A Bigger Pie

KIVA Lending Team Started

Finally settled in back here in Geneva after almost 4 weeks of hectic travel to NY, LA, back to NY, and now back to Switzerland.  It's been kind of crazy, and it's good to have a Sunday to relax a bit.

But, today is not all about relaxation.  I just spent some time on my KIVA account, lending some more money (up to $500 now), and learning more about how "Lending Teams" work. 

For those of you that know me, my outlook on life and finances was transformed in the last 12 months or so after a friend suggested I read a book called "Secrets of the Millionaire Mind" by T. Harv Eker.  Shortly after reading the book, I attended one of Eker's free Millionaire Mind Intensive workshops, and, subsequently, participated in Enlightened Warrior Training Camp (we'll call it "warrior camp" going forward).  

"Warrior Camp" was a real life-changer.  I met so many amazing people there, and the exercises there helped me learn things about myself I might never have known.  I'm forever indebted to Eker and his work.  Not to be forgotten are the people who were there that week, my trainers and teammates, that helped me get so much out of the experience.

One of the lessons prior to warrior camp was the importance of giving.  And, a key thing I learned about myself at warrior camp was that I'm often willing to work harder, and go farther for others than I am for myself.

Putting all that knowledge, and all those great teammates to use, I've decided to create a KIVA lending team based on the principles tought by Eker, and the lessons learned by those of us who have read his books, and attended his Peak Potentials seminars and workshops.

I decided to name this group "Kiva Potentials", as a nod to the influence of Peak Potentials training.  You can view our team page at http://www.kiva.org/community/viewTeam?team_id=7764.

If you're not familiar with Kiva and the work they do, go here and learn more: http://www.kiva.org/about/what/

You do not need to be a member of our group to make a loan, and you do not need to be a graduate of warrior camp or any of Peak Potentials programs to belong to our group.  This group is not affiliated with Peak Potentials or T. Harv Eker.  However, I imagine (and hope) that Harv would very much be on board with the game plan, the motivation, and the goals of my group.

KIVA Update

How cool is this?  There's money paid back into my KIVA account....it's only about $7, but the entrepreneurs in developing countries are right on schedule with their paybacks.  I think I'll pop some more money into our account in a couple of weeks.  Still trying to get a feel for how this works.

Also, I'm thinking I will start a KIVA Lending Team.  I have a network of people, some of which I think would really take to KIVA.  And, since I just recently looked into KIVA, it's entirely possible that there are many others out there who've never heard of it, or who haven't really considered participating.

The next couple of weeks will be pretty hectic, with lots of travel, so this post is my first step.  Second step will be in mid-July.  I'm on the job!

A Sideways Start to 2009

Well, the "Big Idea" is on hold for now.  I did move it forward a bit since my last post.

Back in February, I met with a couple of prominent lawyers in the field, and got somewhat of a handle on what I'd be up against from the legal side of my idea.  The lawyers weren't cheap, and the legal fees to come (when I do move forward) will be pretty substantial.

Being committed to another major project at the start of this year, I decided now was not the right time to devote countless hours, and a large sum of money to the legal and software costs required.

My plan was to count the money I put into this project as my charitable donations for the year, and when I put the project on hold, I didn't replace the expenditure with donations to other groups.  Well, in the last month, 3 things happened that combined to kick me in the butt and get me going again.

1.  A friend asked for donations via Facebook for his Cystic Fibrosis walk after a friend of his passed away from the disease.

2.  Another friend (who I know through my wife) was raising money for his charity (The Flip-Flop Foundation), and I donated $50.  After I made the donation, I mentioned it to my wife, and she was kind of "embarassed".  She felt that if we're going to make a donation to an organization, it should be more substantial, considering our income, and the overhead of not-for-profits.

3.  A family member forwarded me an E-mail saying "We Did It!!"  I looked below, and saw that what he forwarded me was from The Smile Train.  I forgot that I mentioned The Smile Train to him a few months back.  Appearantly, after I mentioned it to him, he made a donation.  And, the E-mail he got from them showed him pictures of how his donation helped a child to get the surgery they needed.

I know I made the right decision to put the project on hold, and am not regretting it in any way.  The side effect, however, is that I haven't made any donations in 2009, except for the small ones mentioned above.

I had been meaning to research Kiva for months, and today, when I had some spare time, I went over to Kiva.org, and checked it out. 

This looks like an amazing opportunity to do some good.  It's not "giving" in the sense of making a charitable donation, as the loans Kiva gives are intended to be repaid (and, according to statistics, over 98% of the loans ARE repaid).  What you're really doing with Kiva is making an interest-free loan to an entrepreneur in a developing country. 

