A round of applause for YOU!

Do you see that BlogHer ad over in my sidebar?------------------------->

I became a part of the BlogHer ad network several years ago and every time you visit here or click around or load a page I earn a little bit of money. Some bloggers make a substantial chunk of change each month but my blog income is pretty modest.

Early last spring, I was doing Jen Hatmaker's "7: A Mutiny Against Excess" book study and one of the non-profit organizations that she highlighted in a video was Kiva.

Kiva is a non-profit organization that facilitates lending around the world. Kiva lenders (individuals like you and me!) can make a micro-loan as small as $25 to individuals around the globe who are trying to better the lives of themselves and their families. The overarching goal is to encourage economic stability and eliminate global poverty.

While in the midst of that book study,  I decided that every penny I earn from this blog will go directly to Kiva lending. And guess what? By visiting my blog, you've helped me fund FOUR Kiva loans since February 2013!

Together we have helped:
1. Nana in Georgia (the country, not the state). Nana purchased grocery stock in order to start her own grocery business. To date she has repaid 15% of her Kiva loan.

2. Nyota in Kenya. Her loan was used to purchase ingredients to make food she sells to fellow villagers. To date she has repaid 33% of her Kiva loan.

3. Kadie in Sierra Leone. Kadie used her loan to purchase items to sell to her fellow villagers. She is trying to earn an income to pay her children's school fees. To date she has repaid 14% of her Kiva loan.

4. Felicien in Rwanda. Felicien is a potato farmer and he used his loan to buy fertilizer and quality seeds to increase his potato production. This loan was funded in the last couple of weeks so he isn't yet in the repayment phase.

THAT IS AMAZING and I just want to say thank you!

As you can probably tell, when it comes to lending I'm partial to women and/or countries in Africa. The cool thing about Kiva is that you get to choose the loans you want to fund and you can narrow it down by gender, country, sector, etc. I like that they include photos and profiles of the folks applying for Kiva loans.

Know something else very cool? Kiva has a 99% repayment rate meaning that very few folks default on their loans. When you receive repayment, you can keep it or re-invest it. I keep re-investing mine!

I'd love for you to visit Kiva.org and check it out.  Here is a link to my Kiva page. Please know this is a referral link. There is no pressure to join or make a loan--my goal in sharing this is to make you aware of how you've already partnered with me simply by visiting my blog. Thank you all so much!