personal microloan

[jd-science.livejournal.com]

Hi there-

I have a friend whose father, back in Africa, needs surgery. This friend is pretty reliable, but I don't know him so well that I'm willing to just give him all the money up front. On the other hand, I have met his father (and family) and do want to do what I can do help him, medically.

Do any of you know of any sites where we can set up a microloan, so that I can see other folks who are helping him out with this, and we can all sort of hold him accountable for paying us back, collectively?

Thanks.

Comments

[mzrowan.livejournal.com]

WePay (https://www.wepay.com/) might work for this.

[mfinnigan.livejournal.com]

That looks good for donations or selling stuff, it doesn't look like it does loans at all.

Prosper

[mfinnigan.livejournal.com]

This is what Prosper is for. I'm not aware of any other general-purpose microlending sites; I've put money into Kickstarter projects because I like music but that won't do what you want at all, unless your friend's dad is really good with a Telecaster.

Re: Prosper

[mfinnigan.livejournal.com]

Doing some searching, there's also Kiva and Microplace. I gave some money to Kiva about a year ago and got it back with a couple extra cents and some chocolate.

Re: Prosper

[jd-science.livejournal.com]

thanks - how would a single individual (non-entrepreneur) sign up for these, though?

Re: Prosper

[mfinnigan.livejournal.com]

Read their sites. Looking at both of them, the person wanting money needs to find a local microfinance institution - presumably one in Africa. Maybe that won't work for your friend's dad's situation? I mean, he could just be some guy in Cairo or Tunis, I don't think there's a lot of microlending in developed urban areas.

So then, there's prosper. There's also Lending Club.

Re: Prosper

[jd-science.livejournal.com]

great - thanks for the info, pointers, and research!

[badoingdoing.livejournal.com]

You can also DIY an old-school promissory note with the terms for the loan. You can find examples online for various states.

[daviscubed.livejournal.com]

www.lendingclub.com, I think.

[jd-science.livejournal.com]

Prosper and Lending Club look good. Only hitch is that this guy is a recent immigrant, may not have the credit record for this. But we'll move forward. thanks!

[laryu.livejournal.com]

Last I checked, Prosper and Lending Club can no longer accept loans from Massachusetts residents.

[redcolumbine.livejournal.com]

LendFriend is designed for this, but I've never used it. http://www.lendfriend.me/

[on-reserve.livejournal.com]

http://www.modestneeds.org
Modest Needs helps out people who have immediate, moderate and unexpected bills. It's grant-based, not loan-based but given proper documentation this sounds exactly like the kind of thing they help people with.