, then vote for Kiva.org in the the 1st Annual Tech Crunchy Awards.

    To Vote:
    1. Go to http://vote.crunchies.techcrunch.com/
    At the bottom of the page find the category "Most likely to make the
    world a better place"

    2. Type in: www.kiva.org and click on "Proceed" and then "Confirm"

    Cast your vote before Dec 12th midnight PST


    What are you waiting for???? Continue Reading >
    Oct 10, 2007
    Vote for Kiva.org on CNN Heroes: Viewer's Choice By Fiona Ramsey
    You might remember seeing Matt and Jessica Flannery profiled on CNN: Heroes back in May of this year.

    CNN will also be honoring heroes during a live, global broadcast in December, and are now taking votes for the Viewers Choice . Make your vote here! Continue Reading >
    Apr 4, 2007
    Get Involved!! By Fiona Ramsey
    Are you excited about Kiva.org? Then Get Involved!

    Kiva.org is a tool for You - and we want you to make it your own, take ownership and get it out there!

    Have you checked out Kiva Friends? Meet other Kiva Lenders and enthusiasts, share ways to market Kiva.org in your local area and discuss any aspect of Kiva.org in The Lounge. This is a website for you, created by a Kiva Volunteer, so make the most of it!

    If you're in the Vancouver area, check out Agents of Change, a Canadian non-profit formed this year (by some of the most motivated people in the northern... Continue Reading >
    Mar 3, 2007
    Nicholas Kristof visits his loan recipient - and writes about it in The New York Times By Fiona Ramsey
    It's not every day at Kiva.org that we are lucky enough to see video of one of the entrepreneurs listed on our website. Watching a Kiva Entrepreneur smile proudly as they work in their place of business is a rare treat, and something that is emailed around the Kiva office faster than you can say "Click here to download".

    So when Nicholas Kristof of The New York Times contacted us about visiting his loan recipients in Kabul, Afghanistan, we were of course eager to hear about Abdul's bakery and what it was like to meet him.

    Better yet, Nicholas filmed the experience and... Continue Reading >
    Mar 3, 2007
    Tell your friends about Kiva.org! By Fiona Ramsey
    You've always wanted to tell your friends about Kiva.org in an easy way - and now you have it!

    You can use our Refer a Friend feature to easily send your friends and family a quick email introducing them to Kiva.org:
    1. Log in to your Portfolio (go to www.kiva.org and click on My Portfolio, then log in)
    2. Click on Refer a Friend on the left side of the page
    3. Enter the email addresses you'd like to send your email to, or if you'd like to simply input the email addresses from your address book click on "Import from address book"
    4. Feel free... Continue Reading >

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