Kiva's Auto Lending - How and Why

This is an updated version of advice that I originally posted years ago. It reflects recent changes to the way Kiva operates.

If you haven't set an inactivity preference, Kiva may be required to send your funds to a state government if your account becomes inactive. It's therefore important to check your account's settings for 'Repayment', 'Inactivity' and 'Auto-Lending'.

Many Kiva loans are repaid in monthly installments, but if you are travelling, unwell or just very busy, you may not be able to check your Kiva credit after repayment day (which is usually about the 18th of the month). To avoid leaving money sitting idle when it could be used for another loan, and to control what happens to your Kiva credit when you depart this life, you can, as a precaution, set up Auto-Lending.

Auto-lending only happens if you fail to sign in within a certain number of days, which you specify. It can be up to 120 days. If you have $25 in credit but don't sign in, Kiva can act for you to allocate that credit to a new loan. You can control the choice of loans by setting criteria such as countries, sectors, risk rating, repayment term, gender, etc.

Here's what to do.

1. Sign in to Kiva, and (in the dropdown list near your profile photo) select 'Settings'.



2. At 'Credit Settings', click 'Edit'.



3. Choose your preferences for 'Repayment settings' and 'Inactivity settings', then click 'Save settings'.



4. Check and adjust your Auto-Lending settings. Click on a link to change that particular setting (days, donation etc).



5. Choose when your balance would be auto-lent.



6. Specify what type of loans would be allocated if you don't log in to do it yourself within the time that you specified. Here's an example.



As I said, auto-lending only happens if you fail to sign in within the number of days that you specify. Please check your account settings! Do they suit the way you use Kiva now, and what you want to happen in the future?
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Join Genealogists for Families. Together we can make a difference!

How to turn off annoying emails and choose low-risk loans

Some of you may have seen today's Kiva team message from Gill, who is concerned about the possible negative impact of Kiva's promotional emails. I understand the point that Gill is making, but... please, people, do NOT quit Kiva...

If the emails annoy you, just turn them off!

I've explained this many times and in many places, but here are the details again.

1. If Kiva's promotional emails include an 'unsubscribe' link, use it. Or...
2. Sign in to Kiva, go to 'Settings' and then 'Email preferences', and un-tick 'News, inspiration and promotions'.

Also...

If you're unhappy with your repayment rate or delinquency rate, choose shorter loans, and loans that are lower risk. I've made 610 loans during the past 8 years, and my delinquency rate is only 0.71%. Yes, really!

Use this link to see a list of short-term, low-risk loans. Or...

To choose a borrower, use check boxes to filter the loans by any combination of criteria, including country, gender, groups or individuals, and sector (which often refers to the borrower's business - agriculture, arts, manufacturing, services etc). Use the 'Sort by' drop-down menu to display the loans in various ways. 'Loan length' sorts them with short-term loans at the top.

If you intend to search for similar loans in the future, set your filters and sort order, then create a bookmark in your browser.

At 'Risk rating', 'Delinquency' and 'Default', drag the circles left or right to set your preferred ranges. For example, if you are a cautious lender you might set the Risk rating at 3-5, Delinquency rate at 0%-5% and Default rate at 0%-1%.

This image shows some of the advanced settings in Kiva's 'classic view'; but you can switch to 'category view' if you wish.

Most of us 'recycle' our investment by relending the $25 each time it's repaid. By doing so, we have made a huge difference in the lives of many hard-working families who just needed a loan (not a handout). Please join us!

Making Money for Kiva via Online Surveys

This is an updated version of an earlier post.

Doing online surveys is an easy way to raise money for Kiva and other non-profit organisations (or for your 'genealogy wish-list').

Reputable sites do not generate spam emails or unwanted phone calls (and in most cases you can avoid giving them your phone number). Some of the surveys are conducted by Universities. Others involve trying new products, and I have 'tested' icecreams, cereal, kitchen wipes, teabags etc.

Some sites pay cash to your bank account or PayPal account. Others let you choose a gift card (Coles/Myer, Woolworths/Caltex, Amazon, iTunes, Bunnings, etc). Details are usually in FAQ or Help.

