Kiva: Micro-lending to entrepreneurs in developing countries

During the weekend of September 24, 2010, I will be climbing Mount Rainier with three friends (Ken Kamada, Adam Krupa, and David Wilson). We will summit Mount Rainier - 14,410 feet above sea level - on the morning of September 27, 2010. All of us have been training all summer and spent lots of evenings and weekends getting ready for the highest and most challenging climb we have ever attempted.

Pledges to Kiva

In addition to viewing our endeavor as a physical and mental challenge, I'm also using it as a challenge to raise money for an important charity I support, Kiva. Kiva facilitates micro-lending to entrepreneurs in developing countries to build and grow their businesses (more information about Kiva is below).

My wife Allison and I are committed to matching up to $1441 (ten cents for each foot) in micro-loans made by our friends and family. Kiva is a great organization and I'd love for everyone to make a small donation and see how your efforts can make a difference. My goal is to have $1441 pledged by friends and family to Kiva by the time we ascent from the top of Mount Rainier on September 27th. You can make a single loan in the amount of $25 or pledge more for multiple loans. $25 really does make a significant difference through microlending with Kiva.

Thanks to all of you for your support. I hope each of you can become involved with Kiva, either now or at some time in the future. I'll keep you posted regarding our climb and fundraising efforts. Here's hoping for great climbing weather and lots of Kiva lending!

About Kiva

Kiva's mission is to connect people, through lending, for the sake of alleviating poverty.Kiva empowers individuals to lend to an entrepreneur across the globe. By combining microfinance with the internet, Kiva is creating a global community of people connected through lending.Kiva was born of the following beliefs:

• People are by nature generous, and will help others if given the opportunity to do so in a transparent, accountable way.
• The poor are highly motivated and can be very successful when given an opportunity.
• By connecting people we can create relationships beyond financial transactions, and build a global community expressing support and encouragement of one another.

Kiva promotes:

• Dignity: Kiva encourages partnership relationships as opposed to benefactor relationships. Partnership relationships are characterized by mutual dignity and respect.
• Accountability: Loans encourage more accountability than donations where repayment is not expected.
• Transparency: The Kiva website is an open platform where communication can flow freely around the world.

As of November 2009, Kiva has facilitated over $100 million in loans.