Jazz Night for Kiva’s Sixth Birthday

Teens at are hosting several jazz sets Saturday to fund the business ideas of entrepreneurs in developing nations.

Jazz Night for Kiva’s Sixth Birthday will raise money for a non-refundable loan provided through the non-profit organization. Kiva lets individuals lend as little as $25 to help entrepreneurs in impoverished areas. Since it started in 2005, more than 630,000 loans worth $249 million have been made—with a repayment rate of nearly 99 percent.

A team of Wayzata High School students created a team to raise money for Kiva’s Sixth Birthday as part of a larger effort in occurring concurrently in other cities, said Alexander Aronovich, a Depot board member. They organized Saturday’s jazz night as a fun way to help the organization.

Many local students will be performing in jazz acts. All the money collected from cover charges, donations, and T-shirt sales will go toward the Kiva loan. The group aims to raise $500.

“We have no preference for a specific type of business (to help),” Aronovich wrote in an e-mail interview. “We just hope to do our part to make sure that no entrepreneurs on Kiva go unnoticed and that all have the opportunity to uplift themselves out of poverty.”

The event takes place from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m. Saturday. The cover charge is $5, and donations will be accepted, as well.

For more information, check out the team’s Facebook page or the event’s page.