Kiva.org is a website that connects you to small businesses in the developing world and lets you give them loans for a short period of time. This loan can be as small as $25 and over a period of time (usually 6-12 months) your loan is repaid.
Usually giving loans requires a lot of money and contributing to charity is an iffy proposition, you don’t know how much of that money is actually being spent on the cause and how much is being pocketed. But this looks like a good compromise. For a small amount of money you are helping someone gain financial independence.
Check it out.
Kiva.org – Loans that change lives
From their site:
Kiva lets you connect with and loan money to unique small businesses in the developing world. By choosing a business on Kiva.org, you can “sponsor a business” and help the world’s working poor make great strides towards economic independence. Throughout the course of the loan (usually 6-12 months), you can receive email journal updates from the business you’ve sponsored. As loans are repaid, you get your loan money back.
– Suramya