Microfinance Initiative at Bucknell (MIB)
During the 2008-2009 school year, MIB grew from a starter organization to a legitimate source of education on campus. By the end of the year, MIB had accumulated a revolving fund of $2,000 through the help of students, professors, and alumni. With sturdy financial backing, MIB loaned money to approximately twenty individual entrepreneurs and groups spanning from Africa to North America. Of all the loans given, only one entrepreneur has defaulted. In addition to lending money, MIB has devoted much of its time to educating the campus, most recently through a panel discussion entitled, “Microfinance: Developing Paths to Sustainability”, which ...
The Story of LutherKiva
LutherKiva was created by an inspiring mix of Luther students, faculty, staff, and even an unidentified mystery person. In 2007, at a panel discussion on “fair trade” sponsored by SEEDS (Students Engaging in Economic Development through Solidarity), Professor Brett Johnson mentioned microlending as a tool for poverty alleviation. The next day Brett received an email from SEEDS co-leader, Carl Westphal ‘08, asking for the name of the microlending website that an audience member mentioned the night before. Brett didn’t even remember the comment. The next day Brett read the New York Times and found an op-ed by Nicholas Kristof promoting ...
November 6th: Campus Kiva Web Summit
Hi Everyone, We want to remind you that the first annual Educational Community Web Summit will be hosted by Campus Kiva and High School Kiva this Friday, November 6th, 2009. We are excited to announce that we will be joined by Kiva’s President, Premal Shah, and Jonathon Stalls, who will be walking from Colorado to Maine in support of Kiva. There will be a conference call portion of the summit, which will take place from 10:00am-11:30am PST, where speakers will be taking questions from the audience. Following the call, there will be a half hour series of videos submitted from chapters and ...


