Why We Chose Kiva for Corporate Citizenship

Last week we sent our holiday card and announced a new corporate citizenship program that we are launching through Kiva.  Kiva was such a great fit for our corporate citizenship goals because we share so many values and ways of doing business.

At Something Massive, we are the beneficiaries of the global marketplace.  Our business model incorporates integrated production facilities in Buenos Aires, Argentina and San Paolo, Brazil into our daily workload.  These production facilities help to keep our client costs low.  To make international business work for us, we have instituted a variety of online tools that improve our internal communications standards.  By so doing, working with Buenos Aires doesn’t feel much different than working with a team right down the hall.  That’s a big win for any agency working with remote teams and one we are very proud of.

The more we work with our colleagues in Buenos Aires, the more we are struck with how small our world has become.  Tools like Basecamp and Skype video conferencing make relationships that previously would have been worlds apart very possible today.  This is also true of the communications landscape that our clients operate in each day.  Tools like Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter make us more connected than ever before.  Information disseminates faster and so both human relationships and businesses can grow at turbo-charged speeds.  It’s pretty amazing and pretty cool.

So it should come as no surprise that our heightened awareness of our connectivity gave birth to a desire to give back to the global marketplace of which we are a part.  This set us on the hunt for the right partner organization.  We hoped to find a progressive organization with ties to Central and South America.  On a referral from a colleague, we explored Kiva.

In a nutshell, Kiva has created a platform that enables existing microfinance institutions to connect with individuals worldwide.  Individuals can lend to the working poor to finance the businesses that keep their families afloat; fish mongers, grocers, dairy farmers, beauty salons, construction businesses, butchers, auto repair shops are all supported by Kiva-facilitated loans.  Over time, the recipients pay back the loan and the lender can redisperse the funds to other entreprenuers.  Here’s a really cool 10-minute video all about how it works:

A Fistful Of Dollars: The Story of a Kiva.org Loan from Kieran Ball on Vimeo.

The more we explored Kiva, the more loved it.  As it turns out, Something Massive and Kiva are just birds of a feather, flocking together.  We believe in the same things:

Distance means little in the world of communication today.
That’s why Something Massive can source the best thinkers and doers in the digital marketing space from all over the world to support our clients business. It’s also why Kiva can create connections between individual lenders and entrepreneurs who are worlds apart.

Stories connect people in a powerful way
Something Massive crafts campaign stories that allow today’s distributed media campaigns to have real impact. Kiva uses real stories to drive interest and engagement from lenders.

Open source is the future of the web
Something Massive supports open source, open API, and cloud-based technologies for running our business and for developing our client deliverables.  Technology that is created and improved upon by communities of developers has proven to be the most stable, scalable, and easily maintained solution out there. The Kiva API is open to developers worldwide who are making lending to the working poor easy and transparent.

Transparency is to be embraced
Something Massive’s web-SCRUM platform gives our clients unprecedented access to project progress and deliverables.  Plus, unanticipated needs are never more than 60 days from release. Kiva’s web-based platform shows how lent money flows and what effect it has on the people and institutions lending it, borrowing it, and managing it along the way.

In 2010, Something Massive will lend in support of each new client that we win.  We’ll continue to invest those dollars to keep our Kiva partnership alive.  And we’ll update you on the progress of our entreprenuers on this blog.  We look forward to exploring ways we can advance our relationship with Kiva and encourage you to check it out for yourself and consider making a loan.  We have started a lending team called Something Massive which is open to all of our employees and friends.  Get in touch with julia@somethingmassive.com if you want more info.

posted by julia in Doing Good | 3 Comments »
tags: Tags: kiva, micro loans for massive change, philanthropy