We enable people without access to traditional banks (including many women) to expand their businesses, educate their children, save for the future and raise themselves out of poverty. Through Kiva, a non-profit organisation working with microfinance institutions, you choose a borrower to support with a loan of just $25. Similar loans by other lenders are combined until the required total is reached. As your money is repaid you can withdraw it or lend it to someone else. Money that is loaned over and over again does more good than a one-time donation. Join 'Genealogists for Families' - together we are making a difference!

14 October 2017

Genealogists for Families: Progress Report

The Genealogists for Families team on Kiva now has more than 340 members from 16 counties (Australia, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, England, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, New Zealand, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Spain, Sweden, USA, Vietnam and Wales).

I enjoy reading about the borrowers before I decide how to allocate my funds. This pie chart shows the wide range of activities that the team as a whole has supported in the six years since I started this project. Take a closer look at our team's graphs (including this one).

Most team members 'recycle' their investment by relending their money each time it's repaid. By doing so, we have, in effect, loaned a total of $241,575. That has made a huge difference in the lives of many hard-working families who just needed a loan (not a handout)!

Team members - please take a moment to check your Kiva account settings. Log in at https://www.kiva.org/login (it opens in a new window). Go to 'Settings' and work your way down that page, clicking 'Edit' for each section, and 'Save' when you finish each section. You can ignore 'Monthly subscription' if you wish, but it's important to fix your 'Repayment settings' and 'Inactivity settings' and 'Auto-lending settings'. Then, in the drop-down list under 'Settings', choose 'Email settings' and set those to suit your preferences.

If you have not yet joined our team, I hope you will do so as explained here. You must make a $25 loan before joining the team - then watch for a 'welcome' email (via Kiva) from Judy (the project coordinator and team captain).