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Kiva Team anandtech?

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I have a problem with Kiva. I got my money back, apparently the guy paid it back and that's great. The problem is that on each of the loans there is a huge caveat it says on the page about how it's possible the person has already been funded, in which case your money may end up going to somebody else. So, in essence, you have zero control over where the money goes anyway (maybe the person you pick wouldn't have been picked, maybe they would have been, how do you know?) and thus it feels no different than just giving money to an org that is going to lend it out as it sees fit. To me, and I'm sure many, the attraction of kiva was some connection to the money; if I see a particular person who seems a good fit I can choose them and give them the money, but if in fact that's mostly a facade, the magic is lost in a huge way for me.

EDIT: Just read the same on wiki:

When Kiva began, lenders chose who could borrow their money. Since then, the system has changed, so that loans are paid to borrowers before their stories are posted to Kiva‘s website.[17][18] This is disclosed on Kiva‘s site; each loan proposal states whether funds were pre-disbursed. Thus, lenders‘ loan funds are likely go to borrowers other than those chosen by the lenders.[19] Whether lenders‘ preferences are used for lender preference trend analysis by any field partners or Kiva is not stated. Kiva‘s response has been to keep pre-disbursing but be clearer about the process[20] in its legal terms[21] but not in its main process description.[22]
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Meh, I am going to pull my money and give it to a local mission or something. Fvck this sh*t. Unless there is another group like Kiva that actually goes by the donators' choices...?
 
Skoorb said:
I have a problem with Kiva. I got my money back, apparently the guy paid it back and that's great. The problem is that on each of the loans there is a huge caveat it says on the page about how it's possible the person has already been funded, in which case your money may end up going to somebody else. So, in essence, you have zero control over where the money goes anyway (maybe the person you pick wouldn't have been picked, maybe they would have been, how do you know?) and thus it feels no different than just giving money to an org that is going to lend it out as it sees fit. To me, and I'm sure many, the attraction of kiva was some connection to the money; if I see a particular person who seems a good fit I can choose them and give them the money, but if in fact that's mostly a facade, the magic is lost in a huge way for me.

EDIT: Just read the same on wiki:



Meh, I am going to pull my money and give it to a local mission or something. Fvck this sh*t. Unless there is another group like Kiva that actually goes by the donators' choices...?
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The money still goes to the same organization/country.. so it's not a big deal to me.
 
Scouzer said:
The money still goes to the same organization/country.. so it's not a big deal to me.
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Yeah, the guy you're trying to loan to had his loan covered by previous lenders on Kiva. Also, your money comes back to you as your chosen lendee pays his loan back.

It's not a perfect system, but it's a realistic one.
 
My family has 5 loans out...they all say that once dispersed, they'll provide updates. None has posted a single update since being funded, including some that are 100% repaid. Frustrating - who knows what's really happening with our cash...
 
i started in 2008. lent $800 total so far (thats a $200 investment that i relend once paid back) and i haven't lost any money yet.

ive only lent to those people who have all stars on their risk rating.
 
Net said:
i started in 2008. lent $800 total so far (thats a $200 investment that i relend once paid back) and i haven't lost any money yet.

ive only lent to those people who have all stars on their risk rating.
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I should clarify this: the stars are Kiva's opinion the organization's risk factor. Not the individual borrower's risk rating.

If you want to see raw data per organization:

http://www.kivadata.org/partner.php
 
Its 2011 and we are at 105 loans total! Thanks everyone 🙂

I'm pleased to report that I'm at 34 loans after 3 years and still haven't lost any money. Loan at your own risk though.
 
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