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 $25.00 (or more) you can lend someone deserving in a land you have visited and enjoyed (or not.)
This is how it works:
Add your experiences here, or if you haven't joined... won't you consider joining the FlyerTalker Lending Team?
You can see who the latest FT borrowers are (some still possibly needing loans) here
For ease, you can click here: Subscribe to FlyerTalker Lending Team on Kiva.org
FlyerTalker Lending Team on Kiva.org!
Nov 27, 2017, 3:43 am
#1306
Moderator: Lufthansa Miles & More, India based airlines, India, External Miles & Points Resources
Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: MUC
Programs: LH SEN
Posts: 48,166
As mentioned above I don't use Kiva as MS vehicle, but just curate the 1000$ collected at SMD1&2. No withdrawals or contributions made since then. I understand what Kiva is all about, but am still very disappointed how they handle things. Accion US, who was the outfit handling the US loans which defaulted in a big way, renamed itself and relisted for example. It has since been closed by Kiva again.
Jan 1, 2018, 10:51 pm
#1307
Senior Moderator and Moderator: American AAdvantage & TravelBuzz
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: BOS
Programs: AA EXP, Marriott Titanium
Posts: 10,417
Happy 2018! :-::-:
Stats as of today...
Team members: 791
Loan amount to date: $3,859,150
Loans to date: 57,474
Among all Kiva lending teams, we rank #21 globally for amount loaned! ^
Indeed! Our 2017 total ended up being $1,130,575! Great work everybody!
Stats as of today...
Team members: 791
Loan amount to date: $3,859,150
Loans to date: 57,474
Among all Kiva lending teams, we rank #21 globally for amount loaned! ^
Indeed! Our 2017 total ended up being $1,130,575! Great work everybody!
Jan 9, 2018, 9:07 am
#1309
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
Jan 12, 2018, 6:26 pm
#1310
Join Date: Jan 2014
Posts: 24
I started using Kiva a few months ago -- firstly just for the charity aspect, but since I figured it would be good to generate some spend, I've been trying to 100x that. Currently around $3k loaned, and it's helped me meet a minimum spend already! My strategy has been to focus on partners with near-zero default and currency loss % (i.e., they have been willing to take the hit themselves in the past), who've operated for a long time (although in practice, that means only 1-3 stars risk rating), and focusing on quickly repaid loans (less than 6mos), and trying to balance my portfolio across lenders and countries - which has been difficult.. Let's see how it plays around -- hopefully the first default won't come for a while!
How did you get 32k UR for $6.5k in spend?! Minimum spend bonus, or is there some sort of 5x multiplier? :O
How did you get 32k UR for $6.5k in spend?! Minimum spend bonus, or is there some sort of 5x multiplier? :O
Feb 20, 2018, 9:11 pm
#1311
Senior Moderator and Moderator: American AAdvantage & TravelBuzz
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: BOS
Programs: AA EXP, Marriott Titanium
Posts: 10,417
Looks like we’ve hit another milestone...the FT Kiva team has now loaned over $4 MILLION!
Stats as of today...
Team members: 825
Loan amount to date: $4,010,225
Stats as of today...
Team members: 825
Loan amount to date: $4,010,225
Feb 21, 2018, 8:29 am
#1312
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
Mar 20, 2018, 2:37 pm
#1313
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Somewhere in Florida
Posts: 2,621
Easy, 5x VGCs. Although lately it's been 2.25x (CFU + CSR). Part of me doing Kiva is indeed the charitable/good works aspect of it, but I do have to admit that it's fun to see the money come back in. When I make loans, I do (obviously) try to find people who will pay me back, BUT I do take the occasional risk and throw some money on something a bit riskier because I like what the person is trying to do.
Mar 26, 2018, 9:23 am
#1314
Moderator: Lufthansa Miles & More, India based airlines, India, External Miles & Points Resources
Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: MUC
Programs: LH SEN
Posts: 48,166
This month I had a blodd boiling moment with Kiva again. So I lent money in July 2014 to a project run by Caritas Uganda, a global church funded charity:
https://www.kiva.org/lend/706146
In 2014, we saw this update:
On March 16, Kiva gave up on this loan:
Barefoot says this on their website:
https://www.barefootpower.com/uganda.html
Their Kiva page is a different tale: https://www.kiva.org/about/where-kiv...s/partners/212
So Kiva lenders gave money to Caritas or to Barefoot? Then this was used for 20% downpayments? And in the end when nothing worked the committment to repay Kiva lenders was just canned? Caritas and Barefoot still exist and are well funded...
https://www.kiva.org/lend/706146
Caritas Uganda seeks to enable 1,000 rural households in Masaka, Mbarara, Kabale, Kasese and Hoima dioceses to acquire and have installed Barefoot Power solar systems. This loan would enable the rural farmer households to buy and pay back using savings from the would-have-been kerosene and phone-charging expenditures as well as incomes from the sale of seasonal crops such as coffee, cotton, matooke and milk.
