How do you pick your loan?

[Guest]

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[gdmulder]

There have been days where picking loans is very easy.  Right after the big news stories there weren't more than a few available to fund.  There are other times where there are many many pages.  I have decided that I would like to attempt to get a loan to every one of the 42 countries that Kiva is in.  I currently have 12 countries in my list.  I would love to hear how others decide where to loan their money and I would guess many newer people to Kiva would love to hear some suggestions.  So lets hear your giving plan! 
(lol, the spell checker questioned the word Kiva!)

[Canadian Here]

There have been days where picking loans is very easy.  Right after the big news stories there weren't more than a few available to fund.  There are other times where there are many many pages.  I have decided that I would like to attempt to get a loan to every one of the 42 countries that Kiva is in.  I currently have 12 countries in my list.  I would love to hear how others decide where to loan their money and I would guess many newer people to Kiva would love to hear some suggestions.  So lets hear your giving plan! 
(lol, the spell checker questioned the word Kiva!)

gdmulder:

Like you, I aspire to have at least one loan in each of the countries where KIVA has a MFI partner. I also loan to businesses that are somewhat unusual and those which I see as being of value to the entire community, like a medical clinic, pharmacy, motorcycle taxis, etc.
Food is always important, so I have a lot of loans that involve food, including production, sales, and serving (i,.e. restaurants). The arts are underfunded and undersupported everywhere, so whenever possible, I try to loan to artists.
The others? There was something about the people that appealed to me. Something about their story/lives. I can't be more specific because the reaons I made those loans are very varied.
One or two I made by mistake, because I misread the loan or interpreted it differently.
Lorna

[charity]

I have a lot of thoughts for how to loan - so many that I can justify just about any loan!   

I too am trying to loan to every country, and keep my loans *kind of* spread out among countries and MFIs, so that I hopefully won't be too affected if some disaster/crisis happens somewhere.  On the other hand, I have many loans to Kenya and Tajikistan- where I made them on purpose after learning of troubles in those places. 

I also try to do agriculture loans because of the rising food prices recently, although I generally stay away from loans involving the raising of animals for meat or butchers, since I am vegetarian (however, I will loan to dairies or loans specifically for egg production or for farm working animals, etc). 

I also try to stay away from retail outlets where they obviously sell a lot of candy, cigarettes, or alcohol. 

After reading "Three Cups of Tea"  I have a soft spot for loans in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iraq, to hopefully provide more options for poor people there, so they don't become drawn into or dependent on radical religious groups. 

I also have a soft spot for countries that have ranked Low on the Human Development Index (I posted a spreadsheet with the listing of HDI here: http://www.kivafriends.org/index.php/topic,226.msg23783.html#msg23783).

I also try to spread out the time that my loans come due, so I have a semi-constant stream of re-loans available to make (made easier using the spreadsheet Kivafriend Chris put together: http://cjw.me.uk/kiva/)

If the loan description indicates hard circumstances the lender has had to endure (being an internally displaced person, having been a victim during a war, working way too many hours a day or in harsh conditions, etc, etc) I know I am more likely to loan to them as well. 

I also have a soft spot for bookstores, or things like pharmacies, medical clinics, or schools which hopefully directly positively impact the community.  Also, some writeups indicate that the borrower trains other people in their skill or craft, which I like. 

I also sometimes look at the MFI rating and interest rates, although I have made loans to 2 star MFIs and very high interest ones as well. 

Of course I have a ton of loans that don't necessarily meet any of those thoughts -that I just got because I liked it better than others for some reason among the ones that were available that day!

[Eli]

I have a lot of thoughts for how to loan - so many that I can justify just about any loan!   

I too am trying to loan to every country, and keep my loans *kind of* spread out among countries and MFIs, so that I hopefully won't be too affected if some disaster/crisis happens somewhere.  On the other hand, I have many loans to Kenya and Tajikistan- where I made them on purpose after learning of troubles in those places. 

I also try to do agriculture loans because of the rising food prices recently, although I generally stay away from loans involving the raising of animals for meat or butchers, since I am vegetarian (however, I will loan to dairies or loans specifically for egg production or for farm working animals, etc). 

I also try to stay away from retail outlets where they obviously sell a lot of candy, cigarettes, or alcohol. 

