It’s the busiest holiday of the year for phone calls: Mother’s Day. I called my mom to let her know I sent her a Kiva.org gift certificate via e-mail. Kiva — Swahili for unity — helps donors give microloans to needy persons around the world. The loans start at $25. Pooled together, the loans can fund someone like Flora, a Bolivian dairy farmer who wants to buy another cow to make and sell more cheese. These loans are real loans, not charitable gifts. Kiva microloans have a default rate (or non-repayment rate) of 1.8 percent based on $31 million in past loans.
My mom volunteers for many human concerns causes, so I knew she would appreciate a gift certificate that pays it forward for another mom looking support her family. I also made a donation to Kiva to cover the costs administering these microloans.
Tags: for mom, gift cards, gift ideas, gift sites, mother's day
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2 Responses to “Mother’s Day 2009”
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Mother’s Day gifts are always so hard to buy! Thanks for this new idea!
Thanks for your comment, Flowers. I forgot to mention that while these Kiva microloans are real loans, the lender (my mom) does not charge interest. But she should get back the principal to give to another entrepreneur or she can donate to Kiva as a non-profit contribution.