Start at as little as $25
Got $25 to spare? Want to change someone’s life? Consider becoming a microlender. Lend some money so individuals in the developing world can build their businesses. You get the benefit of helping people help themselves (so much better than a handout, no?) and the loan recipients get the capital they need to bring their businesses to the next level. In this context, that could mean anything from a $75 loan to buy chickens and feed to $500 to buy more inventory and install an awning on a tiny bodega.

Why microcredit loans help
Microcredit loans nurture small businesses, and therefore help develop local economies – and the road to self-sufficiency. It’s a concept that won one of its first proponents, Muhammad Yunus, founder of the Grameen Bank of Bangladesh, the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize.

Here’s how the loans work
First, you sign up with a nonprofit organization like Kiva.org, where you can donate in increments of as little as $25, using PayPal and a major credit card. You can scan potential loan recipients or filter by gender, region and business type.
   
Click on a potential recipient’s project page and you’ll read their profile, see how much they need and how much they’ve raised so far, as well as peruse their biographical info, thumbnail business plan, loan history (two or three past loans are a good sign, meaning they’ve got a good credit/repayment pattern), and see others who’ve donated to this project. (More on this below.) Some of the recipients maintain journals, tracking their business growth, which can be interesting to read. Once they’ve received their loan and have started repayment installments, their project profile tracks their progress.

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