Let me make it clear at the outset that I haven’t personally tried the site described below, but it sounds great.

One of the more interesting and practical ways to assist the working poor around the world is via “micro loans” - small loans of as little as $25 to people (mostly in the developing world) who want to start small businesses. Kiva.org seems to be a well-thought-out way to do this. Kiva connects you to a specific business person (pre-screened) who needs a small amount (by our standards) of money to empower him/herself to escape poverty. The idea has been around for awhile, but Kiva masterfully handles the details.

I first heard of Kiva this week on Signal vs. Noise, but they’ve apparently gotten so much recent publicity from Oprah Winfrey and Bill Clinton that every pre-screened businessperson has been funded - for now. They promise more soon. In the meantime, you can donate to fund Kiva’s operating expenses (which are monetized separately from the loan money so that 100% of your loan goes to the intended businessperson). Cool idea.