What About Really Small Gifts (and Loans)?

Interest in "mini" or "micro" grants has grown a great deal in recent years, often fueled by donor interest in supporting individuals, microenterprise development, and global efforts to alleviate poverty.  Combined with the power of technology to connect individual donors with projects and people, these efforts have produced highly innovative and successful online vehicles to make this type of giving easy and efficient.

DonorsChoose.org (www.donorschoose.org) 
Pioneered by teachers at a Bronx public high school, this website enables teachers to ask for materials and experiences their students need to learn and enables donors to choose to give to the classroom project they find most compelling.

Kiva (www.kiva.org)
Uses technology to help individuals make mini-loans to specific entrepreneurs in the developing world. Lenders receive periodic updates on the use of their loan and are typically paid back within 6-12 months.

Global Giving (www.globalgiving.org)
Connects donors to over 450 pre-screened grassroots projects around the world.  Donors can search by issue area and/or country.