OT: But good stuff :)
Sunny
going to head over and spend some money on more fabric or paint or
patterns or something. But I didn't go. Instead I just spent $25 at
this website: http://www.kiva.org/app.php I finished off a $100 loan
to a young woman who wants to buy nuts and chocolate to make candy to
sell so she can get enough money to get technical training and make
her life better.
Wow, it felt good. And no bag to put up. Didn't take any space on my
shelves.
A lot of us are hurting financially and can't spare a single penny.
Then there are some of us who spend a little at sales now and then.
And some can get what we want when we want as much as we want.
Somewhere in there is a lot of possibilities for people who just want
a chance to make their lives better and who promise to pay your money
back.
I believe my loan recipient will pay me back. And then I'll send that
money to another person.
This is a good program, advocated by Bill Clinton and other such big
shots. Minimum loan is $25.
Sunny
DiMa
Congratulations to you for being so generous.
--
Di
I'm creative! You can't expect me to be neat too.
Vic Australia
To reply please remove # in email address.
"Sunny" <onet...@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:d740d866-0c8c-467e...@12g2000pri.googlegroups.com...
Polly Esther
working with criminals makes me skittish about such. For example, there was
a time when you'd get a plea from your state's highway patrol needing
contributions to their families relief fund. They didn't tell you that only
3% of the contributions actually reached the hands of the families.
Maybe we need somebody a whole lot more 'aware' than we to investigate.
I'm not one little bit happy with my misgiving. Polly
NightMist
I have to comment on the cop beggers.
Not all of them are authorized by the police they are begging for.
It is just that that weeny donation legally allows them to say they
are begging for the police.
I found this out when I got a call myself. I shouldn't get any
begging calls from the police organizations at all. My brother is a
disabled former police officer, and that puts me in the circle of
immediate family that the orgs themselves clearly state it is
inappropriate to call. So I made a couple of calls of my own and thus
learned some things.
I do encourage everybody to check into such places before making
donations to be certain of where your money is going. Sometimes it is
a pleasent surprise, sometimes you learn to go another route if you
want to donate to a particular cause.
NightMist
--
Legolas is my house elf
onetexsun
in the community where s/he lives. The loan applicants are screened.
Nicholas Kristoff of the New York Times and Bill Clinton are both fans
of the Kiva micro bank and have publicly encouraged support of the
site. I found information about the site in a publication put out by
the mission branch of my church. It's watched, monitored, examined and
so on. If you ever were going to trust a charity, I think this one is
trustworthy. All the money you donate goes to the loan applicant. Kiva
asks for $3.68 on each $25 loan for administrative costs, but whether
you pay that or not is entirely up to you. This is the purest form of
me being able to reach out and hand a few dollars to somebody in a
part of the world where the cost of a Moda Jelly roll can change a
life.
Anyway, the best thing I can say is if it makes you uncomfortable then
steer clear of it. And as for my generosity -- not really. I watch my
nickels and dimes, but $25 is easily carved out of my other "expenses"
and I'll never miss it. Six mocha granitas -- minus the calories,
LOL.
Thanks for letting me post about this organization here. I appreciate
it very much and know that online giving isn't for everybody.
Sunny
Roberta
charities this year.
Roberta in D
On Fri, 3 Jul 2009 18:25:43 -0700 (PDT), Sunny <onet...@gmail.com>
wrote:
Sandy
Thanks so much for posting about this. I went to the website and
became a "lender" myself. I recently won $500.00 in a raffle, and was
happy to lend half of that to someone else. If I get repaid, I will
continue to lend it out. What a great organization. And what a great
bunch of quilters we have here!!
Sandy in NE PA
Allison
great site and deserves lots of notice.
I first found it a while back (maybe through a post on rctq) and put
some money in. Now I keep "relending" it every time it is repaid. I
really like how the loans are individualized so you know who it is going
to. Somehow that works better for me instead of giving money to a
faceless organization.
FWIW, Kiva also has "gift certificates" - I did this last Xmas for my
parents. IMHO it's a perfect idea for people who don't need more "stuff".
http://www.kiva.org/app.php?page=home
Allison
Mary
what I always do: If it is a charity I usually support, I do so, but
only via the USPS and never via a web site or phone call. If it is a
solicitation for something I am not familiar with, I ask for a copy of
their IRS designation as a tax-deductible charity and copy of the
annual filing with the state Attorney General's office. Legitimate
groups are required by law to provide both on request. I suspect that
some of the scammers have put me on a special leave-this-lady-alone
list since I seldom hear from them twice. Those who call me a second
time and who have not sent me the information as required by law get
this from me -- I listen politely, write down what they say, get their
names, addresses, and any other information, and then decline to
contribute. Instead, I forward that information to the US Attorney
and to the state Attorney General. I am not a scrooge or general
curmudgeon, and tend to be quite generous, but am infuriated when
scammers take advantage of people. Not only have they stolen money
and acted outside legal channels, but also the money they have taken
could have gone to legitimate groups who actually help people!