Recruiter's Reward Winner Announced

On November 5th, in 'Recruiter's Reward', I said that to help the project grow I would give a $25 Kiva Card to the Genealogists for Families team member who recruited the most new Kiva members by 15 Dec 2011. I also explained how to use your personal referral link.

There was a very clear winner - Peter. He recruited 22 people via his LostCousins newsletter. Congratulations and thank you, Peter! Please email me and tell me where to send your Kiva Card.

In a more recent LostCousins newsletter Peter says that between Christmas and New Year the LostCousins site will be totally free. That is, all members will have subscriber privileges whether nor not they have paid a subscription. I'm glad I heard about this is advance. I've recently found more relatives in the 1911 British census, and if I enter them on my LostCousins page before the free period starts, it will increase my chances of being contacted by others who are researching my families.

Recruiter's Reward

To help the project grow, I am offering a Recruiter's Reward. I will personally email a $25 Kiva Card to the Genealogists for Families team member who recruits the most new members by 15 Dec 2011.

On 15 Dec 2011 (Australian time) I will look at team members' lender pages to see how many names (if any) are listed under 'YourName's Invites'. To see an example, go to my page (opens in a new window) and scroll down to 'Judy's Invites'. The person who has recruited the most new members who have made a loan will be rewarded with a $25 Kiva Card.

If your given name appears on the team members list, you are eligible. If you are there as Anonymous, you may want to change the settings on your lender page so that you can take part in competitions and prize draws.

'Invites' will appear on your lender page if someone joins the team via your unique Kiva invitation link. You can put that link in your emails, blogs etc. To find the HTML code to use:

1. Log in to Kiva.
2. Click 'My Teams'.
3. Click 'Genealogists for Families'.
4. Click 'Recruit Friends'. You will see a screen that looks like this (but with your referral link, not mine, in the field at the bottom).

The recruiting strategy that has worked best for me is a brief email to friends, relatives and other people who know me (including family historians with whom I connect online). Here is a sample email:

Genealogists worldwide, and their friends and relatives, are working as a team to help small family businesses in low income areas. Our motto is, 'We care about families (past, present and future)'. Already the Genealogists for Families project has 63 members helping 91 individuals or groups. It would be great if you'd join our team at [insert your Kiva referral link here]. More information is on http://genfamilies.blogspot.com/. If you know someone else who may be interested, please forward this email.

I avoid using the word 'loan' in the email in case it gets marked as spam. To get the latest stats on members and loans, scroll down the team page at Kiva.

So... the race is on! Be creative, have fun, and know that someone out there will have a better life because of your efforts.

UPDATE, 15 Dec 2011: The winner of the Recruiter's Reward has been announced.