Survey panels to which I belong include:

1. Pure Profile: Available to residents of many countries. This site is my favourite, and (2022 update) I've earned $1,000 in one year here. Even if you are screened out of a survey, Pure Profile often pays you 5c-10c. Each time you log in, check what's currently available by selecting 'Surveys'. Even if it says 'Come back tomorrow', more surveys will usually become available at intervals throughout the day. The surveys will be more relevant if you answer the occasional 'profile' questions about your preferences and interests.


2. YouGov. Well designed surveys on a wide range of topics, and a good rewards system.


3. Australian Meal Panel: For Australians only. When asked for the 5 digit pin, enter 86127. Earn money by doing a 5-minute survey about food approximately every six weeks, and receive extra payments if you send in supermarket receipts. You will be paid via PayPal or by deposit to your bank account.

Don't despair if your earnings are low at first. In my experience, it gets better. Many surveys are targeted to specific groups, so you will increase your chances of being invited to relevant surveys if you answer the questions in your 'profile', update them periodically, and (if applicable) do the 'welcome survey' when you join.

Genealogists for Families members with some spare time may find surveys a good way to fund extra Kiva loans - or to earn money to buy family history documents (wills, birth death and marriage certificates, etc).

Inviting Friends

You can only see who joins Kiva because of you if they join by clicking on your personal referral link. You can put this in emails, blogs, Web pages, Facebook posts, tweets, etc.

Log in and look under 'Portfolio / Invite friends' - or to invite people to join Kiva and the 'Genealogists for Families' team, quote the link shown on www.kiva.org/team/genealogists/recruit.
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Kiva Cards, Lost Emails and Short Loans

Kiva Cards and Gifts:  As you plan your Christmas shopping, please consider choosing Kiva Cards and other gifts that support the work of Kiva.

Lost Emails:  If you are not getting Kiva's emails, they may be in your spam folder. Most repayments go into your Kiva account on about the 18th of the month, but they could arrive later. You might want to put a recurring reminder in your diary. If you are likely to be busy or away, set up Auto-Lending.

Short Term Loans:  I was recently asked how I had managed to make so many loans. My repayment installments cover the cost of several new loans each month, because I choose many short-term loans (as well as some longer ones). Each loan's page shows the Repayment Term (x.months) and Repayment Schedule (Monthly, Irregularly or End of term). If you don't know how to quickly select a short loan, use the link on this page.
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Join Genealogists for Families. Together we are making a difference!

Team Loans in need of Funding

If you don't particularly need to select a loan for a specific area, occupation etc, you may be interested in adding your support to a borrower chosen by another team member.

There are several ways to identify team loans that are not yet fully funded. For example:

• On the team page (the link opens in a new window), above the Family Tree logo, click 'Loans'.
• At 'Loan statuses to display', select 'Raising Funds'.

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Join Genealogists for Families. Together we are making a difference!

Progress Report and Team Tips

Progress Report:

The Genealogists for Families team now has over 200 members worldwide (Australia, Canada, Czech Republic, England, Netherlands, NZ, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Spain, USA and Wales). In less than nine months we have loaned a total of $19,000.

Team Tip No.1 - Choosing a Loan:

This week two new members of the 'Genealogists for Families' team asked for advice on selecting loans through Kiva.

1.  On www.kiva.org, click 'Sign in'. (I use an email address and password, not Facebook.)

2.  Click 'Lend'.

3.  To choose a borrower, use check boxes to filter the loans by any combination of criteria, including country, gender, groups or individuals, and sector (which often refers to the borrower's business - agriculture, arts, manufacturing, services etc).

4.  Click 'Advanced Options'. At 'Risk rating', 'Delinquency' and 'Default', drag the circles left or right to set your preferred ranges. For example, if you are a cautious lender you might set the Risk rating at 3-5, Delinquency rate at 0%-5% and Default rate at 0%-1%.

5.  Use the 'Sort by' drop-down menu to display the loans in various ways. 'Loan length' sorts them with short-term loans at the top. 'Ending soon' will show loans that are most urgently in need of funding.

