Helping to Educate $5 At A Time

I came across this website, Givology.com, in an article in the Seattle Times today.  Taking a page from the Kiva playbook, which I had discussed in an earlier post, Givology targets small grants to promote education in developing countries.  Unlike Kiva, donors which involves lenders providing zero-interest loans to entrepreneurs, those participating in the Givology platform are donating funds for individuals or for education projects in countries such as China, India, Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda. 

"Givology partners with leading grassroots non-profit organizations, local communities, and schools to sponsor education grants and innovative community-based education projects. Through our website, you can support these initiatives and scholarships."

Here are some additional details on how it works:
           

          A quick summary of the donor's experience...

It begins when you click on a student profile to learn more about each child. If you already have a particular type of student that you wish to support, Givology offers a search function to screen the database of students open for sponsorship. After reading different profiles, you decide who to partially or fully sponsor. When a student is fully funded, money is channeled to our local partners across the globe, who disburse the funding after they check up on the students, their families, and their schools. In essence, funding is directly transferred from your wallet into the hands of students across the world to offset tuition and school expenses...and to bring hope of a better future.

Through our messaging system, you can send students a letter of encouragement and ask about their lives, their aspirations, and the challenges they face. On a regular basis, we aggregate and print out letters from donors and send a package to the student. We then scan and upload student responses to their blog. Check your inbox regularly to view the deadlines for sending a message out to the students that you sponsor. Through Givology, we connect you to rural villages and students far across the world.

The message that we want to send Givology students is:

Physical location and financial condition should not isolate them the pursuit of knowledge and self-improvement.

And the message to you, the donor is:

You have the ability to choose the student whose future you can directly transform. Your contribution directly funds the dreams of bright minds across the globe.

Become a part of Givology as a donor, and "Give to learn. Learn to give."