Rob Walker - Consumed - Marketing and Advertising - New York Times

Rob Walker - Consumed - Marketing and Advertising - New York Times: "Has a charity ever announced that it had enough money? Would-be lenders were dumbstruck, says Kiva’s public-relations director, Fiona Ramsey: “They’re stunned for a second — ‘Here I am, I have money, I want to help someone, and you’re telling me that I can’t?’ ” The note encouraged the visitor to check back soon, as a new batch of loan-seeking entrepreneurs will often appear mere minutes later. But still, Kiva is a philanthropic organization facing an extremely unusual challenge: maintaining adequate supply (people who need help) to meet demand (people who want to give it). “We don’t want people coming to the Web site who want to make a loan and there’s no one to loan to,” Ramsey says."