I got one of my favorite automated e-mails today. My Kiva.org loans had been repaid to the point that my balance would allow another loan to go out (they go in $25 increments). So I got to pick another person for whom I could play the Hope Fairy. Somewhere out there, someone with a dream to better his/her life through a family business, better farm, etc. is now a tiny bit closer to that investment. I love the microinvestment strategy. It spreads risk, and gets more people participating in the economy.

And I love that I can do this with the same initial investment, repaid and recirculated as the loans come back. It's not a gift of money that I'm giving (since it's a loan), but it is a gift of hope. The recipients get to add the hard work and dilligence through which that seed will grow. I just made my 14th loan through Kiva out to people who could use the bump in their businesses and fortunes.

If anyone would like to join the goodness, please go here to look at Kiva's offerings and mission statement.