Dec 20, 2015, 4:45 am
Last edit by: wilsnunn
The FlyerTalk Lending Team on Kiva:
improving lives a small loan at a time.
Kiva.org is the not-for-profit microlending organization that networks people willing to lend to small entrepreneurs in developing nations using available technology and international networking / collaboration, and how Kiva.org had become an approved FlyerTalk charity thanks to TalkBoard's approval June 29, 2008 <link> It is listed on the FlyerTalk Cares page.improving lives a small loan at a time.
"Kiva is a grassroots project started by a team with a big idea: one-to-one, real-time lending to the poor via the Internet. Currently, we take no cut of the loan you make through our site -- 100% goes to the entrepreneur. We suggest a 10% donation, in addition to your loan, to help us cover our costs. Kiva is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit and your donation is tax-deductible for US taxpayers." (Suggested donations for administrative overhead, low though that is, are not required - you may lend 100% if you so choose.)
As of 15 May 2016 it was 607 FlyerTalk lending team who have lent $2,209,175 in 37,092 loans! And now as of 30 June 2019 it is 941 members who have lent $6,415,775 in 71,722 loans!
Our motto is: "We loan because: We want to fight global poverty while earning miles."
This is tangible evidence Flyertalk Cares! There are likely other FlyerTalkers on Kiva who have not joined - if you are one of them, do so now to show your and FT's support and involvement. If you haven't lent yet, check it out - you may want to join up. For the low-income entrepreneurs on five continents who are requesting loans, microlending is significant - and it takes a lot of drops to fill the bucket. (Read on to see updates!)
Now, we can see this sophisticated network link resources from those who can lend (no interest, sorry!) with those who are needy, worthy and screened by local NGOs and have a need to start / expand their small business to enhance their and their families' survival. And, using PayPal and your FFP/FFG linked card or account, you can earn miles or points with many loans!
FlyerTalkers are lending, and fulfilling one of FT's seminal values, that of "paying it forward."
Read more about Kiva.org, who supports and enables it (Intel, Google, Paypal, Intuit and many others,) and see if you have $25.00 (or more) you can lend someone deserving in a land you have visited and enjoyed (or not.)
This is how it works:
Add your experiences here, or if you haven't joined... won't you consider joining the FlyerTalker Lending Team?
You can see who the latest FT borrowers are (some still possibly needing loans) here
For ease, you can click here: Subscribe to FlyerTalker Lending Team on Kiva.org
FlyerTalker Lending Team on Kiva.org!
Jun 27, 2011, 7:55 am
#646
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: Rio de Janeiro, Miami, Nice
Programs: Marriott Titanium, AA Concierge Key, Delta, United, Emorates, and others
Posts: 4,694
It's very heartening to see our Community Director participating actively, and I appreciate giblet's and jbcarioca's thoughtful posts.
Outstanding!
N.B. You can visit and see out team's loans here.
Outstanding!
N.B. You can visit and see out team's loans here.
Last edited by jbcarioca; Jun 28, 2011 at 1:00 pm
Jun 27, 2011, 11:55 am
#648
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: Rio de Janeiro, Miami, Nice
Programs: Marriott Titanium, AA Concierge Key, Delta, United, Emorates, and others
Posts: 4,694
Jun 28, 2011, 9:35 am
#649
Original Member, Ambassador: External Miles and Points Resources
Join Date: May 1998
Location: Digital Nomad Wandering the Earth - Currently in LIMA, PERU
Posts: 58,607
I know it is the priority of some to be the 'most' or 'fastest growing,' but to me it's about having a sense of being a part of the global community in a way that goes beyond staying at the Starwood and drinking the local beer when we visit the world. And that sense of community is somehow sullied when it becomes about competing to be the 'most.'
YMMV.
Jul 1, 2011, 11:31 am
#650
Moderator: American AAdvantage
Original Poster
Join Date: May 2000
Location: NorCal - SMF area
Programs: AA LT Plat; HH LT Diamond, Maître-plongeur des Muccis
Posts: 62,948
I think the FlyerTalk lending team is about FlyerTalk, and I really don't worry about other teams - and there are many out there. If FTLT didn't exist, I'd still be lending on Kiva (as I did before the FTLT existed), and I'd personally not let me decide to lend or not on the basis of what anyone here said or not.
