HIKING THE MONEY TRAIL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Welcome again kind friends, neighbors, acquaintances, total strangers, pets of the aforementioned, and anyone else reading this at the moment. In the humble words of Crosby, Stills & Nash, "It's been a long time comin'..." but that time has finally arrived and I absolutely need to share this news with all of you!! No! Really! I can't keep it to myself any longer!!

TPF HAS SPENT YOUR MONEY

Okay, we've spent some of your money. Actually, we've spent $200.00 of your money. On Wednesday (August 5, 2009), the Foundation made four Kiva loans in the amount of $50.00 each. Rather than me taking up valuable space describing each of the Entrepreneurs, I'll let Kiva do that instead. Click the image (or "Courtesy of" link for each one) to be taken to their respective Kiva profiles. They explain things much better than I could do in a sentence or two. (Oh, keep reading because there will be more (important) details at the end.)

OUR LOAN RECIPIENTS FOR AUGUST 5, 2009

Aminata Ndao, Senegal. Photo Courtesy of Kiva.org

Pel Lys Group, Cambodia. Photo Courtesy of Kiva.org

Cusi Ccoyllor De Chinchero Group, Peru. Photo Courtesy of Kiva.org

Jehova Es Mi Pastor 1-3 Group, Dominican Republic. Photo Courtesy of Kiva.org

CHECK OUT OUR ENTREPRENEUR'S MAP TOO! It's pretty cool!! And, you'll be able to follow the money trail! WOOHOO!!

SO, WHAT'S THE PLAN, STAN??

So glad you asked!!!
On July 28th, TPF's PayPal account received an $850.00 contribution thanks to the Tour de France Wiki Competiton. On July 29th, the AdSense earnings of $118.13 were also transfered over to PayPal. (That one took a few days.) By August 5th, the transfer was completed and a total of $950.00 was placed in TPF's Kiva account. (We have a whopping $18.13 remaining on PayPal just waiting for some more friends (contributions) to stop by.) As mentioned in the last blog entry, that $950 could have been used to make 38 loans immediately. That seemed a bit excessive all at once. It also meant a lot of tracking, mapping, a very long blog entry, and an even longer waiting time before more funds would be available. Where's the fun in that?!

The Foundation will be making regularly scheduled Kiva loans over the next few months - well, 2.375 months to be exact. A set of four $50.00 loans will be made every two weeks, encompassing all parts of the world and all walks of life. In thinking about how Entrepreneurs should be chosen - randomly or with a designated purpose - the "purpose" approach won. What does everyone need for survival? Tops on the list should be: 1) food, 2) clothing, 3) shelter and 4) health because they are the basic necessities of life.

As you've seen (if you clicked the photos), these first four loans centered around food in one way or another because food is, after all, crucial to everyone's survival. Hopefully, the next set of four will revolve around the manufacturing of clothing. Following that, it will be supporting the construction of shelter and then supporting small clinics/health care facilities and personnel. It's a plan. One that may be subject to change depending on available Entrepreneurs in any given endeavor. But, it's a start and one we hope will work well.

OTHER REALLY COOL STUFF

TRAVEL UNRAVELLED

Please check out the Travel Unravelled blog. Again, it is designed to be a self help project where you, as travelers, have the opportunity to help others with their adventures. Click here for more details and the article submission process. (PS: TPF will receive a $5.00 contribution for each published article.)

THE BOOK CLUB

Please check out The Book Club blog too. TP members are encouraged to submit reviews about books they have read (good or bad) while sitting in airports or bus stations or coffee houses or wherever. Please click here for more details and submission information. (PS: TPF will receive contributions through the Amazon Affiliates program when purchases are made (on Amazon) by following a book review link. Those purchases don't need to be just books either.)

Again, thank you for visiting the TP Foundation's blog!!!! Stay tuned to WTPF for the latest breaking news about our Entrepreneur loans and other neat stuff!!! (And, that's just my two cents worth...)