I donate to Kiva because the lendees show their plans about what to do with the money and what they've done so far. Many of them already have the business in place and want to expand, so you know they already have a proven track record. There are non-profit organizations to back them up. If I want to lend to someone based on gender, country or business I can. You see a history of loans that were backed with each non-profit, so you know what your chances are of being paid back.

The other thing I appreciate about Kiva is that you can give microloans to businesses in the United States and it's the first organization I've heard of that does it. Most microloan organizations promote efforts outside the US, but small business owners are really struggling now because of the recession. I used to live in Boston and I leant money to someone starting a laundromat there. I appreciate the fact that I can provide microloans to people who live closer to me and not just people overseas. Nice one @inertia