My friend Daniel told me about an interesting site. Kiva.org allows individuals to make loans as low as $25 to low-income entrepreneurs in the developing world (microfinance). By doing so, individuals like you provide affordable working capital for the poor (money to buy a sewing machine, livestock, etc.), empowering them to earn their way out of poverty.
It's a new, direct and sustainable way to fight global poverty, and the way I see it, I get a higher return on $25 helping someone build a future than the interest my checking account pays.
Anyways, if you have a minute, please check out the site: http://kiva.org. If you need more "reputable" validation than my recommendation :-), know that they have received great press in publications ranging from The Wall Street Journal to NPR to BusinessWeek.
You don't actually earn interest on your investment, but you do get the good feeling that comes from helping out another person in a more biblical way (i.e. without interest). Also, in my opinion, the lack of interest keeps it an act of helping another person rather than developing into a form of exploitation and greed.
(Do note though that the borrowers are charged interest by the middlemen to cover their costs of servicing the loan. The interest rates are posted and there is an explanation available concerning the rates.)
