Kiva

More than 1.7 billion people around the world are unbanked and can’t access the financial services they need. Kiva is an international nonprofit, founded in 2005 in San Francisco, with a mission to expand financial access to help underserved communities thrive.

We do this by crowdfunding loans and unlocking capital for the underserved, improving the quality and cost of financial services, and addressing the underlying barriers to financial access around the world. Through Kiva’s work, students can pay for tuition, women can start businesses, farmers are able to invest in equipment and families can afford needed 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.
100% of every dollar you lend on Kiva goes to funding loans.

Kiva is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, based in California. Sustainability, transparency, and efficiency are at the core of our work, our mission, and our financial model.

100% of your loans go to the field

Kiva never takes a fee from lenders, which means 100% of the funds you lend on Kiva go toward supporting borrowers’ loans.

Additional donations cover Kiva’s operating costs

Kiva covers operating costs primarily through the generosity of our lenders, who can choose to make donations in addition to loans. We cover more than two-thirds of our operating costs through these voluntary donations from Kiva lenders. The remainder of our costs is covered through grants, donations from foundations and supporters, and Field Partner service fees.

This model of fundraising helps promote sustainability, by keeping our fundraising costs low and tapping into the power of the crowd to help cover our costs.

Awarded for effectiveness and efficiency

Kiva’s staff and volunteers work hard to ensure every dollar donated to Kiva is used efficiently, and we’ve received recognition for our commitment.

Organizational structure

While making a loan on Kiva may seem like a simple thing, there’s a lot that goes on behind the scenes. As such, Kiva is structured as 3 separate entities:

• Kiva Microfunds is based in California and registered as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. All donations made to Kiva go to support Kiva Microfunds and are used to cover the operating costs of running Kiva.
• Kiva User Funds LLC is a separate entity that holds all funds belonging to Kiva users in FDIC-insured, escrow-like bank accounts. These low-yielding FBO accounts were set up to ensure Kiva users’ funds (meant for lending) are protected and fully separated from Kiva’s operational funds.
• Kiva-DAF LLC is a third entity that was created to hold donor advised funds to facilitate lending on Kiva’s platform for Kiva’s institutional partners (such as charitable foundations).

Learn More Here.