Overview

Why are you interested in becoming a Trustee?

Serving as a Kiva Trustee helps us further our mission to teach financial literacy, create economic stability, and build generational wealth. In our community, one of the barriers which prevents small businesses and micro-enterprises from flourishing is the lack of access to capital. The two primary factors which contribute to this problem are low credit scores and weak balance sheets. Our Financial Opportunity Center could assist with both of these barriers; however, the time it would take to move the needle could cripple potential borrowers and possibly cause the business to close. With access to small amounts of capital, we are convinced we can make an positive impact on businesses who serve economically disadvantaged communities. If these businesses survive and flourish, their families trees could be positively impacted and could create generational wealth in low-income communities. This is what we're passionate about and completely aligns with our mission!

What is the mission of your organization?

LIFE exists to teach financial literacy, create economic stability, and build generational wealth.

Borrower Due Diligence

How will you decide who to endorse as a borrower? What due diligence will you conduct?

LIFE has established partnerships with other organizations who have an interest in seeing our community's small business sector grow. We will work with the Small Business Development Center (SBDC) to assist potential borrowers with their business and marketing plans. Our Executive Director has worked with the SBDC in the past is familiar with their process and services. The assistance they provide is invaluable for a start-up or an existing company that simply needs working capital to make it through a slow season. Through our internal Financial Opportunities Center (which will be used to vet the business owner's personal financial readiness for entrepreneurship) and the SBDC (which will be used to vet the business owner's commitment to planning and business readiness) we have robust resources to conduct due diligence. Through our partnerships with both local chambers, we have financial resources we could potentially leverage to kick-start fundraising campaigns.