I'm so thrilled to have found Kiva and I admit I'm totally addicted. In case you haven't heard (hard not to they are getting a lot of buzz lately) it is a revolutionary new way to help people directly, from all parts of the world. Entrepreneurs from all over request loans and you can browse profiles and loan them a 0% loan - as small as $25. You are then paid back over time, at which point you can loan to someone else!
For the last night of Hanukkah every year we choose somewhere to donate to, and this year we loaned to a few entrepreneurs on Kiva. Since the money will be paid back we'll simply keep on giving it over and over to new people.