This is, IMO, a wonderful collaborative effort reflecting FTrs concerns, and pretty much is not comparative to others - we can be proud of what we are able to do, IMO. And I am particularly proud (and appreciative of) giblet - she joined, lent, signed up for training and felowship, provided funding for her fellowship (and got help fudnig and traveling from FTers) - that's not reflected in any online total, but her sharing on her blog and Kiva, it was priceless. (She actually spent over half year in Cambodia, and she may not be done yet... but it's her tale to tell.)
Wow, I am up to $28.57 - I can lend again!
Nah, I will wait for a few days andlet some more paid back money accumulate.
This is, IMO, a wonderful collaborative effort reflecting FTrs concerns, and pretty much is not comparative to others - we can be proud of what we are able to do, IMO. And I am particularly proud (and appreciative of) giblet - she joined, lent, signed up for training and felowship, provided funding for her fellowship (and got help fudnig and traveling from FTers) - that's not reflected in any online total, but her sharing on her blog and Kiva, it was priceless. (She actually spent over half year in Cambodia, and she may not be done yet... but it's her tale to tell.)
Wow, I am up to $28.57 - I can lend again!
Nah, I will wait for a few days andlet some more paid back money accumulate.
Jul 2, 2011, 6:46 pm
#651
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: back to my roots in Scotland!
Programs: Tamsin - what else is there to say?
Posts: 47,843
Well I managed to give my first green loan the other day - not too sure how they are classifying stuff as 'green' as a number seemed to be to agricultural concerns in the Amazon (and agricultural clearance is the number one reason for loss of rain forest) but I found one which met my criteria as well as being classed by Kiva as green.
Jul 3, 2011, 3:05 pm
#652
Moderator: American AAdvantage
Original Poster
Join Date: May 2000
Location: NorCal - SMF area
Programs: AA LT Plat; HH LT Diamond, Maître-plongeur des Muccis
Posts: 62,948
Welcome to the team!
I've spent time in the Amazon - some farms are green, using mitigation practices and raising organic produce, rather than slash and burn, exhaust the earth and move on to slash and burn again. (Tambopata Research Centre uses organic produce grown by settled native people who operate farms following green guidelines, for example, which benefits both parties.)
OTOH, there are more slash and burn outfits, wood cutters, gold dredgers, parrot fledgling nappers and the like - I would hope Kiva would not support them.
I've spent time in the Amazon - some farms are green, using mitigation practices and raising organic produce, rather than slash and burn, exhaust the earth and move on to slash and burn again. (Tambopata Research Centre uses organic produce grown by settled native people who operate farms following green guidelines, for example, which benefits both parties.)
OTOH, there are more slash and burn outfits, wood cutters, gold dredgers, parrot fledgling nappers and the like - I would hope Kiva would not support them.
Well I managed to give my first green loan the other day - not too sure how they are classifying stuff as 'green' as a number seemed to be to agricultural concerns in the Amazon (and agricultural clearance is the number one reason for loss of rain forest) but I found one which met my criteria as well as being classed by Kiva as green.
Jul 4, 2011, 3:37 am
#653
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: back to my roots in Scotland!
Programs: Tamsin - what else is there to say?
Posts: 47,843
Oh, I've been on the team for quite some time - this was my 9th loan - I keep dribbling in money when I can 
But this was the first time I've looked at the 'green loans' section. This person was seeking to buy organic fertiliser for her farm, which seemed to be in an established area so might not have been subject to recent clearance - I hope.
