I met Jaki Bent from the U.K. at the Experts Industry Association Meeting.  She is the founder of If Everyone Cares, a new nonprofit based in the U.K.  I was impressed with her vision and enthusiasm for this exciting new endeavor.  Check it out!

Here is what she had to say about If Everyone Cares:

From their website:

“Many people in life are frustrated with all of the things that they think they are unable to do.

If Everyone Cares wants to turn the tide and help people to focus on all of the things that they can do to help others and of all the great things that are going on in the world.

Some of our initial aims and goals are:

• To provide a way to unite those who need help with those who wantto help
• Create a Global Database of every Project and Volunteer Opportunity
• To have every Non-Profit, Charity, Community Project or similar organization pinpointed on Google Earth (or similar) – This way we can:
  • Support those people/communities who need help
  • Know where to go if help is needed
  • See what works and gain inspiration to set up similar projects in our own communities
• Create a simple yet comprehensive resource pack for anyone who wishes to start their own community-based project
• Highlight some of the amazing projects that go on all over the world thereby making them visible to those who are able to help or may need help”
• and more…

To learn more and to find out how you can support this effort, go to If Everyone Cares or “Like” them on Facebook.

I just made my 8th loan (this time to a female entrepreneur in Mongolia) using a revolutionary new website called Kiva (www.kiva.org).

You can go to Kiva’s website and lend to someone across the globe who needs a loan for their business – like raising goats, selling vegetables at market or making bricks.  Each loan has a picture of the entrepreneur, a description of their business and how they plan to use the loan so you know exactly how your money is being spent – and you get updates letting you know how the entrepreneur is going.
  
The best part is, when the entrepreneur pays back their loan you get your money back – and Kiva’s loans are managed by microfinance institutions on the ground who have a lot of experience doing this, so you can trust that your money is being handled responsibly.

One of the things I really enjoy is getting the monthly update email from Kiva which tells the status of my microloan repayments.  This month, I had $17.66 payed back and I decided to reinvest it in another entrepreneur, which I did.  My loan selection criteria is as follows.  My first choice is a female entrepreneur in a country where I have spent time, usually a solopreneur, where I can easily see how the loan will increase her ability to expand her business and help support her family. To date I have made loans to 5 women in Peru, 1 in Pakistan, and 1 in Samoa – all places I have been.

So, I just made a loan to an entrepreneur named Otgonbat Tseesuren in Mongolia, a place I have not yet been.  They still need another $2,025.00 to complete their loan request of $2,775.00 (you can loan as little as $25.00!).  Help me get this entrepreneur off the ground by clicking on the link below to make a loan to Otgonbat Tseesuren too:

http://www.kiva.org/app.php?page=businesses&action=about&id=125293

It’s finally easy to actually do something about poverty – using Kiva I know exactly who my money is loaned to and what they’re using it for.  And most of all, I know that I’m helping them build a sustainable business that will provide income to feed, clothe, house and educate their family long after my loan is paid back.

Join me in changing the world – one loan at a time.

Thanks!

———————————————————
What others are saying about www.Kiva.org:

‘Revolutionising how donors and lenders in the US are connecting with small entrepreneurs in developing countries.’
– BBC

‘If you’ve got 25 bucks, a PC and a PayPal account, you’ve now got the wherewithal to be an international financier.’
– CNN Money

‘Smaller investors can make loans of as little as $25 to specific individual entrepreneurs through a service launched last fall by Kiva.org.’
– The Wall Street Journal

‘An inexpensive feel-good investment opportunity…All loaned funds go directly to the applicants, and most loans are repaid in full.’
– Entrepreneur Magazine

Have you heard of ServiceNation?  Because of my work in National Service, I have heard about ServiceNation since its inception and have been watching its work and growth with great interest.  Last year, representatives made a presentation at the National Conference on Volunteering and Service in Atlanta to all the AmeriCorps grantees in attendance.  The energy about what they were doing was great – I even had one of their reps, a young man from Alaska, come to my session on measuring the impact of nonprofit programming and ask for a few minutes to share about more about ServiceNation with participants.

From their website, “This campaign now focuses on building a national grassroots movement aimed at inspiring widespread public support for increasing voluntary community and national service opportunities, solving problems with proven service strategies, and elevating service as a core ideal of civic engagement. ServiceNation encourages all Americans to step forward and take the lead in bridging our divides, strengthening our communities, and building a more vibrant democracy.”

Especially given the economic times in which we find ourselves, ServiceNation is a movement which deserves our support.  Check them out and join me in signing their Declaration of Service. 

You can also find ways to volunteer through their partnership with Network for Good and USA Freddom Corps, as well.  Within 20 miles of my office, there were 1820 opportunities – so surely there is something for everyone that wants to get more involved.

I am reading a book by Dave Evans, Social Media Marketing: An Hour a Day, because I am trying to get up to speed on using Facebook, Twitter and other forms of social media for business purposes.  Wow – what a lot to learn!!  The exercise for Day One involves reviewing blogs and wikis to learn about them.  One of the examples given was the wiki for One Laptop per Child (ONLP).  I had heard of the program before but really did not know much about it.

According to the wiki, the mission of OLPC is “One Laptop per Child creates educational opportunities for the world’s poorest children by providing each child with a rugged, low-cost, low-power, connected laptop with content and software designed for collaborative, joyful, self-empowered learning.”

The website gave the following update: “OLPC launched its second Give One, Get One (“G1G1″) program on November 17, 2008, following last year’s popular program which supported the production of over 150,000 XOs. This year the XO laptops will be shipped to donors through Amazon.com, and the program includes Europe. Visit laptop.org/xo.”

For $199, you can give a child in a developing country a laptop.  The Amazon page says:”Why give a laptop to a child in the emerging world? If you replace the word “laptop” with “education” the answer becomes clear. You don’t wait to educate until all other challenges are resolved. You educate at the same time because it’s such an important part of all the other solutions.  The XO laptop was designed especially for children. So no matter who they are or where they live, this computer has the perfect features and software to get them excited about learning. Just imagine how the world would change if every child had the tools to unleash their full potential.”

What a great project and such a low “ticket price.”  Check it out at www.laptop.org and perhaps your business can join the effort and give the gift of education. 

…And I still don’t really get wikis…

I logged into my Constant Contact account today to get my next newsletter ready and found they had sent me an email about their give back program, Cares4Kids. Great idea to send all customers an email offering customer participation in their program and gaining visibility for their efforts.

“Cares4KidsTM is Constant Contact’s charitable program that enables our customers to “give back” to their local communities. Through Cares4Kids, Constant Contact customers can share the success they’ve found using Constant Contact by giving their favorite child-focused, social or educational nonprofit charity a free Constant Contact account!”

How Cares4Kids Works
Every Constant Contact customer in good standing can nominate one organization for a free account. If the nominated organization is deemed eligible by Constant Contact, they will be accepted into the Cares4Kids program and will receive a free Constant Contact account.

To learn more about the program requirements, or to nominate a nonprofit for the program, visit: www.cares4kids.com.

Nonprofits that don’t meet the Cares4Kids program requirements are entitled to our standard nonprofit discount. Visit www.constantcontact.com/pricing to learn more.

Project KOPEG offers a unique fundraising opportunity for schools, churches, non-profit groups and other organizations looking to raise extra funds. They do this through their Green Recycling Fundraiser Program.

“What makes this such a unique opportunity?