Money Can't Buy You Love

Can't buy me love, love
Can't buy me love

I'll buy you a diamond ring my friend if it makes you feel alright
I'll get you anything my friend if it makes you feel alright
'cause i don't care too much for money, money can't buy me love - lyrics from The Beatles

Do you need some money for a good reason? Want to get an art marketing project funded? Do you have a little money you'd be willing to invest in worthy people and get a good return? If so, you need to check out Prosper.com. It's a place where people come together to borrow and lend money. I think Ben Franklin might approve of this setup despite his admonition, "Neither a borrower nor lender be."

Prosper was created as the first people-to-people lending marketplace to make consumer lending more financially and socially rewarding for everyone. It works on an eBay auction like basis where lenders bid on loans of interest to them. Some of the amounts loaned are as small as $50. The successful bids are aggregated to create the necessary amount to fund a specific loan. Check out the Arts & Culture groups to see if one would be a good fit for your needs. Or, consider joining a likeminded group to lend with.

Prosper offers the proverbial win-win. You get a chance to do some good with your money and you get a higher rate of return than sitting in a CD or savings account. You can diversify just like the big lenders, but on your comparative micro scale. As a borrower, you get access to credit you might not get at any rate from a traditional lender. This concept changes the way business is done, it provides an egalitarian quotient to the notion of lending not embraced by mammoth financial institutions.