Denise Wakeman's Big Five-0 Kiva.org Challenge

For some time I've been thinking about how I want to acknowledge and celebrate my 50th birthday. Many people doing business on the Web, celebrate with sales and special deals. While I could do that too, I really wanted to do something that would make a meaningful impact on the lives of others.

Then it hit me. Why not marry my passion for the work of Kiva.org with my love of the Internet and social media and rally my community of entrepreneurs to help entrepreneurs in developing countries?

So here it is...

In celebration of my 50th birthday, my goal is to attract $5,000 in loans = 200 loans @ $25 (or more!). I'm a huge fan of Kiva and as an entrepreneur it's important to me to give back where and when I can. As part of an online community of entrepreneurs, my hope is that my colleagues will join me in this endeavor to help others who don't have the resources we have access to, so they can build their businesses and changes the lives of the people they touch. The Big Five-0 Challenge takes place during the month of June 2009.

Here's how you can participate:

1. Go to my team lending page and click on the big green Join Now button to log in or sign up for a new account on Kiva.org.

 

2. If you don't already have an account, you'll be asked to set one up. Make sure you complete your profile with a picture and bio info so we can all learn more about each other. If you already have an account, then log in. You will be on your Portfolio page.

 

3. Click on the Lend button to find an entrepreneur you would like to help support with a $25 (that's the minium and you can lend more or make multiple $25 loans).

You can filter several criteria to find an entrepreneur that resonates with you. Once you find one, click on the green Lend $25 button.

 

4. You can continue to look for more entrepreneurs to loan to or click on the link that says Loan Added! Checkout >>>

5. Next - this is very important - you will select the team your loan is being allocated to -- my team: Denise Wakeman's Big Five 0 Challenge!

 

You can add more loans or click Continue to complete the loan.

6. Next you have the opportunity to support Kiva.org with a few dollars to help them defray their operating expenses. This is totally optional and you can choose by using the drop down menu. I usually give a couple of dollars. It's tax deductible (in the U.S., don't know about anywhere else).

7. Proceed to the payment page.  NOTE: you do not earn interest on these loans. You can choose to withdraw your investment when it's been repaid, or like I do, roll it into a new loan. I've made 17 loans to date and have a 100% repayment rate.

 

I had a balance in my account from repaid funds, but not quite enough for the $25 loan so I had to add funds. Kiva only accepts payment through PayPal so you can either pay from your PayPal account or use your credit card through PayPal (without having an account).

8. Finally, share the news with your Facebook fans. Kiva makes it easy for you to share your philanthropy on your profile with a click of a button.

 

Actually there are a couple more things...

• Go back to the team page and post a message to the team. Let us know why you joined the team, what made you pick the entrepreneur you're supporting or anything else you'd like to share about the Challenge.
• Tell everyone! If you're on twitter, tweet about the challenge*, invite others to participate and send me an @ message to let me know you joined the challenge. If you're not already following me, you can do so here: http://www.DeniseOnTwitter.com, then @DeniseWakeman to alert me to your loan.
• Share this link on Facebook to let your friends know about the challenge: http://www.biztipsblog.com/denise-wakeman-kiva-challenge.html
• Blog about it.
• I've seen what can happen when people come together and buzz about worthwhile projects. I'd like this Challenge to EXCEED my $5,000 goal!

*Sample Tweet:

Join @DeniseWakeman's Big Five-0 Challenge to raise $5000 in loans for Kiva.org http://budurl.com/kiva50 #big50

(Be sure to use the link provided so I can track click-throughs, and use the hashtag #big50 so I can track tweets!)

There's another win in this for you.

I'm going to give a free VIP teleseminar to everyone who joins the team and makes a loan. The program is tentatively scheduled for July 2 at 2 pm Pacific. I'm currently developing a new teleseminar on business blogging mastery and team members will get an exclusive program -- just for you. An invitation and details will be sent when you make your first loan.

I think that's it. If you have questions or comments about the Challenge, please post them in the comments section so I can respond. I may add updates as things come up over the course of the month.

The Challenge officially starts on June 1 and ends on June 30. With your help, I KNOW we can achieve the goal of 200 $25 loans ($5,000) or MORE. Join my team now... please!

Thank you!

P.S. Be sure to read the comments. There's a good tip if you want to extend your visibility.

Comments

[Denise Wakeman]

I've made the first loan. Who's next?
http://www.kiva.org/team/denise_wakeman

[Stephanie LH Calahan aka @StephCalahan]

My account is created and loan is made! Great idea and HAPPY BIRTHDAY Denise! http://www.kiva.org/lender/StephCalahan

[Stephanie LH Calahan aka @StephCalahan]

My account has been created and loan processed. Great idea Denise! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!
http://www.kiva.org/lender/StephCalahan

[Denise Wakeman]

If you're an entrepreneur, business owner, job seeker, then make sure you complete your Kiva.org profile. It's an opportunity to tell people about what you do and how to find you. Don't think that since may not have anything to do with your biz that it's not important. It is. Here's a post I wrote about why you need to keep your profiles up to date on ALL sites where you have the opportunity to post info.

http://www.biztipsblog.com/2009/03/is-your-social-networking-profile-up-to-date.html

An excellent example of a Kiva profile is Stephanie Calahan's. You can take a look by clicking the link on her comment above.

[Denise Wakeman]

Thanks for your support and participation, Stephanie!

BTW, your Kiva profile is an excellent example that everyone should model.

Blog on!

[Denise Wakeman]

We have 8 team members, 11 loans and $300 towards the $5,000 goal so far.

Thank you!

[John Vonhof]

Thanks for the challenge. I just made my donation. Always love doing these sort of investments. And, of course, have a great birthday.

[Denise Wakeman]

We're off to a great start:

14 team members
17 loans
$475 raised

Spread the word: send people to this page for the details.

Thank you!

[Mark Simmons]

This is awesome, Denise. I'll donate tonight.

BTW, I saw your post and comments on my TypePad dashboard. I think this is first donation driven by the TypePad dashboard and following. :)

Hooray!

[Denise Wakeman]

Mark, that is so cool! Don't you just love all these tools that make it easier to connect and share and do good things?

Thanks for participating in my Big Five-0 Kiva Birthday Challenge!