Who’s on your list of FT members you’d most like to meet? I’d like to java with JDiver. Here’s why.
JDiver knows the difference between getting and giving. And he’s influenced plenty of FT members like PhillyFive, who posted the following:
“My first loan is to a “communal bank, named “San Pablo”, made up of 19 entrepreneurs who make a living though different fields, among which are: bread sales, a Minimarket, clothing sales, a furniture store, perfume sales, jewelry sales, and services, among others. All of the members belong to the city of Osorno.”
JDiver? Wealth comes in many forms for JD. He’s the tireless, outspoken supporter of FT lending team that supports Kiva.org. That support goes back to at least 2008 when the non-profit, micro-lending organization was approved as a FlyerTalk charity (tax deductible). Most of the borrowers are hardworking, get-it-done folks who want to save their communities by building something, but are dog-dang tied for the want of a few bucks.
Kiva.org administers small loans to third-world entrepreneurs, the last dogs at the bowl, like the communal bank supported by PhillyFive. Kiva.org supporters blindside poverty by making small loans that result in opportunity. They pick battles big enough to matter, but small enough to win. “We believe in fair access to affordable capital for people to improve their own lives,” states their website.
Relatively small amounts of money can make huge differences to lives lived at the lower intestines of our planet. Most of the borrowers are financially on the same trip, not a day late, but still a dollar short as they work towards better lives. You want bang for your buck, go to Kiva.org. You choose the borrower and the amount you’ll loan. Consider the Kenyan farmer who needs $500 in order to double her grain production. Or the women from Jordan alone with four kids and looking for seed money to start a used clothing business. And then there’s the young Bolivian woman who lacks tuition for nursing school. Talk about an upgrade!
In the spirit of pay-it-forward, Kiva.org lenders provide a hand up to these and countless other borrowers. Imagine what could be done with all those millions we donate for negative campaign ads in the weeks ahead.
JDiver, PhillyFive and all the rest of you on the FT Lending Team, you tug at our heartstrings and make us proud. Hats off.
But even better, we can join the team with a small amount of money. Nobody ever went broke giving away a few bucks. But getting a few bucks changes lives. Never underestimate the power of a good deed. Does this make sense?
OK. Enough. Forgive my preaching. Let’s change the topic. Here’s my favorite poem:
No man is an island,
Entire of itself.
Each is a piece of the continent,
A part of the main.
If a clod be washed away by the sea,
Europe is the less.
As well as if a promontory were.
As well as if a manor of thine own
Or of thine friend’s were.
Each man’s death diminishes me,
For I am involved in mankind.
Therefore, send not to know For whom the bell tolls,
It tolls for thee.