Kiva (organization) facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Kiva Microfunds

Founded	October 2005 (2005-10)
Focus	Economic development
Location	San Francisco, California, United States
Area served	World-wide
Method	Microcredit
Key people	Premal Shah (co-founder) Jessica Jackley (co-founder) Chris Tsakalakis (CEO)
Revenue (2015)	$19,847,885
Expenses (2015)	$15,915,830
Endowment	$27,389,839
Staff (2015)	117
Volunteers (2015)	450

Kiva Microfunds is a non-profit organization based in San Francisco, California. Kiva's main goal is to help people around the world get access to money. This helps communities that don't have many financial options to grow and do well.

Kiva sends money it receives to special organizations. These can be microfinance groups, social businesses, schools, or other non-profits. Kiva usually does not give money directly to individuals. These partner organizations might charge small fees, and borrowers often pay a little interest on their loans.

Kiva gets its support from gifts, loans, and donations from people like you. It also gets help from companies and big organizations. Since 2005, Kiva has helped fund over 1.6 million loans. This adds up to more than $1.68 billion. About 96.3 percent of these loans are paid back. More than 2 million lenders worldwide use Kiva to help others.

Kiva's Story: How It Started

Early Kiva partners (September 2006)

Kiva was started in October 2005 by Matt Flannery and Jessica Jackley. They became interested in microfinance after hearing a talk by Muhammad Yunus in 2003. Yunus founded Grameen Bank, which helps people with small loans.

Jessica Jackley later worked with a group that helped start small businesses in East Africa. When Matt Flannery visited her, they talked to many business owners. A common problem they heard was not having enough money to start their businesses. After returning home, they decided to create Kiva. The name "Kiva" means "unity" in Swahili.

In April 2005, Kiva funded its first seven loans. These loans totaled $3,500. The people who received these first loans were called the "Dream Team."

How Kiva Helps People Get Loans

Kiva works with over 300 groups around the world. These groups are called "Field Partners." They include microfinance organizations, social businesses, schools, and non-profits. These partners post stories of local business owners on the Kiva website.

People who want to help can look at these stories on kiva.org. They choose an entrepreneur they want to support. Lenders can loan money in amounts as small as $25. They send their money to Kiva using credit cards or PayPal. PayPal even removes its fees for these payments.

After Kiva gets the money from many lenders, it sends the total amount to the right Field Partner. The Field Partner then gives the loan to the business owner. Kiva itself does not charge interest to its Field Partners. However, Field Partners often charge some interest to the borrowers. This helps them cover their costs for managing the loans.

Loans from microfinance groups in developing countries often have higher interest rates. This is because it costs more to manage many small loans. Also, there can be a higher risk. As the business owners pay back their loans, the Field Partners send the money back to Kiva. Once a loan is repaid, Kiva lenders can take their money back or lend it again to another person.

Kiva's Financial Impact

As of March 2016, Kiva had helped give out over $827 million in loans. These loans came from nearly 1.4 million lenders and went to over 1.9 million borrowers. The average loan amount was about $411. The average Kiva user had made about 10 loans. Kiva's repayment rate for all its partners was very high, at 97.1%.

Kiva itself does not charge interest on the money it sends to its partners. They provide capital to microfinancing groups for free. These groups then lend the money with interest to borrowers. Kiva gets its main funding from grants, financial support, and special services from large companies and organizations. For example, Chevron Corporation, Visa Inc., and Skoll Foundation have given Kiva large grants. Kiva also won grants from Sam's Club and American Express. The Omidyar Network gave Kiva a $5 million grant to help it grow its network of Field Partners.

How Kiva's Loans Make a Difference

Supporting Women in Business

Kiva helps many women start or grow their businesses. As of October 2017, 81% of Kiva's loans had gone to women.

Books like Half the Sky by Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn talk about Kiva's important work. They explain that microloans can be a way for women to improve their lives. They believe that microfinance has done a lot to help women and protect them from harm.

Green Loans for a Better Planet

In 2011, Kiva started offering "green loans." These loans help people use cleaner and safer energy. They also support green farming, eco-friendly transport, and recycling. Green Kiva loans can help fund things like solar panels, organic fertilizers, and efficient cooking stoves. By December 2013, Kiva lenders had funded 4,600 green loans.

Helping Students Go to College

Kiva also has a Student Microloans program. This program helps students get money for higher education. These student loans are funded in the same way, through many small contributions. Students usually have 1 to 3 years to pay back their loans.

In 2014, Kiva worked more closely with an organization called Vittana. Vittana helps low-income students in Asia, Africa, and Latin America get loans for school. Now, all loans found by Vittana can be funded through Kiva.

Loans for Medical Needs

Some of Kiva's Field Partners focus on medical loans. These loans help people pay for healthcare. Other partners might offer medical loans along with other types of loans. Experts believe that microfinance medical loans can help more people in developing countries get the medical care they need.

Supporting Refugees

In July 2017, Kiva started a World Refugee Fund. This fund provides money to help refugees and the communities that host them. This includes countries like Lebanon, Jordan, and Turkey. As refugees pay back their loans, they build a financial history in their new homes. This fund is part of a larger plan to provide up to $9 million in loan money.

Other Ways Kiva Helps

Kiva U.S.: Helping Businesses at Home

In 2011, Kiva launched Kiva U.S. This program offers 0% interest loans to business owners in the United States. It helps people who might not get loans from regular banks. On Kiva U.S., borrowers don't need high credit scores or collateral.

Kiva U.S. uses a system of "trustees." These trustees are local non-profits, businesses, or community leaders. They vouch for the borrowers. The average loan size for U.S. borrowers is $5,000, and they usually have about two years to pay it back.

Kiva Labs: New Ways to Help

Google gave Kiva a $3 million award in 2013 for the Kiva Labs project. Kiva Labs looks for new ways to make microfinance more flexible and helpful. This includes offering lower interest rates and more flexible repayment plans. For example, farmers might get plans that fit their harvest seasons. Labs also works on providing access to clean energy and using mobile technology to share knowledge.

Kiva City: Supporting Local Communities

Kiva City helps local business owners and entrepreneurs in U.S. cities get loans. This program was started by Kiva and former US President Bill Clinton in 2011. Kiva City locations include Detroit, New Orleans, Los Angeles, Washington D.C., and many other cities.

For example, in less than a year, the Kiva City program in Richmond, Virginia, helped fund over $100,000 in loans for local businesses.

Kiva's Recognition

Kiva has received many awards and positive reviews for its work:

• In 2020, Charity Navigator, a group that rates charities, gave Kiva a top rating of 4 stars. Kiva has often been top-rated since 2010.
• In 2013, Google.org gave Kiva a $3 million award for Kiva Labs.
• In 2012, Philanthropedia named Kiva a Top Non-Profit.
• In 2011, The Economist honored Kiva with its Innovation Award.
• In 2010, Omidyar Network gave Kiva a $5 million grant to help it grow.
• In 2010, Kiva was chosen as one of Oprah's Ultimate Favorite Things.
• In 2008, TIME magazine named Kiva one of the Top 50 websites.
• In 2007, Skoll Foundation gave Kiva a $1 million grant for being one of the world's best social enterprises.

Images for kids

• 

  Kiva logo

See also

In Spanish: Kiva (organización) para niños