Happy Martin Luther King Day, and Happy Obamanauguration!

In the spirit of "a day of service" please consider giving a loan through Kiva, an international micro-lending organization. For as little as $25 you can help somebody start or improve a business in Cambodia, India, Guatemala, Afghanistan. And when the money is paid back to you, you can just re-lend it to someone else. Really, it's that simple. And a gift that keeps on giving.

Check out the website here. It's a totally legit organization, with very low overhead, that has won awards for the work they do. Every $25 (or whatever amount) you give is like $250 or $2500 to someone in the developing world.

Thanks to Kelli, for turning me on to Kiva a while back.

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PS: It looks like there has been a huge response the past week to funding at Kiva, and all the existing loans have been funded (almost a million dollars in a week!). You might have to try back in a few days, or just purchase a gift certificate to use later. I've logged on several times, and new loans seem to get posted and filled in a matter of minutes right now. Pretty amazing.