Zuora Employees Lend Over $50,000 USD on Kiva.Org

Zuora and Kiva share the same vision of a more inclusive economy.

At Zuora, we believe the World Subscribed is a better world and that by facilitating access over ownership, the Subscription Economy has the ability to democratize goods and services for all. It brings new freedoms (time, place, potential) that we didn’t have before and it creates sustainable communities by more efficiently using resources and commodities.

Kiva envisions a financially inclusive world where all people hold the power to improve their lives by crowdfunding loans and unlocking capital for the underserved. Through Kiva’s work, students can pay for tuition, women can start businesses, farmers are able to invest in equipment, and families can afford needed emergency care. Since being founded in 2005, Kiva has been able to make a huge impact across the globe, just take a look at the numbers.

 

Zuora and Kiva put people and relationships at the center of every interaction making our partnership a natural fit as we unleash the energy of our employees to support the causes that matter most to them.

First-ever Kiva + Zuora Employee Lending Initiative 

As part of our first-ever employee engagement campaign, we offered our global employee workforce a free $50 credit to make a loan to a borrower on Kiva.org. Each employee had the opportunity to choose one or two entrepreneurs to invest in from a variety of sectors (everything from women to agriculture to eco-friendly and so on) and more than 75 countries around the world.

With a  record breaking 86% participation, our passionate employees made this effort Kiva’s second most successful employee engagement campaign ever! Shout out to the 43 employees who helped bring about this success by volunteering as our Kiva Lending Leaders to help raise awareness about Kiva and the power of microfinance, encouraged participation, shared borrower success stories, and inspired their colleagues. The collective impact was huge, check it out!

 

The Cycle of Giving

We love the virtual cycle of giving that Kiva enables. When the loans are repaid, the money is returned to our fund at Kiva and employees can make new loans during future campaigns. In fact, employees were so inspired by the borrower’s stories that they invested nearly $2,000 USD of their own funds to make additional loans on Kiva.

 

Let’s hear what this campaign meant to our employees…

 

Alexis Camanga, Associate Product Manager

I’m excited that Zuora is partnering with Kiva to bring change to communities around the world that need it most. I used my Kiva loan credit to support two female small business owners in Tonga and Timor-Leste which are two heavily underserved and often forgotten areas in Oceania. I loaned $25 to Jesefina in Timor-Leste who is a widowed mother of 4 to buy additional supplies to resell at her general store which is the family’s only source of income. My other $25 loan supported Toakase in Tonga who prepares lunches to serve elementary school children. 

 

Natina Gurley, Diversity & Inclusion Communications Specialist

I’m super passionate about women business owners! Growing up in a Black, Pacific Islander (Samoa/Tonga), (and Mexican/Mexican American) community; I wanted to find a way to connect to what was important to me, and my upbringing. I chose to fund Jamirah in Uganda, who for the past 5 years has been working hard to manage her construction supply business which manages stone quarrying for sale and Sitina in Tonga to purchase goods for her general store.

 

Bruce Keilin, Sr Manager, Software Engineering

I discovered Kiva back in 2006 and quickly realized that it combined my interests in foreign cultures and travel with fundraising and technology in an intriguing manner. I used my Kiva loan credit from Zuora to make my 424th Kiva loan to Coop De Servicios Multiples Cedros Cafe in Peru to pre-finance the sale of multiple containers of their organic coffee. Over the course of 15 years, I’ve lent over $10,000 through more than 400 loans to people in more than 60 countries. That’s a lot more countries than I have managed to visit so far. I’ve also given Kiva cards to many different family members and friends- who have all become avid Kiva lenders themselves- as gifts! 

 

Samantha Sebastian, Sr. Global Campaign Specialist

This is such an amazing campaign! I made my loans to two families in Cambodia. I spent a lot of time in this country and am grateful to be able to give back to a community of people that cared for me during my time in their country.

 

We love how our social impact programs are becoming an integral part of Zuora’s overall culture. By empowering our employees and putting them in the driver’s seat they were given the opportunity to have a voice in our philanthropic efforts. It was amazing to watch their passions come to life and see the impact they made on people’s lives across the globe. This is just the beginning of our partnership with Kiva and we look forward to impacting many more borrower’s from around the world!

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