6.  If you intend to search for similar loans in the future, set your filters and sort order, then create a bookmark in your browser.

Team Tip No.2 - Terminology:

Not sure what terms like 'delinquency' mean? If there is a dotted line under a word, hover the mouse pointer over it to see a pop-up explanation.

Team Tip No.3 - Expiring ('ending soon') Loans:

If a loan is not 100% funded within about 30 days, it will expire, and money that was received is refunded to the lender's Kiva account (and you can then choose another borrower).

Often this does no immediate harm to the borrower. Some Field Partners disburse loans before they are fully funded on Kiva - but if a loan expires, the Field Partner is seriously out of pocket. If that happens often, the Field Partner may eventually go out of business, which would have a negative impact on borrowers and their lenders.

If you have not yet joined our team ('Genealogists for Families'), you're welcome to do so as soon as you've made one $25 loan.

Kiva - there's an App for that! (Tuesday's Tip)

Have you have ever wished that it was easier to find a particular type of borrower (for example, one who needs a loan for further education)? There's an app for that!

If you are missing your 'preferred' borrowers because those loans are fully funded within hours, Kiva Alerts can send you an email whenever a suitable borrower is listed. For example, if you want to know about loans to students at Strathmore University in Kenya, set an alert for 'Loans from Field Partner'  - 'Strathmore University'.

Play around with the drop-down menu to set up alerts that match your favourite selection criteria.

This is just one of the applications that Kiva's App Gallery has for your computer, Windows Phone, Android, iPhone, iPod Touch, etc.

Join the Genealogists for Families Kiva team. Together we are making a difference!

T-shirts and Other Genealogy Conference Gear

How can we raise awareness of the Genealogists for Families project when we attend family history conferences?

* Wear a special T-shirt. I designed and ordered one from Vistaprint.

* Wear a tag (in a pin-on plastic name tag holder, not a lanyard) that says, in big black letters, 'Ask me what GFF is'.

* Hand out flyers. Design your own, or ask me to email you the one I use. To save paper, I print two to an A4 page and cut the pages in half.

* Have interesting examples to show people. Print the top section (down to the map) of the profiles for this group and this individual.

* Include the project's Web address on your genealogy trading cards. These are 'business cards' with your name, contact details, Website, blog, Twitter name, etc. I usually print my own (using sheets of cards available at Officeworks) but I also ordered some (free) from Vistaprint.

What else would you suggest?

'Rewards Central' Tip for Australians

Note: this tip only applies if you live in Australia.

If you use Rewards Central (which I mentioned in my post about online surveys), log in and go to Earn - Email rewards - then '8046 Our 10th anniversary giveaway'.

You can also order some great things free (except for postage) from Vistaprint. I ordered the free sticky notes, tote bag and mouse mat, all customised to advertise Genealogists for Families and the blog's Web address. Then I explored the rest of the site and ordered a free T-shirt, free pen and free bumper sticker, all publicising Genealogists for Families. I will wear the T-shirt at Congress 2012.

In my next blog post I will share the design I created for the T-shirt. You may want one too!

I will use the sticky notes, tote bag, mouse mat, pen and bumper sticker for a prize draw, or auction them at the next team meet-up and put the proceeds towards more Kiva loans. Are there any other team members willing to order freebies and do the same?

Repayment Day

My emails this morning included good news from Kiva: "We'd like to give you a repayment update on the loans you've made through Kiva. A total of $25.99 has been repaid today." (I made a lot of loans in September and October, hence the large repayment.) Needless to say I will be lending it again. I am looking forward to choosing my next borrower - I enjoy that process immensely!

If you are new to Kiva you may not know that repayments are usually made on the 17th or 18th of the month. Of course, it depends on the repayment schedule for your borrower. To find out what that is, look for something like this on the borrower's profile page (near the photo) and click on 'more info'.

Some of my loans are being repaid in monthly installments. Others are less regular (for example, if the business involves the raising and selling of livestock).

To see the 'big picture' for your repayments, go to 'Portfolio' - 'Estimated Repayments'.


Last month my repayments were only $3, so I added $22 and made another loan. This month's $25+ is very convenient!