Trustee: Net Impact Yale Undergraduate

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Overview

Why are you interested in becoming a Trustee?
We at Net Impact Yale Undergraduate are committed to promoting business as a tool for social change. Given that our core philosophy regards small businesses as catalysts for economic growth, we appreciate Kiva Zip’s mission to expand access to funds for entrepreneurs. Net Impact Yale Undergraduate also values Kiva Zip’s emphasis on community building to maximize and propagate change. Although our work has mostly focused on the Yale community, we are looking to increase our engagement with New Haven. Being a Kiva Zip Trustee is an ideal way to extend our involvement into our city.
What is the mission of your organization?
Our objective is to expose Yale students to social entrepreneurship as an innovative approach to solve world problems and an exciting and viable field to work in. Our mission includes: (1) Providing resources for students to learn how to use their interest in business for social change. (2) Striving to increase social sector campus recruitment, providing volunteer opportunities with local social entrepreneurs and establishing opportunities for students to start their own social enterprises. (3) Working towards exposing students to the intersection of the private and public sectors.

Borrower Due Diligence

How will you decide who to endorse as a borrower? What due diligence will you conduct?
We identify borrowers primarily by partnering with other socially minded and small business organizations such as reSET, a social enterprise trust in CT, and the Grove, an entrepreneur incubator in New Haven. In this way, borrowers we are considering already have the approval of other organizations that we trust, and an established network to tap into to for crowdfunding. Before agreeing to meet with a potential borrower, we do background research on the business to determine viability for a loan. If this research is positive, we conduct a personal interview to learn about the borrower’s business in depth and his interest in a Kiva Zip loan. In our due diligence, we consider: (1) Founding - what is the history of the business? (2) Mission - what is the the business’s purpose? Is the business socially minded? (Although we do not consider this a requirement, it is a definite bonus) (3) Finances - what is the profit model of the business? In the case business suffers, does the borrower have other access to funds to pay back the loan? (4) Intended use of loan - where is this money going towards? Why this specifically? Finally, we discuss our findings and opinions with our executive board to approve an endorsement.

About Net Impact Yale Undergraduate


Total loans: $20,500


All Loans for this Trustee