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How do you choose your Kiva loans?

January 15th, 2009 at 07:15 pm

I know many folk on SA enjoy helping folk out with Kiva loans, and I wondered how others choose the loan recipients?

Last time I choose a

Text is woman and Link is http://www.kiva.org/app.php?page=businesses&action=about&id=50799
woman who had a decent plan, and most importantly only needed $25 to fill the loan. It was paid back (on time btw)and so I went to try another loan.

And I again had to figure out who to pick...

This time I had 25 in kiva credit (from the original loan being repaid) and 25 in paypal. So I made two loans

one to a
Text is group and Link is http://www.kiva.org/app.php?page=businesses&action=about&id=83314
group

and one to a
Text is woman in retail and Link is http://www.kiva.org/app.php?page=businesses&action=about&id=81698&_tpos=9&_tpg=1
woman in retail

I still really don't know how to pick, but I do know they were not full. So if you happen to be on your way to Kiva anytime soon, and have no better reason to pick loans, feel free to pick those two so the money will come back sooner.

5 Responses to “How do you choose your Kiva loans?”

  1. whitestripe Says:
    1232050150

    i usually choose them based on their circumstances. the first time i gave $50 to a man and his wife who had several children living in cambodia, they wanted a $1000 loan to buy a motorbike for work, and to make repairs on their roof of their house. the loan was about 1/2 full when i paid it. i don't mind when the money comes back for me, i see it as a donation, so for me the money keeps returning and then i give it out again. i don't expect to see it back again as i will keep giving it.
    he paid half of his loan back a few months ago, so i got $25 to lend to someone else. i used the same criteria: family, future, business etc.

  2. nanamom Says:
    1232058603

    I try to find people in Africa since that is where our youngest was born. I look for families with single incomes. I usually don't do groups just because I like doing helping individuals. Most of the time I choose people with kids.

  3. LuxLiving Says:
    1232120580

    I either do widows or single moms with a decent plan - generally I don't go for clothing retailers, as I see most clothing spending as extraneous and instead try to focus on folks who are providing a necessary commodity to their neighborhood. As I grew up in a farming family I've tried to go with ag loans.

  4. dmontngrey Says:
    1232128711

    I chose a loan that would be completed with my funding. It is currently being paid back on time. I was only putting in $25 to try it out, a small risk. I may put a little more thought into it next time. It's a really nice concept! I think the loan I chose was commodity based. That's a good suggestion LuxLiving.

  5. princessperky Says:
    1232130771

    Both loans were completed and went out today. So they were filled pretty fast.

    I like the idea of looking for commodities.

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