By Traci Newell

The Foothill College Microcredit Club, in an effort to offer opportunities for everyone to help fight world poverty, invited Kiva.org co-founder Matt Flannery to speak at a campuswide event last week.

More than 100 students listened to Flannery explain how they could contribute, with as little as $25, to the fight against poverty.

The world’s first person-to-person micro-lending Web site, Kiva.org’s mission is to enable individuals to lend directly to entrepreneurs in developing countries.

“Kiva has made it ridiculously easy for any one of us to go out there and make a difference,” said Brian Evans, economics instructor and club adviser. “They have empowered us, just as they have empowered people living in poverty.”

To begin lending, a person can visit Kiva.org to browse the list of thousands of struggling business owners in 40 countries such as Tanzania, Samoa, Peru and Kenya. The lender can select one of the entrepreneurs and submit the amount of his or her loan. Kiva filters the money and distributes it to a microcredit institution working in the area of the chosen entrepreneur.

“It’s a loan, not a donation,” Flannery said. “Oftentimes with a donation you give and never hear back. Lending is really interesting. These people are real, they aren’t poster children on the Web site. We are connecting with people.”

Throughout the course of the loan (usually 6-12 months), the lender can receive e-mail journal updates from his or her entrepreneur and track repayments. Flannery said that 99.7 percent of the loans have been paid in full.

To date, Kiva.org has lent $27 million, which Flannery attributes to the positive press and organic word-of-mouth growth.

Kiva stays sustainable because of tips. At the point of sale for each loan, Kiva requests a 10 percent tip for operating expenses. Kiva nets approximately $200,000 a month, enough to break even.

John Paul Mayor, president of the Foothill Microcredit Club, said club members hoped the Foothill community would be able to put a face to Kiva after Flannery’s appearance on campus.

“It gives people a chance to connect to the cause,” Mayor said. “Kiva is a great chance for myself and other students to give back our resources by giving money to those who need it.”

The club has raised approximately $650 to distribute among 14 different entrepreneurs through Kiva.org. The funding has gone to a variety of people, such as Uyigue Alade. Alade sells provisions and drinks in Edo State, Nigeria, to make a living. The Microcredit Club lent Alade a portion of her $525 loan.

“Kiva is an easy way for anyone to loan, (for) as little as $25, to anyone in the world,” Mayor said.

The club already has had several loans paid in full.

“Seeing that it actually works is something we can share with other people,” Mayor said.

Contact Traci Newell at tracin@latc.com.