The Perfect Last-Minute Coworker Holiday Gift

Oftentimes, managers who want to reward staff members with a holiday gift are faced with a conundrum.  How do I get a coworker something that is somewhat personal, without playing favorites or coming off as inappropriate?

That’s where Kiva can help.

What is Kiva?  
Kiva is a non-profit organization with a mission to connect people through lending to alleviate poverty. Kiva lets individuals lend as little as $25 to help create opportunity around the world.

Why It’s a Great Gift
What’s neat about giving a Kiva gift card as a holiday gift is that the recipient can choose where to place the money.

Your coworker can browse the Kiva website to determine who they would like to lend the money to.  They can choose to help a family in India pay for bricks to build a house or help a family in Mexico buy fruits to sell from a farm stand.  There are hundreds of ways to help.

In essence, you are giving a charitable gift card that lets the recipient play an active role in how they help.

How It Works
Your employee or coworker can come back to Kiva.org for progress reports on how the endeavor they backed is performing.  They will also see Kiva credit deposited in their account as the lendee pays back the loan.  This money can then be lent to another cause of their choosing.

Loans have a 99% repayment rate.

How to Give
Kiva Cards can be given by email, snail mail, posted to a Facebook wall or printed and delivered by you in person.

Tip
I have given Kiva gift cards to employees in the past. Even though it’s a well-established organization, there are many people who are not familiar with how they work or how the gift card can be used.  Take the time to print out a short explanation to include with the gift when presenting it in order to avoid any confusion.

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