Holiday Giving… or Friendly Lending

The Grange Farm School works to improve the future of farming by training the next generation of farmers.  We recognize how important community support is in that endeavor, and are constantly stressing the fact that a network is key to success in farming.

From the moment of this school’s inception, there has been a herculean amount of help from the community, families, and friends. This school would not be possible without the expanding team of people involved. We’d like to take this time, around the holidays and new year, to thank every one of those people — small and large contributors alike – that helped us through 2015 and launched us towards a productive 2016.

With this in mind, we’d like to share the work of another incredible non-profit, Kiva and KivaZip.

What is KIVA?
[kee-vuh]

“We are a non-profit organization with a mission to connect people through lending to alleviate poverty. Leveraging the internet and a worldwide network of microfinance institutions, Kiva lets individuals lend as little as $25 to help create opportunity around the world.

100% of every dollar you lend on Kiva goes directly towards funding loans; Kiva does not take a cut.”

How it works:  

1. Choose a borrower
2. Make a loan
3. Get Repaid
4. Repeat!

What Kiva does is expand community support worldwide to people who are unable to access funding in conventional ways. Through micro financing, we the people, are given the opportunity to replace the banks, to replace the corporations, who have high interest rates and no interest in the actual people. Trust can be placed in strangers, and the crowdfunding theory of many small drops in the bucket can launch new businesses and operations.

The new year and the holiday season are a wonderful time to reflect on how lucky we all are and to give back. We live in a consumer based culture, obsessed with buying new things we really do not need. This year, think about lending money to someone who needs a little help, or donating to the Grange Farm School to help our program develop the final stages of infrastructure.

Again, from everyone here at the Grange Farm School, happy holidays and new years. May 2016 be a time of community involvement, health, and support!

Check out www.kiva.org
And while you’re at it, check out the many ways to contribute to the Grange Farm School: www.GrangeFarmSchool.org/Contribute

Also, if you’d like to be added to our monthly newsletter, email us at Info@GrangeFarmSchool.org