Global mindset in action: 200K and counting

Since its inception in 2009, the Spartan Global Development (SGDF) has promoted the mission articulated in the Broad 2030 strategic plan: to create and disseminate knowledge through collaboration, developing global leaders who positively impact organizations and society. The Broad College of Business works to create leaders who are globally engaged and will succeed in today’s global economy.  The college achieves this by encouraging students to be curious and adaptable, while providing them with skills and opportunities that enable them to build relationships across cultural and geographic boundaries. SGDF does all of this.

In April 2025, SGDF members attended the Broad Business Gala hosted by the Broad Student Senate. At the Gala, they received the Social Contributor of the Year Award for the second consecutive year. Photo courtesy of Spartan Global Development Fund.

SGDF is comprised of two partner organizations: a registered student group and a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. The student-run initiative focuses on microfinance by providing interest-free loans ranging from $25 to $5,000 to support entrepreneurs in developing countries.  Just as importantly, SGDF educates students and others about microfinance and the need for it.  Their highly successful program depends on the trust, cultural understanding, as well as trust built through long-term relationship-building among students and loan recipients.

SGDF strives to educate, inspire, and enable tomorrow’s agents of global change. Through a sustainable lending cycle, the organization reinvests repaid funds to support new entrepreneurs around the world. The organization extends its loans to small businesses that emphasize the triple bottom line (TBL) of social, economic, and environmental sustainability.  Many loan recipients follow Fair Trade principles, which are based on the TBL, and students learn about cooperatives, a business model used by many of SGDF’s loan recipients.   This values-driven approach reflects a global mindset focused on people and the planet. SGDF shares the impacts of its recent loans and highlights the loan recipients and lending partners on its website.

SGDF students raise funds through a variety of mechanisms, including posts on social media, appeals through their website, fund-raising events on campus, and letters to potential and past donors.  They learn to write grant proposals, and a recent application resulted in a $2,000 International Project Grant from the Rotary Club of Lansing Foundation — a grant for non-profits advancing world understanding, goodwill, and peace through the improvement of health, the support of education, and the alleviation of poverty. This grant marked a significant milestone, putting SGDF’s total loan funding past $200,000.

SGDF’s field partners in Guatemala are unpaid, “on the ground” volunteers who facilitate direct loans by identifying potential loan recipients, facilitating communication, disbursing loans, and collecting payments.  SGDF has also made loans to small entrepreneurs in 88 countries through an online lending platform called KIVA. KIVA identifies and provides links with field partners around the world and lists loans awaiting funding.  The platform provides information about the field partner, prospective loan recipients, and more. SGDF applies its risk assessment criteria as it chooses loan recipients in Guatemala through its field partners and through KIVA’s online platform.

Paulette Stenzel, professor emerita in the Department of Finance, helped found the club and has continued as the advisor since. She educates members about microfinance, guides them as they maintain and polish their website, assists with fundraising efforts, connects students with her trusted contacts around the world, translates from Spanish as students communicate with field partners and loan recipients in Guatemala, and more. She is also a major financial contributor to SGDF’s programs.

“Students develop business skills by assisting in running a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, writing grant proposals, and by developing and applying risk assessment criteria as they consider applications for loans.  Students learn that a global mindset requires them to adapt their risk assessment criteria to the country and business environment of people in other countries,” Stenzel said.  “Additionally, they develop communication skills through writing blog posts, letters to potential donors, thank you letters to donors, and more.  They develop personal communications skills across the world through one-on-one relationships with field partners as well as loan applicants and borrowers.”

Students working on SGDF’s donor relations team emphasize that the organization’s program is highly sustainable because of the circular nature of their loan program.  Nick Birkle, a finance senior, is the 2025-2026 director of SGDF’s member and donor relations. Through donor relations, he learns what globally minded leadership looks like.

“Leading an organization that operates primarily in an international context has given me firsthand insight into conducting business across diverse global economies,” said Birkle. “Our loan recipients range from cattle farmers in Guatemala to beauty shop owners in Bolivia, each with a unique business plan outlining growth strategies and repayment approach. This exposure has deepened my understanding of global business practices and introduced me to brand new entrepreneurial models and cultural dynamics.”

Students expand their business knowledge and refine their communication skills through donor relations, and they develop relationships across international borders with the individuals to whom they extend loans.

As a testament to the value of SGDF, after graduation, many SGDF members become donors, and some provide additional support by serving as members of the SGDF non-profit board. Nikolai Wasielewski (B.A. Political Science ’13) has served on the SGDF board since graduation and is currently presiding as president. His leadership on the board has been a major contributor to the success of the program.

Rutha Mualla (B.A. Supply Chain Management ’22) also remains a dedicated donor post-graduation. His involvement began when SGDF students, led by Stenzel, traveled to Guatemala in 2017 and 2018 to meet loan recipients. In 2020, the trip became an official education abroad program, where students lived with loan recipients and helped build a coffee-drying platform funded by a $5,000 SGDF loan. After returning in March 2020, the pandemic struck, and when SGDF members learned loan recipients were struggling to access food, Mualla led a successful effort to raise over $10,000 for care baskets. “Our original goal was $5,000, which was ambitious for us at the time, but we raised over $10,000,” said Muaalla. “I still have the photos of the families holding the baskets saved on my computer… SGDF is an incredible organization that has had a tremendous positive effect on not only the loan recipients but also the students, alumni, and partners who work together to make those loans possible.”

Above all, students learn that strong relationships are built on trust and mutual respect. SGDF is a network of purpose-driven partnerships, helping students understand both cultural differences and shared human experiences. The organization’s 94.6 percent repayment rate reflects this careful relationship building and students’ ability to listen, adapt and support entrepreneurs in ways that are grounded in mutual understanding and respect.  SGDF’s key motto is, “We give a hand up, not a hand out.”  SGDF loans provide small entrepreneurs with capital that enables them to succeed in their local economies and to move into the world economy.

SGDF’s members put Broad’s mission into action by developing global leaders who are focused on making a positive impact.

To learn more about SGDF’s mission and activities, see its website at www.spartanglobalfund.org and visit SGDF’s  donor page to learn how you can support our SGDF students in their mission.