I signed up, and made a few small loans, as well as a small donation to Kiva.  I intentionally made my loans to people in 2 groups to accelerate my learning curve.  I made 2 loans to entrepreneurs who had agreed to faster payback schedules (6 months), and my other 2 loans were to entrepreneurs who were close to reaching their target for funds raised, so I was able to move those people from fund-raising mode into repayment mode.

I'm looking forward to learning more about how the process works as a participant, and will update everybody as we go. 

Web 2.0 and a Bigger Pie

In my research, I found that there are many companies out there in the “Web 2.0 for Non-Profits” space.  Unfortunately, most seem to be about helping their clients get a bigger slice of the pie, and not making a bigger pie.

Granted, if giving becomes easier, faster, simpler, more people are likely to give, and will likely give more, resulting in a larger pie.  But, this almost becomes a positive side effect of what is going on, rather than the core purpose and benefit.

I believe if an entity with the right resources came along, they could “shift the curve”.  Rather than simply helping their non-profit clients perform better, giving off the side effect of increasing total donations, this new company could set out to INCREASE total donations.  As they succeed in increasing the volume of donations, this bigger pie would then be available to the existing non-profits. 
A rising tide lifts all boats.

The single closest organization I have been able to find in my research is Network For Good.  On their website, the focus is on making giving easier for people when they are inspired to give.  Take one look at their about us page, and you’ll see:

“Imagine what the world would be like if every time you were inspired to help someone or something, you could -- with just a few clicks of a mouse, anywhere online. That’s the mission of Network for Good.  We make it as easy to donate and volunteer online as it is to shop online, and we make it simple and affordable for all nonprofits, of any size, to recruit donors and volunteers via the Internet.”

Truly a nice idea, but again, it all starts with the presupposition that you are already inspired and predisposed to giving at that moment.  Of course, you can sign up for automatic monthly donations, as you can directly with many charities, and that is a nice feature, but it doesn’t directly touch on what I believe is possible.

I believe we can do so much more. 

Now, there are many other companies out there, in addition to Network For Good, and some of them touch on the same concepts, but none seems to nail it right on the head.

If the right kind of Web 2.0 site were created for giving, there’d be a lot more pie to go around.  So, how do we make it happen?  I'm not sure yet.  I'm considering contacting some of these companies to see if they are willing and able to focus more directly on this aspect of the challenge. 

Anybody out there with ideas/suggestions, I'd love to hear from you.

Too Many Choices???

I’ve had people tell me that they want to give, but can’t make up their mind on who or what to donate to.  Paralysis by analysis….is that really possible?  Of course it is.

With so much information out there today, it’s easier than ever get frozen in your tracks.  Back in the “old days”, like 15 years ago, a few donating opportunities would knock on your door per year.  A walk-a-thon, Girl Scout cookies, and maybe a Jerry Lewis telethon.  You could either give, or not give.  But, the chances of information overload were slim.  Even if you wanted to research all of your options, before the internet was somewhat evolved, I can’t imagine how you would have done so with any level of efficiency.

So, here we are, Web 2.0.  With our dual-core processors and high-speed internet, thousands upon thousands of non-profits are our there, all competing for your donations.  And, the battle-field can be so cluttered, some people freeze up, and give to nobody.  What a tragedy!

Chris Anderson, in his incredibly insightful book The Long Tail, does address the double-edged sword that is more choice.  Too many options can be paralyzing and overwhelming when there is not enough information available to help people actually choose.  When a lack of digestible information is unavailable, and consumers cannot confidently choose between options, no decision is made….and, there you have it:  Paralysis by Analysis.

What do we do about this?  This would optimally be tackled by both the donor and also separately by one (or more) of the many “Charity Portal” websites out there.  Please note “Charity Portal” is my term, not what they call themselves…and, I’m not trying to coin a phrase, I don’t even like the term.  But, for purposes of this particular blog entry, it will have to do.  We’ll come up with something more elegant down the raod.

So, the Charity Portals can take steps to make it easier for the consumer (donor) to choose confidently between their 2 or 19 choices in any charitable category.  Provide more information about the cause, allow for discussions, do a “recommendation engine” (for example:  people who donated to UNICEF also gave to UNAIDS).

And, on the consumer side, if you’ve gotten it narrowed down to 3 or 4 non-profits in a particular category and can’t decide, you can do one of three things:

1. Just pick one and go with it, trust your heart and the universe to lead you to the “right choice”, understanding that each of your options is probably a good option.
2. Donate to ALL of them.  If this will help you take action, just donate to each charity.  Either take the original amount you wanted to give and divide it up equally, or, even better, spread it out and give to all the groups, in an amount that is greater than what you were originally planning to give.  Make a bigger pie!
3. Freeze in your tracks.  Become so fearful of making a mistake, that you play it safe, and do nothing.  That way, you can’t lose, right?  Wrong.  Option 3 is the booby prize…it’s only here to show you how silly it is to freeze in this instance.  Just give, good things will happen

Now, about those “Charity Portals”….