For many Kiva lenders, the best part about lending is re-lending; $25 can be used to help multiple entrepreneurs over time.
Some lenders haven’t caught onto this part of the lending process, and funds from loan repayments are sitting idle in their Kiva Accounts, neither re-loaned nor withdrawn. Way back in April, our CEO Matt wrote a blog post about the accumulating balance of unused Kiva Credit.
It seems a shame to us. Unused Kiva credit sitting idly in the system isn’t helping entrepreneurs in the developing world, and if it sits there long enough, we’ll have to turn it over to the government.
So, later this month, we’ll be rolling out a new policy where credit that has been inactive for 12 months will turn into a donation to Kiva. This way, the funds will be put to use helping Kiva fulfill our philanthropic mission, and affected lenders will receive something of value – a tax receipt for a charitable donation.
This will affect a small number of accounts, which are those where the lender:
-Has not logged into Kiva for 12 months or longer; and
-Has not received any changes in credit (such as repayments) for 12 months or longer; and
-Does not hold an active loan.
If you have any questions about this policy, don’t hesitate to let us know by emailing us at contactus@kiva.org.
