Volunteer
Volunteers are essential to Kiva and its mission of connecting people through lending to alleviate poverty. Join the Kiva team by finding the volunteering opportunity that is right for you! Volunteering with Kiva is a great way to participate in Kiva's mission!
Our Next Class Begins August 22nd, 2013.
We are excited to be bringing on 23 new Kiva Interns!
August positions will be posted online at the beginning of June.
Please click Internship/Volunteer Opportunities below for more information on available positions.
This internship is unpaid.
Kiva's Internship Culture is very social and educational ~ we'd love to welcome you to the Kiva Family.
Kiva's Internship program provides its interns with a robust microfinance focused educational Program, while interns work with staff to own and participate in key initiatives.
We are humbled by the outstanding applicants interested in volunteering their time to Kiva!
Internship Information
Kiva is a grass-roots organization, and our team of committed volunteers is crucial to our mission of alleviating global poverty. Please note up front that all internship opportunities are unpaid and must take place in Kiva’s San Francisco, California headquarters. Placement opportunities are based on particular assignments as they come up and we have a review process to consider applicants. We typically seek interns who are able to commit to volunteering with Kiva in a part-time capacity for 6-8 months.
An internship at Kiva is a great opportunity to learn more about Kiva's non-profit business model. The required skill set is dependent on the department that submits the internship request. Overall, we target applicants who: 1) can commit to the minimum time frame, 2) are flexible by nature, 3) are open to all types of projects, 4) are comfortable with administrative responsibility, and 5) are looking to make a significant contribution in their time with Kiva. The majority of projects that come up are centered around providing support to the Program Managers, whether it be for the Kiva Fellows Program, Content Management team, Community Support team, or in the areas of Product Management, Development, or Microfinance Partnerships.
- Kiva hosts 3 Internship classes per year beginning in January, May and August.
- We have 35 interns per class who commit to being in office 3 days / week for 6-8 months.
- Kiva receives 250-350 applicants per class which gives us an acceptance rate of only 10-15%.
- In 2012 our interns volunteer over 50,000 hours, and we couldn't be more grateful!
It is important to mention that internship positions do not turn into staff positions at Kiva. If there is a position that opens up in the time at which a volunteer is on board, then we would consider them as we would any other applicant applying externally. We've found it important to set expectations appropriately very early on in the discussion with potential interns.
To apply for one of the positions listed above, or if you would like to submit your resume for a general internship or volunteer position at Kiva, please click the button below to fill out of application form. Make sure that you have your cover letter and resume ready.
We will continue to post information about additional volunteer or internship opportunities as they arise, so please check back soon. Please also note that our staff is small and due to the high numbers of applicants for these internship positions, we regret that we can only respond to candidates that we would like to interview. We greatly appreciate your support and interest, and hope to be able to expand our volunteer opportunities in the future.
In the meantime, help spread the word to your friends and colleagues about our current volunteer needs, or browse the Do More page for other ways you can get involved.
Remote Volunteer Opportunities
Kiva Fellows Program
Kiva Fellows travel to and live in the host country of one of our partner microfinance institutions (MFI) for a minimum of 12 weeks. By journaling on the behalf of our MFI partner, Kiva Fellows are able to convey the impact on the entrepreneur of a Kiva loan. For more information and the application, visit Kiva Fellows Program.
Kiva Review and Translation Program
Kiva Editors and Translators volunteer from their own homes for at least two hours per week editing, translating, and thoroughly reviewing loan profiles from around the world for publication on the Kiva website.
Kiva Editing
If you have a background in editing, technical writing, or journalism, you may be able to support Kiva’s mission by reviewing and lightly editing loan profiles. Visit Kiva Editing Program for registration and additional information.
Kiva Translation
If you are a native or native-level English speaker and have high-level proficiency in a foreign language, you may be able to support Kiva’s mission by translating loan profiles. Visit Kiva Translation Program for registration and additional information.
