|
Ali
|
 |
« on: January 12, 2012, 05:13:05 PM » |
|
**I am posting this note on behalf of my colleague, Meg Gray, who doesn't have access to post on KivaFriends.**
Dear Kiva Friends,
Happy New Year, and greetings from Kiva's Field Support team! We're a group of six Field Support Specialists based around the globe who consult with Kiva to bring new Field Partners onto the website and help establish their Kiva programs and keep them running smoothly. All those new partners you see coming up on the Kiva website were trained and supported by our team.
My name is Meg Gray, and I'm the Field Support Coordinator on staff at Kiva, based in San Francisco, and it's my job to make sure the Field Support Specialists have all the information they need from headquarters to help Kiva out from wherever they are - these days, from Belarus, Senegal, Kenya, Indonesia, Lebanon, and right here in San Francisco.
Because the Field Support team travels frequently, on all kinds of bumpy, dusty roads, through heat and cold, often working long into the night from remote corners of the globe, our computer equipment takes a beating. As you can imagine, technological support is one of the key services we offer to Field Partners, and it's essential for the team to have equipment in good working order so we can be available via email and Skype to support Kiva's Field Partners. Since the Field Support Specialists are consultants, Kiva is not in a position to purchase equipment for them, but we thought you might be willing to help out!
The team is in need of six laptops, and we can help facilitate the contribution during the team's visit to San Francisco later in January.
If any of you are interested in supporting these hard-working contributors to Kiva with either a laptop purchase, or by pooling Kivafriends funds for a joint purchase, please let me or Ali Price know. We'd be happy to suggest specific equipment, and answer any other questions you might have. Please note that Kiva cannot provide a receipt for this equipment contribution, as it is not a donation to Kiva, and is therefore not tax-deductible.
Thank you all for your ongoing support of Kiva's work in so many ways. We hope 2012 is a joyful, prosperous, and fulfilling year for all of you, and for all of Kiva's entrepreneurs!
Meg Gray
Field Support Coordinator
|
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
|
|
|
Meg_Kiva
Kiva Supporter
Posts: 1
|
|
« Reply To This #1 on: January 13, 2012, 02:29:15 PM » |
|
Thanks for your interest in this. Getting new computers would be a huge benefit to my team. Since the Field Support Specialists travel so much, laptop size is really important. Given that requirement, we'd love either MacBook Airs with 4GBs of memory or Lenovo Thinkpad X220s. If they came equipped with Microsoft Office that would also be great. These types of computers would also work well for us because Kiva's existing IT staff are set up to support these models. Let me know if you have any other questions I can answer. Thank you!
-Meg
|
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
|
|
|
|
Dottie b
|
|
« Reply To This #2 on: January 14, 2012, 01:02:32 AM » |
|
So how come it's not a donation to Kiva?
|
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
|
|
|
|
Ali
|
|
« Reply To This #3 on: January 18, 2012, 01:03:19 AM » |
|
So how come it's not a donation to Kiva?
Great question, Dottie! The laptops would go to Field Support Specialists, who are independent consultants, so they would not be considered donations to Kiva. |
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
|
|
|
|
o
|
|
« Reply To This #4 on: January 18, 2012, 03:36:20 AM » |
|
Not to sound rude, but the Field Support Coordinators are employed by Kiva, with US employment agreements , right?
Or are they volunteers?
From my experience any consultant is expected to bring own equipment, correct me if I am wrong....
|
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
|
|
|
|
Ali
|
|
« Reply To This #5 on: January 18, 2012, 04:14:53 PM » |
|
Not a rude question at all. Field Support Specialists are not employees of Kiva. Rather, they are independent consultants who work in the area of microfinance, and they're contracted with Kiva to assist with our work in the field. Unlike, say, Kiva Fellows who volunteer for approximately 10-12 weeks in the field, FSSi are not volunteers. We really on the FSS team for continuing availability to work in the field, and they receive relatively modest fees for their consulting services.
Generally speaking, consultants do bring their own equipment to their work - including work done for Kiva. Given the limited service fees that Kiva as a non-profit can offer these independent consultants, we were seeing if there might be interest among the KF community to help provide equipment to these independent consultants to support their work (especially as their existing equipment can deteriorate quickly in the field.)
If you have any other questions about this, please don't hesitate to ask!
|
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
|
|
|
|
carien
|
|
« Reply To This #6 on: January 20, 2012, 06:14:29 AM » |
|
Perhaps a fundraiser would help I am willing if we could do that I am willing to donate but I think Kiva should coordinate that event.
|
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
|
|
|
jbcarioca
Kiva Supporter
Posts: 2
|
|
« Reply To This #7 on: February 25, 2012, 04:22:14 AM » |
|
Not a rude question at all. Field Support Specialists are not employees of Kiva. Rather, they are independent consultants who work in the area of microfinance, and they're contracted with Kiva to assist with our work in the field. Unlike, say, Kiva Fellows who volunteer for approximately 10-12 weeks in the field, FSSi are not volunteers. We really on the FSS team for continuing availability to work in the field, and they receive relatively modest fees for their consulting services.
Generally speaking, consultants do bring their own equipment to their work - including work done for Kiva. Given the limited service fees that Kiva as a non-profit can offer these independent consultants, we were seeing if there might be interest among the KF community to help provide equipment to these independent consultants to support their work (especially as their existing equipment can deteriorate quickly in the field.)
If you have any other questions about this, please don't hesitate to ask!
From the MilePoint team several of us with connections within the industry have been asking ourselves about this. Most organizations using consultants either provide them with the organizations laptops while they are working with them or have them provide their own. It seems logical that some of us could provide the equipment to Kiva (thus US tax deductible) and Kiva could lend the equipment to the consultants, to be returned when their work has been completed. Is such a thing not possible? |
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
|
|
|
|
Ali
|
|
« Reply To This #8 on: April 03, 2012, 02:25:28 PM » |
|
Hi JC,
I'm sorry for just now getting back to you on this. In consultations with our advisors, we're told that it's not necessarily a best practice for a nonprofit organization to lend its equipment to consultants. That's why we explored this avenue to see if others would be willing to contribute some equipment that consultants could use, providing them with equipment independent of Kiva.
Sorry again for the delay!
Ali
|
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
|
|
|
|
