Kiva conducts regular, ongoing monitoring of all Lending Partners, but only posts status updates here in response to relevant, major changes at the partner.

Update on 21 August 2023:

Kiva and VEDC have agreed to end their partnership after more than $400,000 in loans raised. This partner has repaid its outstanding balance to Kiva in full, and these funds have been distributed to lenders. We thank VEDC for the years of collaboration and wish them success in their future endeavors.

Status update — April 1, 2016

Kiva has moved this Lending Partner to inactive status. This means VEDC is no longer fundraising loans on Kiva, though Kiva fully expects the partner to continue to send repayments owed to Kiva lenders for as long as the partner has an outstanding balance. The reasons a partner might become inactive include: taking time to develop a new type of loan, turnover on the partner’s management team, a shift in overall strategy or changes in funding sources. If and when this partner requests to fundraise again on Kiva, Kiva will first conduct any additional monitoring and due diligence tasks we believe necessary.

Status update — March 10, 2015

VEDC initially used Kiva capital for mission driven loans with a range of businesses, including start up ventures. However, VEDC has found that the inherit risk of start ups is too high for the organization, even with the increased borrower accountability created by the Kiva crowdfunding model. VEDC is now focusing Kiva’s capital on its regular portfolio of businesses, while still being true to its mission of lending to low and moderate-income areas.

Partner Description:

Valley Economic Development Center (VEDC) is a non-profit community development financial institution in the City of Los Angeles. Today, the organization says it is the largest non-profit business development group in the Greater Los Angeles area, offering micro-loans up to $50,000, small business loans up to $700,000, consulting services, and training to small and medium-sized businesses throughout California.

Originally launched in 1976 to revitalize commercial districts in Van Nuys, California, VEDC has always held to the same objective: assisting small businesses and creating jobs. In addition to its strong focus on lending, it provides extensive training services in accounting, business survival, finance and more, as well as events and workshops.

Today, VEDC has an annual budget of $4 million, 40 employees and seven offices throughout the state. The organization reports that it disburses more than $35 million in small business loans every year. It also operates and facilitates several other impactful programs and projects, including: the SBA Women’s Business Center, the San Fernando Valley Financial Development Corporation, the Pacoima Development Federal Credit Union, and two Los Angeles Business Source Centers.

For its socially-minded efforts, VEDC has received a number of awards and honors, including the Economic Development Agency’s Economic Development Award, the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Minority Champion Award, and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Best Practices Award.