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Comment by _ll5a | Hacker News Reader

If you really want to help people, find a charity to donate to via Givewell. It won't feel as warm and fuzzy as volunteering, but in most cases that's the best way you can actually help people in need.

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Relevant: Fuzzies vs. Utilons

http://lesswrong.com/lw/6z/purchase_fuzzies_and_utilons_sepa...

I'm using kiva.org and have deposited $9,000 over couple of years. With auto-relend option my account circulated currently $58,325 through 2,268 loans (individuals or groups) in 61 countries.

http://www.kiva.org/lender/kizaemon

For auto-relend I chose all countries except US, both genders. The sectors are Agriculture, Clothing, Education, Food, Health, Manufacturing, Retail. Have not chosen sectors Arts, Construction, Entertainment, Housing, Personal Use, Services, Transportation, Wholesale, as I do not feel these are basic enough.

FYI, kiva is a scam (in as much as the company is incompetent) that primarily props up predatory lenders in other countries

Great. Now here's the question. What's better, having loans available at high interest, or having no loans available at all?

I'll go with the former.

It's not clear that the presence or absence of kiva affects the calculus at all.

I'm not disagreeing with you, and recall reading elsewhere about Kiva's deceptive practices, but could you back up that claim with some evidence, or at least a more detailed explanation?

Previous HN discussion on the matter

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7214353

Evidence: Just look at the portfolio yield of many of kiva's lenders.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kiva_(organization)#Current_int...

If you're making more than a percent or two interest in what you believe is warm-fuzzy charitable lending, you're simply deluded. Almost all of these enjoy double digit interest rate yields... that's after losses for defaults. Most are around 30% some over 80%. It is very obviously a morally bankrupt practice which has managed to clothe itself as a charity.

This is why I've stopped believing in giving to on-the-door charity pleas, or give-some-money-to-X-before-you-check-your-goods-out-at-the-checkout. It seems much better to properly research one or a handful of organizations and give to those, than to give to organizations you have hardly heard of because of the immediate social pressure.

I used to donate through Kiva until I discovered that the whole "directing" story was just marketing. That doesn't make Kiva evil, but it does remove much of the feel-good motivation of supporting a named project.

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