Do you guys know how much I love Kiva?  Well I do.  A lot.  I even made it a recipient in the first year of doing Comments for a Cause because I believe in what they do so much.  I am a part of several teams and the family team I am on has the following statistics:

19  TEAM MEMBERS

$28,825  AMOUNT LOANED

889 LOANS

46.8 LOANS PER MEMBER

So what is Kiva?  Kiva is a micro financing system which allows contributors like you and I to donate in amounts of $25 to help fund businesses and efforts all across the world .  How does it work?  Here is the step by step that their website shares:

How to Use Kiva

1. Choose a borrower
Read through hundreds of borrower stories of people looking for loans to grow businesses, go to school, switch to clean energy and more. Find someone who connects with you.

2. Make a loan
Click ‘Lend’ to make a loan to the borrower of your choice. All Kiva loans are disbursed by our Field Partners who vet and work closely with each borrower.

3. Get repaid
Get updates as the borrowers you support succeed and repay their loans. You’ll see these dollars return to your Kiva account.

4. Repeat!
When borrowers repay, you can use that money to empower another person by supporting a new loan! You can also choose to donate the money to Kiva or withdraw it.

See how simple it is to be a part of change?  Guess what?  It is as easy as not going out to a movie this weekend.  Please consider helping change a woman’s life by reading the following and acting !

How You Can Actually Change a Woman’s Life on International Women’s Day…for the Cost of a Movie Date

 Get ready to hear a lot about women. March 8 is International Women’s Day (not to mention March being Women’s History Month), and we guarantee that you’ll be seeing—and sharing— inspirational stories and motivational quotes everywhere. But here’s something easy you can actually do.

One Week… One Million Dollars… One Woman at a Time

Kiva.org/Her, which crowd-funds loans to help women build small businesses and lift their families out of poverty, has issued a challenge: Can we raise one million dollars in one week to support women around the world?

If that sounds like a big goal, don’t worry: you don’t have to be Bill Gates to play. The idea behind crowdfunding is that if we each chip in what we can—and it can be as little as 25 bucks, or the cost of a date-night at the movies—it adds up fast. Think Kickstarter that changes lives. (And by the way, Kiva’s been in the crowd-funding game for years longer than Kickstarter).

OK, tell me a story.

So what can I do?

In celebration of International Women’s Day, here’s a date-night idea for this week: Instead of spending that $25 on movie tickets, kick in for Kiva’s One Million in One Week campaign. Then throw a bag of popcorn in the microwave, snuggle under a cozy blanket, and turn on a Netflix—knowing you’ve helped a woman like Roberte build a business, support her kids and achieve her dreams.

Still not sure? Here’s the best part:

At Kiva.org/Her, your $25 is a loan, not a donation like at most nonprofits. Since 98% of Kiva loans get paid back, chances are you’ll still get another shot at that movie date later this year! Although we’re willing to bet that once you’ve experienced what it’s like to change someone’s life, you’ll want to relend that 25 bucks to support a new loan and keep the cycle going.

But for now: Take a rain check on the movie date and join Kiva.org/Her in doing something awesome for someone else this International Women’s Day.

Oh and by the way—if you would like to be a part of the Chiles Brown team click here and sign up to join our team!  I would love to welcome you into the family.

Don’t forget that for every comment made on any blog post during March a donation of 50 cents will be made to the Women’s Prison Book Project.  Read more about it here.