And Peru was a new country to lend to as well
But this was the first time I've looked at the 'green loans' section. This person was seeking to buy organic fertiliser for her farm, which seemed to be in an established area so might not have been subject to recent clearance - I hope. And Peru was a new country to lend to as well
Jul 6, 2011, 4:34 pm
#654
Join Date: Apr 2008
Programs: CO Plat, SPG Gold, HHonors Gold
Posts: 230
I am going to join the group! Some questions for you folks
1) What is the easiest way to fund and get miles? I am thinking of doing the big crumbs GC route, but what do I lose by funding directly with Kiva? I.E., by sending myself a gift card via Kiva? I would lose the big crumbs cash back (1.6% - whatever fees they charge for GCs)... but I imagine I would be saving a lot of time (waiting for AMEX GC, registering said GC, funding PayPal account, transferring to Kiva)
2) Is there a way to search Kiva lending request by risk profile? I don't see an easy way to do this and so I'm not sure how you folks are evaluating risk. For me I figure I will do 15-20 loans of $25 each (diversify risk across multiple lenders), and I would like them all to be the five star lenders. It would be nice to really do some targeted searches to narrow down the available loan requests to the 50-100 that may meet my criteria (individuals, 5 star risk ratings, certain geographies, etc.). I suspect Kiva doesn't let you do that since they want to protect recipient requests from the lower rated affiliates.
Thanks!
1) What is the easiest way to fund and get miles? I am thinking of doing the big crumbs GC route, but what do I lose by funding directly with Kiva? I.E., by sending myself a gift card via Kiva? I would lose the big crumbs cash back (1.6% - whatever fees they charge for GCs)... but I imagine I would be saving a lot of time (waiting for AMEX GC, registering said GC, funding PayPal account, transferring to Kiva)
2) Is there a way to search Kiva lending request by risk profile? I don't see an easy way to do this and so I'm not sure how you folks are evaluating risk. For me I figure I will do 15-20 loans of $25 each (diversify risk across multiple lenders), and I would like them all to be the five star lenders. It would be nice to really do some targeted searches to narrow down the available loan requests to the 50-100 that may meet my criteria (individuals, 5 star risk ratings, certain geographies, etc.). I suspect Kiva doesn't let you do that since they want to protect recipient requests from the lower rated affiliates.
Thanks!
Jul 7, 2011, 3:20 am
#656
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: back to my roots in Scotland!
Programs: Tamsin - what else is there to say?
Posts: 47,843
I am going to join the group! Some questions for you folks
1) What is the easiest way to fund and get miles? I am thinking of doing the big crumbs GC route, but what do I lose by funding directly with Kiva? I.E., by sending myself a gift card via Kiva? I would lose the big crumbs cash back (1.6% - whatever fees they charge for GCs)... but I imagine I would be saving a lot of time (waiting for AMEX GC, registering said GC, funding PayPal account, transferring to Kiva)
2) Is there a way to search Kiva lending request by risk profile? I don't see an easy way to do this and so I'm not sure how you folks are evaluating risk. For me I figure I will do 15-20 loans of $25 each (diversify risk across multiple lenders), and I would like them all to be the five star lenders. It would be nice to really do some targeted searches to narrow down the available loan requests to the 50-100 that may meet my criteria (individuals, 5 star risk ratings, certain geographies, etc.). I suspect Kiva doesn't let you do that since they want to protect recipient requests from the lower rated affiliates.
Thanks!
1) What is the easiest way to fund and get miles? I am thinking of doing the big crumbs GC route, but what do I lose by funding directly with Kiva? I.E., by sending myself a gift card via Kiva? I would lose the big crumbs cash back (1.6% - whatever fees they charge for GCs)... but I imagine I would be saving a lot of time (waiting for AMEX GC, registering said GC, funding PayPal account, transferring to Kiva)
2) Is there a way to search Kiva lending request by risk profile? I don't see an easy way to do this and so I'm not sure how you folks are evaluating risk. For me I figure I will do 15-20 loans of $25 each (diversify risk across multiple lenders), and I would like them all to be the five star lenders. It would be nice to really do some targeted searches to narrow down the available loan requests to the 50-100 that may meet my criteria (individuals, 5 star risk ratings, certain geographies, etc.). I suspect Kiva doesn't let you do that since they want to protect recipient requests from the lower rated affiliates.
Thanks!
(although not spreading it across many partner bodies may also ironically increase your risk).
To be honest, I really enjoy looking for loans, so I wouldn't think it was a chore to have to look through lots of profiles.
Jul 10, 2011, 11:26 pm
#657
Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: NYC
Posts: 214
How do you pick your loans?
