I’ve been doing this site for several years now… It’s about as capitalist a way as you can get to help the poor\needy. Essentially, you can loan money to poor people in 3rd world countries all over the globe. Most of them are trying to build a business or better their lives in some way.
Essentially the company, Kiva, sets up relationships with local banks all over the world. These banks interview loan applications and typically have some sort of relationship with the community.
Basically, you can pick who you want to fund. You can read their story, etc. Also, Kiva shows a 98.72% loan repayment rate, so it’s highly likely that you will get all of your money back. When that happens, you can choose to withdraw it out of the system or re-lend it to someone else. I’ve only made about 21 loans so far, and I think I did have one default and I lost about $6.36 if I remember correctly. So, essentially, I helped change people’s lives for the low cost of $6.36!
You do not get interest on the money. It’s basically just a charity. The cool thing about it though is that you can use the same money over and over again to help multiple families.