Every year, I send my clients, vendors and business partners holiday cards. It’s a great way to say "thank you". In recent years, I’ve shifted to New Year’s cards, when people are back in the office and a little more ready to actually spend a moment or two on reading the card. Plus it avoids offending anyone who doesn’t celebrate holidays in December — just about everyone is okay with New Year’s.
As a green-thinking, home-based business owner who strives to reduce waste, I’ve been wondering if I should give up holiday cards and move to an alternative. A few businesses I know send out electronic cards — but they’re ad agencies and graphic designers, so you can imagine just how fabulous those are. I’ve also thought about donating what I would have spent on cards.
However, I just started a donation team at Kiva. Kiva allows people to make microloans — really tiny loans — to people in other parts of the world. You can help someone buy inventory for their business, buy a motorcycle to use as a taxi, buy a stove, expand their house, go to school — there are tons of options. See http://www.kiva.org/team/consultant_journal. If you’d like to join the team, please do so! It’s $25 to get started and the wonderful thing about making microloans is that, when you’re paid back, you can donate the money again (or pocket it, if you need to!). I’ve been making loans for a few years now and I’ve helped families throughout the world. I love making Kiva loans and encourage you to consider it, whether you’re sending out holiday cards or not.
Still interested in holiday cards? See: