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Kiva (micro-lending)

Summary

Since March 2011, our international SWY Alumni Association team on Kiva has funded more than 3,500 loans, lending more than $100,000 USD. Kiva is a micro-lending platform that provides financial access to help underserved communities thrive.

 

Aims

  • Support the growth, development and independence of individuals in underserved communities

  • Provide an opportunity for SWY alumni and supporters to make an impact on the lives of people around the world

  • Leverage the SWY alumni network to increase that potential impact

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Description

Kiva is a micro-lending platform that provides financial access to help underserved communities thrive. Kiva’s vision is to see a world where all people hold the power to improve their lives, and through the distribution of crowd-funded loans, students can pay for tuition, women can start businesses, farmers are able to invest in equipment and families can afford necessary emergency care. By lending as little as $25 on Kiva, you can be part of the solution and make a real difference in someone’s life! Did we mention that 100% of every dollar you lend on Kiva goes directly to funding loans? Kiva loans also have a historical repayment rate of about 97%. Once your loan has been repaid, you can choose to re-lend your investment to another borrower, withdraw your money or donate it to Kiva so they can keep doing great work.

 

Key dates

You can join our SWY Alumni Association team on Kiva at any time throughout the year! We run an annual Kiva month drive in August that aims to share the team more widely.

 

Get involved

  1. Head to the SWY Alumni Associations Kiva page.

  2. Click ‘Join Team’ and sign up for a Kiva account – you can even do this using your Facebook, Apple or Google account!

  3. Use the menu to find a cause that you want to fund and when you checkout, make sure you select ‘Ship for World Youth Alumni Association’ to make it count towards our team’s collective efforts.

 

Resources

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