Loans that Change Lives is the catchphrase of Kiva, a person-to-person micro-lending website. Ok, so what does that mean?
It means you can easily fund entrepreneurs in the developing world. You peruse the list of potential borrowers and fund a portion ($25 or $50, typically) of a $500-$1000 loan. The loan is paid back in monthly installments and you get updates about how the entrepreneur is doing.
I've made 8 loans so far and no defaults yet. It will be interesting to see if/how the credit crunch in the developed world impacts the developing world. The strength of the dollar is going to make it difficult for borrowers to earn enough in their local currency to stay current on the (unsecured) loan. This is the key problem presented by deflation -- asset prices drop but loan obligations do not.
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