On April 22, the international community celebrated Earth Day. To commemorate the holiday at Kiva, we published 2 stories about loan types that go to populations grappling with global climate change. The first story concerned agricultural loans, while the other tackled loans for clean water and sanitation...

Access to clean water and sanitation have long been considered universal and basic human rights by much of the international community. In fact, the United Nations considers it a key part of its Sustainable Development Goals, a blueprint laid out in 2015 to mitigate the effects of human-caused climate change and improve the global populations’ overall quality of life by 2030.

In developed countries, it can be easy to forget that about 1 in 10 people on Earth lack access to clean water. Half of the people who today drink from contaminated water sources live...

In a matter of days, Kiva lenders backed a $10,000 Kiva loan to one of the best restaurants in the United States at the beginning of April. Philadelphia's El Compadre, formerly South Philly Barbacoa, has received national attention for years for their slow-cooked lamb tacos, but a recent wave of press and attention following the restaurant’s feature in a Netflix documentary hosted by celebrity chef David Chang pushed their current location to its standing-room limit, necessitating an expansion.

El Compadre founder Christina Martinez, who co-owns...

Kiva loves to celebrate its interns and the meaningful work that they accomplish every day. Halfway through the internship cycle, we sat down with a few of them to hear about their work and how their time at Kiva has impacted them. Read below to hear what Kiva interns have to say about their experiences.

Olivia Cornfield – Kiva U Team (SF)

What led you to Kiva?

I studied cognitive science in college and was really interested in the idea of neuroplasticity, growth and how people can change and grow toward what they want...

In celebration of International Women’s Day on March 8, will you join us in rallying to support the dreams of 10,000 women by backing their loans? To kick off this celebration, spread some inspiration by watching and sharing this video marking International Women’s Day.

Phearong's nerves quickly took hold of her as she looked at the stage.

"Oh my god! What am I going to say?" she thought as she frantically tried to get her friend to speak instead of her, but she steadied herself, determined to use her voice.

She had worked for 25 years for this moment to speak boldly about pressing for progress on women's rights. Phearong took the stage to speak to dozens of ambassadors at the European Union...

In February, Leona’s, a small batch ice cream company in Pittsburgh, Penn., made history by being the fastest ...

For just a moment, try to ignore those news alerts on your phone. Take a deep breath and join us in the Kiva universe–a kind and compassionate corner of the internet (some may say parallel dimension) where people help each other improve their lives, every day. Here in the Kiva universe millions of people carry out small acts of kindness all the time.

This year, those small acts...

All over the world, Review and Translation Program (RTP) volunteers offer their time and skills to ensure that the thousands of loans that come in from Kiva’s partners are edited and translated from our 5 key languages: English, Spanish, French, Portuguese and Russian. In the past 3 months alone, RTP volunteers have reviewed 57,199 loans, averaging over 19,000 loans per month. They enjoy being involved in the process from reviewing the original loans to seeing them fundraise on Kiva.

This month we celebrate 3 of our incredible volunteers who work in 4 different languages...

This holiday season, you can light up a life by making a loan on Kiva, or giving the gift of a Kiva Card to someone you love.

Flordelisa is a fisherwoman living in the Philippines. Ignited by the desire to send her children to college, she searched for a way to provide access to a good education. The solution that brightened her entire family’s future: a Kiva loan supported by lenders around the world.

In San Juan, Puerto Rico, a Kiva borrower named Matilsha is fighting for her livelihood in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria.

About 40% of small businesses won’t open their doors again after a natural disaster, according to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

As the founder and CEO of Con Calma, a fair trade and sustainable lifestyle brand, Matilsha is leveraging a Kiva loan to help her small business’s doors stay open. 

Matilsha was the first Kiva borrower to receive a loan in Puerto Rico following the September hurricane,...