After reading "Three Cups of Tea"  I have a soft spot for loans in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iraq, to hopefully provide more options for poor people there, so they don't become drawn into or dependent on radical religious groups. 

I also have a soft spot for countries that have ranked Low on the Human Development Index (I posted a spreadsheet with the listing of HDI here: http://www.kivafriends.org/index.php/topic,226.msg23783.html#msg23783).

I also try to spread out the time that my loans come due, so I have a semi-constant stream of re-loans available to make (made easier using the spreadsheet Kivafriend Chris put together: http://cjw.me.uk/kiva/)

If the loan description indicates hard circumstances the lender has had to endure (being an internally displaced person, having been a victim during a war, working way too many hours a day or in harsh conditions, etc, etc) I know I am more likely to loan to them as well. 

I also have a soft spot for bookstores, or things like pharmacies, medical clinics, or schools which hopefully directly positively impact the community.  Also, some writeups indicate that the borrower trains other people in their skill or craft, which I like. 

I also sometimes look at the MFI rating and interest rates, although I have made loans to 2 star MFIs and very high interest ones as well. 

Of course I have a ton of loans that don't necessarily meet any of those thoughts -that I just got because I liked it better than others for some reason among the ones that were available that day!

Everything stated above is a perfect description of my personal criteria as well.  The only thing that doesn't match is I'm not a vegetarian, although was one for a large part of my adult life.  We are amazingly similar in our criteria.

What else I would add is that I really like a loan that employs others from the community or has a 'place' in the community.  One community store that I loaned to discussed how the picnic table and 'lone tree out back' was a gathering place of mothers to let their kids play.  If there are two loans that I'm torn between, and one mentions the recipient is trying to put their kids through school, that one wins out over the one that isn't.  One of the loans that you will never find in my portfolio is one that promotes Christianity.  Call it separation of church and loans.  The two just don't fit together in my book.  This is as close to religion as I get:  www.kiva.org/app.php?page=businesses&action=about&id=25536.

[Tomcat]

The nice thing about the variety of Kiva loans is that you can always avoid those that don't appeal to you, for any reason whatsoever. So if a person is personally offended by eating meat, he doesn't have to fund the livestock loan (or the Guinea pig loan).

As for me, when I'm ready to pick out a new loan, I first sort by gender to pick out the loans to female borrowers (I do have a few loans to males, though). Then I sort on old-to-new loans and start looking at the oldest ones. I prefer individual loans to group loans, so I generally skip over the group loans (although I have a few group loans). And finally, I try to find the single mothers or widows. Even after all that, there are usually quite a few loans for me to choose from, many more than I can afford to fund.

And then, sometimes I see a loan that particularly appeals to me and I throw out all of the rules above. 

[cpbailey]

I find the abundance of loans almost daunting when I get one measly credit back from Kiva.  I tend to cull by gender first.  Then I might go through my short list of countries/regions to see if something seems amazing.  I now plan to sort through by age of the loan as well.  Then I go by passion or logic depending on my whim.  Oh, I do check term of the loan, preferring those under a year.

I wish that there were a way to sort by planned date loan would disburse.  On some it is within 48 hours of the loan being filled, so two weeks on the site while funding is unfortunate when another loan may not disburse until after the new month regardless of how quickly it funds.

Colette

[Canadian Here]

So if a person is personally offended by eating meat, he doesn't have to fund the livestock loan (or the Guinea pig loan).

Tomcat: I do eat meat. It's the kind that matters. I don't eat critters I've had for pets!
(At least, not knowingly.)
Lorna

[Tomcat]

Tomcat: I do eat meat. It's the kind that matters. I don't eat critters I've had for pets!
(At least, not knowingly.)
Lorna

Same here. I know that people eat dogs in some places, but I wouldn't lend to someone who was raising dogs for food!

[cpbailey]

Count me in.  Unfortunately I had pet chickens!  Oh, and rabbits, ducks, guinea pigs, and pigeons.  Eventually, we got around to a cat and a couple guide dog puppies.  Early on there were mice and rats, and for a short time hamsters.  (Trying to imagine eating a hamster drumstick. )

My little sister's class actually had a field trip to our suburban backyard!

Colette

[Henry]

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Colettes

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