Do More

Kiva on Campus

How can I use Kiva on my campus?

For students:

The university experience gives students the knowledge to make a difference in the world, but it is often difficult to find ways to begin making an impact.

Kiva gives students the chance to get involved in the cutting edge of economic development, and make a big impact on the lives of entrepreneurs around the globe. Students looking to explore the Kiva experience with their campus community can create a Lending Team for their campus or participate in Campus Kiva, a Kiva program created by college students for college students.

For professors:

Kiva is a great application of many concepts studied at college, and has been incorporated into classes ranging from economics to international development.

We encourage professors who wish to incorporate Kiva into their lecture plan to do so, and would love to share any materials prepared with other interested professors via the Kiva website.

Real Campus Stories

Point Loma Nazarene

"We started by forming a small group of interested students, found a very supportive faculty member and registered as an official student club on campus. We initially spent several weekly meetings brainstorming ideas, goals, and purpose for having a club.

Our first club event occurred when Muhammad Yunus came to speak in San Diego. While we were only able to get two tickets to see him, we set up a live feed on campus (via internet) for the rest of the interested students. We provided food, drinks, and a time for discussion afterwards.

The club takes part in a number of microfinance related projects, one of which has been acquiring funds and investing them in Kiva.

For the Kiva project, we wrote a short proposal to student directors asking for $500 and explaining how it would be invested. The money was taken from the school's "Club Budget" with the intent that in the future it will be returned to this fund or re-issued to the MF club. To encourage student participation we held 2 meetings in which each student was "given control" over $25 so that they could choose where it should be invested. They were asked to share why they chose their particular organizations. The concept (and free factor) really attracted students, and they began to look at different MFIs and do some basic analysis, learning about what factors to look at when evaluating an MFI, their goals, and their clients. This fall, as the funds are returned to our club account, we will repeat the process and continue recycling the school money through various MFIs via Kiva and gaining student interest/participation in the club as they monitor their clients they invested in."

- Travis Vaughn, student, Point Loma Nazarene

Davidson College Microfinance Club

"The idea for a Davidson Microfinance Club began with a group of students who met in a Developmental Economics class in the spring of 2007. Their first step was to register with the school, which involved requesting a charter and writing by-laws. The three founders of the club wrote the by laws together with the help of a faculty advisor.

Since the aim of the club was to raise awareness about Microfinance and actually engage in the process of giving loans through a portal like Kiva, we needed funds. The fall of 2007 and spring of 2008 were spent fundraising, which was challenging because the club was only small and our first goal at $10,000 proved to be ambitious for a brand new club. At the end of the spring of 2008, we had come up with $2,000 (which nevertheless goes a long way on Kiva).

Over the summer, we gratefully accepted an offer for the remaining $8,000 from an anonymous donor who recently started a foundation. Though the club is small now, and the founders have graduated, with these funds and the logistical support of Campus Kiva, we expect it to grow dramatically in the fall. Our plan for the fall is to begin educating our peers about Microfinance and to begin the loaning process as a group for the first time."

- Julie Palm, student, Davidson College

Create a Lending Team for your College/University

Create a Lending Team for your college/university to connect with other students and alumni and make an impact as a campus community.

A Lending Team is a group of Kiva Lender Accounts affiliated with each other as part of a team. Lending Teams allow separate Lender Accounts to contribute towards Lending Team totals, and allow team members to communicate with each other via a Team Message Board.

Click here to search for other college/university Lending Teams. For tips and tools on how to grow your Lending Team, click here.

Click on the images below to see some college/university Lending Teams already in action!


Stanford University	University of California, Los Angeles	University of Chicago	University of Oxford	James Madison University

What is Campus Kiva?

Campus Kiva brings micro-lending to a whole new level: giving students the opportunity to play a direct role in changing lives. The mission of Campus Kiva is to educate students about the potential impact of microfinance and to encourage micro-lending through Kiva's Lending Teams.

Through an international network of university chapters, Campus Kiva provides students with the perfect avenue to channel their desire to make a difference. Campus Kiva provides its chapters with the infrastructure and resources they need to establish a permanent presence on campus, and offers a variety of opportunities to participate in activities and competitions, while encouraging intra-university collaboration.

In the Fall of 2008, Campus Kiva officially launched at 20 university campuses world-wide and is continuing to grow. If you'd like to find out more about Campus Kiva, join the team to receive updates.

Tools and Tips

Campus Kiva One-Pager		This one-pager gives a brief overview of what Campus Kiva is and how your university can get involved, and is great for distributing to students. Click here to download the one-pager.
Campus Kiva Starter Kit		The Campus Kiva Starter Kit details what Kiva is and how it works, how to start a Campus Kiva chapter, and tips for organizing your chapter and fundraising. Click here to download the starter kit.

Videos		Uganda: A Little Goes A Long Way, is a 15 minute documentary piece in which PRI's Clark Boyd travels to Uganda to meet Kiva entrepreneurs and see Kiva in action. Click here to watch the video for free, streaming from the FRONTLINE/World website.
Presentation Materials		This presentation (19 slides) is another way that you can introduce a school group to Kiva. It provides an overview of what microfinance is, how traditional microfinance institutions work, and where Kiva fits in. Click here to download the presentation.
Brochure		This brochure gives a light overview of microfinance, and how Kiva works. Click here to download the printable version. Click here to download the online version.