I learned about Kiva a few years ago, when one of my sisters (who runs this Etsy shop) suggested that all our siblings donate money to the charity Kiva instead of giving each other Christmas gifts. What a way to celebrate what Christmas is truly about!
Through Kiva, you can loan as little as $25 to an entrepreneur in one of 60 countries. The entrepreneur will pay you back over time, which means that you can re-loan that $25 again and again. Your gifts are literally multiplied! How cool is that?
When I opened my Etsy shop, I decided that I wanted 10% of the profits to go to a charity. I chose Kiva as the charity because fundamentally, Etsy sellers and Kiva entrepreneurs are all doing the same thing: using our God-given gifts to help financially support our families and to enrich the lives of others. It's a perfect match!
We have donated $143 since opening my Etsy shop. (I say "we" because my past customers are partnering with me in these donations...whether they know it or not!) As loans are repaid, I re-loan the money, which means that we have been able to loan $200 total so far. There is $129 still being repaid and that will be re-loaned as well, which will bring the grand total of money loaned to $329 for an investment of $143.
You can choose who you lend to based on country, gender and type of business. I've chosen to loan to entrepreneurs in Cambodia, Iraq, Mexico, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Lebanon and Pakistan. They are operating businesses in the health, clothing, retail and arts sectors.
So to all of my past customers, thank you for partnering with me to help support entrepreneurs around the world!
To see other Etsy sellers who also support Kiva, click here for Team Kiva.
If you're interested in learning more about Kiva or want to donate now, click here for Kiva's website.
(This is not a sponsored post--I just love what Kiva does and wanted to share it with you!)
Wow, this is so great and inspiring! thank you so much for sharing your experience to us.
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