Our Story

Lend for America (LFA) was founded in October 2009 in response to a national movement — college students across the country starting microfinance institutions to spur economic development in their campus communities.

Read the report that started it all

Download FIELD's report, "Can Student-run Microfinance Organizations Help Address Issues of Scale and Sustainability in the U.S. Domestic Microenterprise Industry?" written by Elaine Edgcomb and Luz Gomez.

After an initial report by the Aspen Institute's FIELD Project assessed the state of the movement, these campus MFIs gathered for the first time at a conference at Rutgers University in the fall of 2009. At that meeting, Lend for America was born, with a mission to raise awareness, provide technical assistance, and create networking opportunities for student-powered microfinance organizations.

The strength of the alliance is its members, which serve as laboratories for innovation in domestic microfinance and training ground for a new generation of social change leaders. Now, LFA hosts an annual conference, offers capacity building site visits, and provides on-site and online technical assistance to its members.