As some of you may know, I work for IBM (Quarter Century Club in Dec., yay). I know there are at least a few others of you here, and others of you may know people who work for IBM. This post is for you.
Ever year in October, IBM conducts an internal Employee Charitable Contribution Campaign (ECCC -- we loves us our acronyms!). During this time, we are exposed to many local and national agencies doing important work in the community or worldwide, and encouraged to consider making a one-time or ongoing charitable contribution, which is made by relatively painless paycheck deduction. It can be once a month, twice a month, or one time only, and can be in any amount. In addition to the standard United Ways and well-known charities like the American Cancer Society and Second Harvest Food Bank, we are provided with a process to add smaller, lesser-known 501 (c)(3) agencies to the list from which employees can select. I have had Kiva.org (the part we contribute to when we add our 10% donation after a loan, the part which is tax-deductible) added to that list.
From the IBM ECCC website today:
Kiva - General Fund
3180 18TH Street, Ste 201
San Francisco, CA 94110-2042
www.kiva.org
IBM charity code: 0O634
Mission: To empower individuals to lend directly to an entrepreneur in the developing world by combining microfinance and the internet, creating a global community of people connected through lending; to connect people, through lending, for the sake of alleviating poverty. Any IBMers who want to add Kiva to their charitable giving this year can enter charity code 0O634 (that's zero-letterO-six-three-four) on their pledge card with an amount. The campaign runs from Oct. 6 - Oct 24. I've let the Kiva staff know, and I hope they'll find a way to publicize it on the site. I'll certainly tell my work friends it's there!
I hope others will join me in adding Kiva.org to their ECCC pledge card this year. Thanks!!
--Diane.
