PlusOne - Musings of a marketer

I must admit I am a bit cynical when it come to aid charities.

Especially when I know that they have collection processes through the affiliate networks and offer the affiliate 30 percent of the donation, plus the percentage the network takes.

I won’t promote them if they do this. Its totally misleading to the person donating. Same as the street collectors. In many cases they are not volunteers but on similar commission rates.

But here is a different way to help third world countries Kiva - Loans that change lives.

These are repayable micro loans. This means you can recycle the money many times over.

Browsing through the loan reasons, it is INCREDIBLE the business opportunities that exist in these communities - business opportunities that exist merely because of the poverty conditions they live in.

For example, one woman needed a loan to buy a generator to recharge batteries. The batteries were used in homes for basic lighting.

To me that is a much better way of helping.

Feel like being part of a collaborative group on setting up a fund raising system?

Let me know you ideas via comments.