In this loan model, the organization Caritas chooses and refers to Barefoot, small villages where residents do not have access to electricity. Then Barefoot goes to each village (with approximately 100 households) and meets with the different Caritas groups to explain their solar home systems and gauge customer interest. If households want to buy a solar home system, they must pay 20% in advance as a down payment and then pay the rest in instalments over six months.However, not all households can pay the 20% down payment upfront. For these households, Barefoot instructs them to save up money for the down payment, and whenever they are ready with the down payment Barefoot installs their solar home systems.Barefoot and Caritas developed this arrangement in partnership, based on Caritas' experience in the communities. Caritas has reported, though, that households are struggling to pay the 20% down payment, so Caritas' sales are slower than expected. Caritas does hope that sales will pick up and intends to revolve the Kiva loan amount twice in the 12-month period. Caritas would like to say, “thank you” to all lenders for their help
This loan was defaulted on 03/16/2018, with $41,460.00 of $50,000.00 amount repaid.In microfinance, it's common to try to reschedule loans to accommodate eventual repayment, however sometimes loans end in default, despite efforts to be flexible. Kiva loans are defaulted at the point in time collection of future repayments is deemed unlikely, or when the loan is more than 180 days past due. This loan is being defaulted because:Barefoot has been unable to collect further repayments from Caritas. After 12months of trying to do so, we are moving them into default.Please know that even in cases of non-repayment your loans are still helping make a difference in the lives of borrowers around the globe, and with your support you're giving people an opportunity to pursue better lives.
Barefoot Power Uganda is expanding its LUAV program rapidly with a number of partners, among others Caritas Uganda. Every month more than 500 Caritas families across eight different areas of the country sign up for one of the products. Installation is done by the Barefoot Power Uganda technicians while selected members from the community are trained in both installation and after sales support.
Their Kiva page is a different tale: https://www.kiva.org/about/where-kiv...s/partners/212
So Kiva lenders gave money to Caritas or to Barefoot? Then this was used for 20% downpayments? And in the end when nothing worked the committment to repay Kiva lenders was just canned? Caritas and Barefoot still exist and are well funded...
Mar 27, 2018, 7:16 am
#1315
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
It sounds as if Caritas Uganda kept a separate “book” on this particular project (contracting with Barefoot for the actual power installations) and ultimately defaulted on the basis of fewer down payments and repayments than forecast. Astute compartmented budgeting by Caritas and Caritas Uganda, but the Kiva lenders for this project were ultimately left hung out to dry.
Apr 19, 2018, 12:27 pm
#1316
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Somewhere in Florida
Posts: 2,621
I figured I'd update my stats. One of my defaulted loans actually paid back!:
Started in Dec 2015.
Amount Lent: $9500
Amount Defaulted: $1.98
Amount of Currency Rate Loss: $0.21
Total losses: $2.19
$2.19 / $9500 = 0.0002305263158 or 0.023%.
US inflation for the same time period was 5.51%.
So, I've made 344 loans, got the chance to help out at least that many people, and earned ~30k-40k UR points for $2.19. Not a bad deal.
Started in Dec 2015.
Amount Lent: $9500
Amount Defaulted: $1.98
Amount of Currency Rate Loss: $0.21
Total losses: $2.19
$2.19 / $9500 = 0.0002305263158 or 0.023%.
US inflation for the same time period was 5.51%.
So, I've made 344 loans, got the chance to help out at least that many people, and earned ~30k-40k UR points for $2.19. Not a bad deal.
May 19, 2018, 6:13 pm
#1317
Senior Moderator and Moderator: American AAdvantage & TravelBuzz
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: BOS
Programs: AA EXP, Marriott Titanium
Posts: 10,417
Those are pretty good stats - thanks for sharing!
Last year, I started to take snapshots of my key Kiva stats, just so I could track some key stats temporally. I, too, noticed that sometimes my defaulted amount would actually drop (but, of course, the general trend line is upwards).
And for what it’s worth: my total loss (defaulted + currency loss) percent is about an order of magnitude higher than yours, but still very reasonable in my mind - just around ~0.2 %.
Last year, I started to take snapshots of my key Kiva stats, just so I could track some key stats temporally. I, too, noticed that sometimes my defaulted amount would actually drop (but, of course, the general trend line is upwards).
And for what it’s worth: my total loss (defaulted + currency loss) percent is about an order of magnitude higher than yours, but still very reasonable in my mind - just around ~0.2 %.
Aug 6, 2018, 1:53 am
#1318
Join Date: Apr 2016
Location: USA
Programs: AA Exec Plat, Hilton Gold, Marriott/SPG Gold
Posts: 221
Easy, 5x VGCs. Although lately it's been 2.25x (CFU + CSR). Part of me doing Kiva is indeed the charitable/good works aspect of it, but I do have to admit that it's fun to see the money come back in. When I make loans, I do (obviously) try to find people who will pay me back, BUT I do take the occasional risk and throw some money on something a bit riskier because I like what the person is trying to do.
Aug 20, 2018, 6:09 pm
#1319
Senior Moderator and Moderator: American AAdvantage & TravelBuzz
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: BOS
Programs: AA EXP, Marriott Titanium
Posts: 10,417
Well, at the rate we're going, we may just hit our next milestone before the end of the year...
Stats as of today:
Team members: 854
Loans: 57,567
Amount funded: $4,788,400
Stats as of today:
Team members: 854
Loans: 57,567
Amount funded: $4,788,400