On of the most important things for me in the organizations that I choose to get involved with is measured and managed results. Earlier this week I wrote a post about how much I enjoy being a part of Kiva and offering some invitations for other to get involved. I was pumped to see folks take me up on the offer. But even more exciting than that, they then invited some of their friends to get involved. And then they invited their friends. And, less than 12 hours later, 26 people had joined up with Kiva and made 31 new loans to help entrepreneurs in 17 different countries.  I was able to pull all this information together because of Kiva's awesome website and being able to see the impact that each person chose to make.

And, as I recently revealed, I carry Crayola markers in my backpack. Over coffee this morning I made my own version of an Infographic to depicted the spread of the impact.

Thanks to everyone who got involved and big props to Kiva for making this initiatives something that was so easy to be a part of and so transparent to show the reach of the impact.

I've talked about how much I like Kiva before. I've even said that I think more people should get involved. And, as of today, there is a pretty cool way to make that happen. Kiva has a limited number of $25 credits that they're giving to new partners, and I've been given the chance to give some out. If you've never helped an entrepreneur on Kiva before, it is a pretty awesome thing. You can lend as little at $25 to help small business owners around the world. Kiva then keeps you posted on their progress and the way that your funds are being used to help that person help their family and their community. Then, over the course of a couple months, your loan is repaid you get to reloan the money to someone else and make that impact again.

I have made 18 loans so far that have helped entrepreneurs in 13 different countries throughout Latin America. These loans have gone to help buy supplies, fund new equipment, and assist with the sale of the products of the businesses. To see more about the people that those loans have gone to help, check out http://www.kiva.org/lender/andyellwood

All that being said, if you go right now to http://kiva.org/invitedby/andyellwood you can have Kiva give you $25 to help make your first loan. Check it out and let me know what you think.

In an awesome interview on his amazing home on Necker Island, a few very fortunate and awesome entrepreneurs had a great discussion with Sir Richard Branson. The whole interview is worth watching (but a little long at 40 minutes) But, there was on line that Branson shares that ties right in with the ideas of the Philanthropreneur:

"Creating business in themselves can solve social problems. By being an entrepreneur you create businesses that create jobs and by creating jobs you can help take people out of poverty."

To see more on what else businesses and entrepreneurs need to be doing to bring about social change, check it out here and skip ahead to 13:41:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tDTX5UVoDxQ&t=13m30s

Since the day she was born, my sister Katie has been the first to do a lot of things. The first in our family to get a tattoo. The first to skydive. The first to give up her Thanksgiving holiday to serve people in India. Today she's begun her next first: riding her bike across New York. The whole state. In five days. Katie first told me about her ride last year and that she had found an awesome way to do something adventurous and bring awareness to an issue that is important to her (and the world), human trafficking. There are millions of men, women, and children that are suffering the injustice of slavery and worse around the world and Katie's heart for these mostly unknown and voiceless people group compelled her to action. When she arrives in Buffalo today, she'll be meting up with a group of other passionate adventures from around the world and their bikes and beginning a trek across the Empire State. Each day they'll ride as a team and each night they'll be hosting rallies and meetings in the cities where they'll be staying to bring awareness to the cause and share how folks can get involved and help.

To say that I am proud of my sister would be a huge understatement. She is the most selfless and authentic person that I know and I can't wait to see her next weekend when she rides into the Big Apple.

If you want to keep track of her journey, or cheer her one, check her out on Twitter: @Ellweezie

The more I've talked about the ideas and questions of the Philanthropreneur mindset, the more folks I've found that are wrestling to answer the same questions and the more passionate people I come across that also want to know: if the donor model of charity is in fact broken, how do we fix it in a long term sustainable way? I had the chance to chat with the editorial team at the Mays School of Business at my alma mater Texas A&M and talk through some of those thoughts and more.  The outcome of that conversation just came out in the Spring Edition of the @Mays Magazine.  Check it out and Read it here