Kiva Tucson is a program of Growth Partners Arizona in partnership with CIC and the City of Tucson.
Kiva.org is a global platform that provides access to capital to many who might otherwise not be able to acquire traditional funding sources. Kiva’s unique crowdfunded loan model allows business owners to raise loan capital with lenders investing as little as $25 to a given loan.
The Kiva Tucson Hub offers support to business owners interested in the platform from education to execution. One of the most important pieces of community success with Kiva Tucson is the role of the trustee.
Trustees are organizations that provide expertise and endorsement to help borrowers be successful in the Kiva process. This endorsement ties a trustee’s reputation to the repayment rate of the borrowers they endorse, but there is no legal or financial liability, nor do trustees handle loans, which Kiva disperses directly. Trustees add credibility to a borrower by vouching for their character, business, and social impact. Before endorsing a borrower, a trustee should feel confident that the borrower has done the work to be successful and that they are committed to repaying the loan.
Kiva Tucson trustees to date (Aug. 2020) include: City of Tucson, Community Investment Corporation, Growth
Partners Arizona, Local First Arizona, Startup Tucson, Tucson Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, and Women’s
Business Center/YWCA Southern Arizona.
Growth Partners Arizona and Capital Access Manager Carie Davis, who works in dual capacity as CIC’s Director of Alternative Business funding, hosted the first Kiva Tucson Trustee event on August 20, 2020. This event will be one of many trustee events to encourage discussion, collaboration, and perks to our community and the supporters of capital access across the region.
Updated Aug. 6, 2021:
If you are interested in becoming a Kiva Tucson trustee, please contact Paul Mendoza, Capital Access Manager, Kiva Tucson | 520-891-4413 | paul@growthpartnersaz.org
