In this day and age tuition rises faster than Kim Kardashian at the sound of a wedding march. But this hike in the cost of knowledge isn’t just an American dilemma. People all over the world fight every day to earn an education. So to answer the question of whether or not a microloan is the new education scholarship you should first know what a microloan is, who’s offering it, and for what.

A microloan is a small amount of money lent to an individual usually (but not always) living in some degree of poverty. Typically people are given microloans with the intent of starting a small business.

However, a small non-profit is turning the tables on microloans and using them to fund education. Vittana has been helping students in developing countries go to school since its founding in 2009. Currently they have helped 1,000 students using microloans that are made of donations. Not too shabby!

People who choose to donate can do so with as little as $25 to be repaid by the student over time. It’s important to know that repayment isn’t guaranteed, but Vittana does claim a 99% return rate. Although, if you’re the kind of person who enjoys helping someone get an education who otherwise wouldn’t, repayment probably isn’t your number one concern. And since it’s likely that you’ll get repaid anyhow, you can just turn around and invest in someone else which will keep the cycle of education going.

To donate simply to go to http://www.vittana.org/ and show your support!