I just made my second loan credited to the Flyertalk team. As I mentioned way up thread, the majority of my loans go toward the team which I am the founder and, by default, the captain of, so I am glad to contribute once in awhile to the Flyertalk team.
I was wondering how you pick your loans? Are you drawn to a certain gender, geographical area, group vs. individual, sector, or something else?
As a female, I am drawn more to female loans. Also, Nicholas Kristof has reported that loans to females are more beneficial as females will tend to use earnings for the family, the children, and education as compared to males who are more inclined to spend earnings for things like alcohol. I'm currently at a 60/40 female to male split, so I definitely don't loan exclusively to females.
As for geographical areas, I like to try to lend to borrowers in new countries, but I do have a higher concentration of loans in Southeast Asia and in Latin America. I spent a semester in Singapore and have traveled quite a bit in Southeast Asia, so I am drawn to those loans.
In terms of sectors, services is my largest sector, though not by much. I am an auditor, so I've made loans to two auditors/accountants I have seen. Other times, I look for connecting something I did recently or something I enjoy to the borrowers. I sometimes also try to look for intriguing jobs. I enjoy looking at this Kiva friends thread http://www.kivafriends.org/index.php/topic,1067.0.html about the variety of jobs borrowers have. Some of the more interesting ones I have loaned to are the wedding dress seller in Tajikistan or the dairyman in Kyrgyzstan whose favorite hobby is bee farming. And sometimes I just pick
.
I was wondering how you pick your loans? Are you drawn to a certain gender, geographical area, group vs. individual, sector, or something else?
As a female, I am drawn more to female loans. Also, Nicholas Kristof has reported that loans to females are more beneficial as females will tend to use earnings for the family, the children, and education as compared to males who are more inclined to spend earnings for things like alcohol. I'm currently at a 60/40 female to male split, so I definitely don't loan exclusively to females.
As for geographical areas, I like to try to lend to borrowers in new countries, but I do have a higher concentration of loans in Southeast Asia and in Latin America. I spent a semester in Singapore and have traveled quite a bit in Southeast Asia, so I am drawn to those loans.
In terms of sectors, services is my largest sector, though not by much. I am an auditor, so I've made loans to two auditors/accountants I have seen. Other times, I look for connecting something I did recently or something I enjoy to the borrowers. I sometimes also try to look for intriguing jobs. I enjoy looking at this Kiva friends thread http://www.kivafriends.org/index.php/topic,1067.0.html about the variety of jobs borrowers have. Some of the more interesting ones I have loaned to are the wedding dress seller in Tajikistan or the dairyman in Kyrgyzstan whose favorite hobby is bee farming. And sometimes I just pick
.
Jul 11, 2011, 8:18 am
#659
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: back to my roots in Scotland!
Programs: Tamsin - what else is there to say?
Posts: 47,843
I try to lend to women, although not exclusively - I note in some predominantly Muslim countries, there are only men available to loan to - for example the Lebanon. I like to lend to countries that I have visited, but also like to not have too many loans at once in one country. I try to avoid loaning to people who are using it to run bars etc - while I do drink, I just prefer that my loans go elsewhere, and was a bit peeved that a loan which had been described as 'to repair the village plough' was actually used to stock the bar the main lender ran, but had neglected to mention before the loan was fully funded. I'll also consider the impacts on the environment - so things which seem to indicate unsustainability, or additional pollution, or degradation of resources, I'm wary of - I won't fund taxi drivers or many other transport concerns.
So mine is - as I guess many of us are - a very personal set of choices. And like future elite, sometimes I like to just browse through and see what takes my fancy
So mine is - as I guess many of us are - a very personal set of choices. And like future elite, sometimes I like to just browse through and see what takes my fancy
Jul 11, 2011, 10:24 am
#660
Original Member, Ambassador: External Miles and Points Resources
Join Date: May 1998
Location: Digital Nomad Wandering the Earth - Currently in LIMA, PERU
Posts: 58,607
My goal is to make loans in countries (or as close as possible) where I have most recently traveled. I try to pick venture loans rather than 'personal' loans. But beyond those my criteria are quite loose.