GlobalGiving.com was setup as a grassroots organization to match small-scale donors with entrepreneurs addressing social problems in developing nations. They describe themselves as an “online marketplace for international giving.” They address projects in categories including healthcare, the environment and education. Donors can browse and select by geography. Global Giving is a non-profit, so gifts are tax deductible.

Global Giving (along with Kiva — read my previous post) claim that they have on-the-ground partners who are vetting the projects and people requesting funding to give you (the donor) confidence that your gift is being used for what it is intended and that the project is genuine.

Listen to Public Radio International’s The World Micro Finance Report which interviews the leaders of Global Giving and Kiva.

As you can tell from many of my other posts, I believe that microcredit (providing loans vs. handouts) is proving to be a more effective in creating long-term, sustainable improvements in developing nations. The reality is that microfinance in certain countries currently needs to be subsidized until the microfinance institutions gain scale.