Kiva and USWNTPA win Gold Halo Award for Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (JEDI) Initiative
Kiva and the U.S. Women's National Team Players Association (USWNTPA) are thrilled to announce that their partnership has been awarded a Gold Halo Award for outstanding achievements in the field of corporate social impact in the category of Best JEDI (Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion) Initiative. The award recognizes the partnership’s work to address pay and gender equity through support of women and BIPOC-owned small businesses in the U.S.
"By investing back into the communities they play in, the USWNTPA is creating a cycle of positive change empowering women far beyond their immediate community.”
“The USWNTPA partnership shows the collective power of leveraging platforms - whether it’s soccer games, social media, or PR awareness - to shine a light on financial inequity. By investing back into the communities they play in, the USWNTPA is creating a cycle of positive change empowering women far beyond their immediate community.” Tess Murphy, Director of Corporate Social Responsibility Programs at Kiva.org.
The Kiva and USWNTPA partnership, Leveling the Playing Field, began in 2022 and spans across three years. USWNTPA’s fund is used to match loans on Kiva's platform to U.S. small business owners, including women and BIPOC entrepreneurs. As borrowers repay their loans, the funds are returned to the USWNTPA account, where they are re-lent to others on the platform, creating a cycle of impact. This innovative approach allows one loan by an individual and one deposit by USWNTPA to make 2-3 times the impact in loans to thousands of borrowers, supporting U.S. small businesses and driving economic empowerment.
“We have seen the impact of the work we’ve done in the gender equity space ripple through women’s sports, and that has given many of us platforms that reach beyond what we do on the field."
“We have seen the impact of the work we’ve done in the gender equity space ripple through women’s sports, and that has given many of us platforms that reach beyond what we do on the field,” said Crystal Dunn, USWNTPA member and midfielder for the Portland Thorns. “As women we know what it is to be marginalized, but as professional athletes we also know what it is to have privilege of varying levels. While we have the platform, those dual life experiences are a motivator to use our voices to deliver visibility and support to people that can benefit from our megaphone.”
Partnership Impact
The impact commitment of the partnership is ambitious – $2.5 million in loans to at least 3,000 U.S. small businesses by 2025. In the first year alone, the USWNTPA partnership supported 1,383 borrowers through $290,965 in matched loans. 82% of the loans in the first year supported BIPOC borrowers and an additional 10% supported LGBTQ+ borrowers. These numbers highlight the tangible and meaningful impact that the partnership has already made in its initial stages.
Latasha, a U.S. business owner, had her Kiva loan matched through the USWNTPA partnership. 42 individual lenders contributed to her $7,500 loan, which was funded in record time through 1:1 matching by the USWNTPA fund. As the owner of Fifth Generation, an all-natural lifestyle line of skin and hair care products, Latasha is working to bring tried and tested recipes passed down from her grandmother to local salons and customers in the Waterloo, Iowa area. Her Kiva loan is enabling an expansion of her business including building a lab and storage space in order to increase the batch size of her products. USWNTPA and Kiva’s partnership is providing the backing for Latasha to realize her entrepreneurial dreams and continue growing her business impacts.
Leveling the Playing Field Partnership
The partnership between Kiva and USWNTPA is unique and powerful. Kiva's crowdfunding platform has been transforming the lives of borrowers around the world since 2005, providing access to affordable capital and supporting entrepreneurship. USWNTPA, on the other hand, serves as the leading advocate for women's soccer players, working to protect their rights and advance their economic and social welfare. By joining forces, Kiva and USWNTPA have created a powerful synergy, leveraging their respective strengths to promote economic justice.
The USWNTPA, as the collective bargaining representative of all players on the Women's National Soccer Team, is committed to making a positive impact on and off the field. Their target audience includes not only soccer players but also fans of the sport and other women's sports teams. Through partnerships with organizations like Kiva, the USWNTPA has been able to extend their advocacy efforts beyond the soccer field, creating meaningful change in communities where their members live and play.
About the Halo Awards
The Halo Awards, presented annually, are the ultimate honor for companies and nonprofits that excel in corporate social impact. They recognize long-term achievements and celebrate organizations that are doing well by doing good. Kiva and USWNTPA's win in the Best JEDI Initiative category is a testament to the organization’s shared values and dedication to justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion.
This is not the first time Kiva has been recognized for its exceptional partnerships. In fact, Kiva and Visa's partnership won the Halo Award in 2022 for the Employee Engagement categoryating Kiva's impact-driven partnership work and commitment to social good. This latest win with USWNTPA demonstrates Kiva's ongoing efforts to collaborate with organizations that share its vision of creating positive change in the world.
Partner with Kiva
Working together with value-aligned organizations strengthens mutual efforts to address global, systemic challenges across gender equity, financial inclusion, climate change, and more. If you are interested in starting a partnership with Kiva, please contact us.
