By: Cary Briel, Skaneateles Design

Have you ever wished that you had more direct contact with people in need, as an alternative to sending cash to charities with late night infomercials airing between Don Lapre and Ron Popeil? Kiva.org may be an alternative.

When you send cash to a big charity, you could be paying the salaries of executives that live better than you do! Kiva appears to offer a different approach. According to their website, “Kiva lets you lend to a specific entrepreneur in the developing world, empowering them to lift themselves out of poverty.”

Visit their About page to learn more.

From their About page:

“Lender beware” obviously applies here, and likely keeping your personal details on the low-down, but the idea is interesting.

This would also seem to support that old Chinese fish proverb: “Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime “

Visit the Kiva.org website here.