Empire Avenue members have always been creative and energetic especially when it comes to new ways to improve their share price, or to invent new ways to invest and share their wealth such as the incredible [X]pendapalooza events we’ve seen in the last year.

And today we’ve learned of a new initiative started recently by one of Empire Avenue’s premier community supporters — William Pitcher (e)WMPITCHER.

Where’s the Beef!
So here’s the deal. You’ve likely heard of Kiva.org, a non-profit organization with a mission to connect people through lending to alleviate poverty.

And now, thanks to Bill’s work, there’s an Empire Avenue team, with a goal to raise over $2,500. Here’s a bit more detail from an article on CrowdRise.com:

Kiva is a micro-lending charity. They provide small loans to entrepreneurs and others in developing countries. Their goal is to help lift people out of poverty and boost the greater economy. Kiva works with local partners around the world to conduct the appropriate due diligence on potential borrowers and to administer the loans. Kiva secures the loan funds from individuals around the world that just want to help a worthy cause — people that want to provide a hand-up rather than a hand-out. Kiva pools the individual loans, as small as $25 to fund the various projects, entrepreneurs and people in need. Borrowers pay the funds back like any other loan over a period of time — sometimes as quick as a few months. Lenders can then use the repaid funds to support another project or can even take back their cash.

As you can see in the image above, at the time of this writing, 33 loans are raising $850. Go team!

But wait, there’s more!
At the same time Bill launched this, he also approached us to see what we could do in the charitable space.

This week we had an all-hands meeting in Edmonton, and we discussed this and other possibilities. While we’re not ready to talk about what we’re going to do, just yet, it is something we *are* interested in. Stay tuned for details, and if you’ve got some ideas, feel free to ping us at this shiny new email address: eav-helps@empireavenue.com.