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| Look, readers! It's a woman with a goat! We are everywhere :) |
I've decided to repeat my own Kiva giveaway giveaway.
But this one is specifically to contribute to Kiva's effort
to crowdfund $3M in loans to women by 8th March.
Time is short, so please share this giveaway in any way you can.
I'm cutting and pasting most of my original blog post about Kiva, because although I could always write it differently, I don't think I can write it any better. If you already know all about Kiva, you can zoom right to the bottom of this post.
So here goes:
Are you familiar with Kiva? Since 2005, this non-profit group has funded microloans all over the world by combining donations of $25 or more. Donors choose a loan they wish to contribute to, and after that loan is repaid, a donor can re-loan the original donation to another borrower!
All the screenshots are from the Kiva website.
They are very nice images; left-click to embiggen.
I love the fact that 100% of every donation goes to funding a loan. There is a separate option for donating to Kiva admin costs. This is brilliant. A $25 lender does not have to wonder how many of those dollars are really going to the designated borrower, because ALL the dollars are going there.
I love that Kiva does such a great job of making this program work. The repayment rate is 97.1%. That's due diligence, that is.
I love that more than 2 million loans have been made, in 83 countries, by 1.5 million lenders, to the tune of over 800 million dollars. Oh, and Kiva has a top rating on Charity Navigator.
It's an unusual experience, making a Kiva donation. Reading the borrower information is a tiny, unique window on ordinary lives around the world. There's much I wouldn't have imagined. And much as familiar as the view from my porch.
Maybe a cooperative group of farming women in Vietnam are adding to their small breeding herd of pigs. Or cattle. Or goats. Maybe an urban taxi driver needs to repair the vehicle that supports an extended family, or a shop owner needs enough capital to begin purchasing products at a lower bulk rate. Maybe someone is planting apple trees in Moldova, or growing a small business in California.
Maybe a cooperative group of farming women in Vietnam are adding to their small breeding herd of pigs. Or cattle. Or goats. Maybe an urban taxi driver needs to repair the vehicle that supports an extended family, or a shop owner needs enough capital to begin purchasing products at a lower bulk rate. Maybe someone is planting apple trees in Moldova, or growing a small business in California.
The Kiva website offers simple filters to help a donor find the loan they wish to support. Some search filters are geographical. Some filter by the purpose of the loan - such as agriculture, or retail business, or clean energy - or by characteristics of the borrower: elderly, single parent, individual/group, etc.
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This new giveaway is for a $25 Kiva Gift Card
(purchased by me)
for the winner to donate to a Kiva loan supporting a woman.
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| A small sample of loans currently gathering funds. |
If you have already donated to Kiva, the $25 will be added to your account. If you are new to Kiva, redeeming the gift card will set up your account. And in case you have concerns: in my experience, Kiva does not pester donors. I get an email periodically to let me know when a loan has received repayments, so I know when I have enough funds available to donate again - that's about it. And that's actually pretty nice.
Now, if you want to put your name in the hat for this all-new giveaway to mark International Women's Day 2017, here's what to do.
1) Leave a comment saying something relevant to International Women's Day.
It can be about something you do, personally, to support women.
It can be about a woman of the past or present whose life has inspired you.
It can be about a woman in your own life who has influenced you.
It can be about your own life experience and personal observations.
It can be What IWD2017 Means To Me, if that primes your writing pump.
Write a novella (like I do) or write two lines - doesn't matter. We all want to read what you want to write.
But in some way, your comment must thoughtfully relate to women, because the giveaway is for a Kiva loan TO a woman, in honor of International Women's Day. Okay?
Please feel free to share this giveaway, in any way you like. It's open to anyone on the planet, or on the International Space Station.
I'll do the random number thing at 5PM Eastern Time on the 8th.
Good luck!
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Ooh. Because of you, I did my very first Kiva donation to a woman (for sewing, too!).
ReplyDeleteI remember as a kid reading about some pants-wearing, cigar-chomping woman who's name entirely escapes me. She bucked the system, did things that men did and managed to get at least a slice of society that accepted her that way. It's those stories, those type of women that I've always admired.
As a Farming Wife I have to say that everyday is a challenge to me and I can only imagine how women across the globe deal with even harsher living conditions. One group that I do follow very closely and have even considered joining is the National Women in Agriculture Association. http://www.nwiaa.org/ I know that they are making a difference and as a group of women I am impressed with all that they do ...
ReplyDeleteGreat work!
ReplyDeleteInteresting, as I think about a woman who has been a positive influence in my life, it dawns on me that I'm usually asked what men have been roll models, and after that, a general question of who has been influential. Rarely have I been asked about women as roll models. Here goes a few...10th grade English teacher encouraged me to write (and consider being an actor); Gloria Steinem...hearing her in an interview say women don't need a man to buy a diamond or fancy china...we can buy our own...Wow liberating moment in my life; and, my daughter-in-laws, how beautifully suited they are for my sons...lifts my motherhood spirit.
Just had a minor panic when I thought I'd missed out on this! Had to scramble for the calendar and happy to see that I am just in time!
ReplyDeleteNow for the question at hand - women who have had an influence on my life are many. I would have to say that my grandmothers were pretty much at the forefront of what's happened in my life. They were both quilters and my maternal grandmother was also an embroiderer. As a little girl I spend a few days with her and was always charmed by her button box and her embroidery flosses (which I'm sure I managed to tangle terribly on more than one occasion). I always looked forward to 'helping' her sew on her old Singer treadle machine - my job was to push the treadle. I know that both of my grandmothers led to my interest in what I do now.
My mother was, by far, the greatest influence on who I am. She accepted me for who I was (a girl who loved to do all sorts of traditionally boys' things), and she fought for my right to do them. She taught me to proudly be different - go out and be the 1st girl in Little League Baseball while wearing my very long hair down to my waist (I wanted to cut it so that people wouldn't notice that I was a girl on the field). She not only taught me that it was great to be a non-traditional woman but she also taught me to follow my own passions in general, regardless of what the world thought of me. What a woman she was. I wish with all my heart that I'd had longer with her.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Quinn, for this big-hearted giveaway.