Kiva (organization)

For other uses, see Kiva (disambiguation).

Kiva Microfunds
FoundedOctober 2005 (2005-10)
Founders
71-0992446
FocusEconomic development
Location
Area served
World-wide
MethodMicrocredit
Key people
Chris Tsakalakis (CEO)
Revenue (2023)
$34,727,565[1]
Expenses (2023)$37,635,582[1]
Endowment$27,389,839
Staff (2023)
170[1]
Volunteers (2015)
450
Websitekiva.org

Kiva Microfunds is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization[2][3] headquartered in San Francisco, California. Kiva's mission is "to expand financial access to help underserved communities thrive."[4]

Kiva distributes funds that it receives to microfinance institutions, social impact businesses, schools or non-profit organizations[5][6] and does not generally directly provide funds to specific individuals.[7] These organizations are charged fees by Kiva and borrowers pay interest on most loans.[8]

Kiva is supported by grants, loans, and donations from its users, corporations, and national institutions.[9] Since 2005, Kiva has crowd-funded more than 1.6 million loans, totaling over $1.68 billion,[4] with a repayment rate of 96.3 percent.[4] Over 2 million lenders worldwide use the Kiva platform.[4] Despite its size, independent review by GiveWell in 2009 failed to find evidence that the organization produces significant social benefit,[7] with at least one partner supposedly vetted by Kiva earning high profits while having a very high recipient drop-out rate.[10]

  1. ^ a b c "Kiva Microfunds". ProPublica. November 15, 2023. Archived from the original on January 25, 2024. Retrieved September 1, 2024.
  2. ^ "What kind of organization is Kiva?". Archived from the original on September 4, 2022. Retrieved January 10, 2012.
  3. ^ "Kiva Terms of Use Agreement". Kiva. December 19, 2022. Retrieved August 15, 2023.
  4. ^ a b c d "About". Kiva. Archived from the original on August 10, 2018. Retrieved December 8, 2020.
  5. ^ "About Us". Kiva.org. Archived from the original on April 28, 2015. Retrieved April 25, 2013.
  6. ^ "How to become a Field Partner". Kiva.org. Archived from the original on May 13, 2013. Retrieved March 28, 2013.
  7. ^ a b "Celebrated charities that we don't recommend". December 28, 2009. Archived from the original on January 24, 2022. Retrieved January 24, 2022.
  8. ^ "How Kiva works". Archived from the original on August 10, 2018. Retrieved December 6, 2019.
  9. ^ "Supporters". Kiva.org. Archived from the original on August 11, 2007. Retrieved April 1, 2012.
  10. ^ "LAPO (Kiva partner) and financial vs. Social success". December 9, 2009. Archived from the original on January 24, 2022. Retrieved January 24, 2022.