SEATTLE–Four credit unions have been awarded first place 2015 Strong Communities Awards from the Federal Home Loan Bank here.
Recognized were Harborstone Credit Union, BECU, and Verity Credit Union in Washington, as well as OnPoint Community Credit Union in Oregon. The credit unions have all backed the microlending program, Business Impact NW, which provides loans under $50,000 to women-, minority-, veteran-, and immigrant-owned businesses, especially to low/moderate-income owners and underserved communities in Washington and Oregon.
“Our communities need new and creative ways to increase microloans to local small businesses,” said Phil Jones, CEO of Harborstone Credit Union, which was the creator of Business Impact NW. “Our response was to create a unique collaborative program that brings multiple partners to the table to increase funding for new businesses and new jobs. And we are delighted with the affirmation of the FHLB’s award.”
Added Rob Stuart, CEO of OnPoint Community Credit Union: “We are very aware of the need for more microloans in our community. We have 17,000 business members and still see much more opportunity to help local microbusiness owners with funding to help create growth and new jobs. We are very committed to the mission of Business Impact NW and its unique collaborative model. And we are delighted to be the first—the anchor credit union partner—in Oregon.”
The University of Washington’s Foster School of Business Consulting and Business Development Center is the lead educational partner with Business Impact NW.
“This is our 20th year consulting with local small businesses, and the Business Impact NW partnership delivers watershed impacts,” said the Foster School’s Director, Michael Verchot. “Our research shows that businesses need three M’s to succeed. We've been able to address the first two M’s by improving management skills and connecting businesses to new markets. Our partnership with Business Impact NW will help us address the third M, and that's money—loan capital that can help a company grow. We're excited about this partnership that will engage the full financial resources of the region's credit unions in growing businesses in underserved communities."
The FHLB created its Strong Communities Award to draw attention to those of its 1,463 member financial institutions that are making unique and highly valuable contributions to their communities. The credit unions behind Business Impact NW have created the best program for 2015 focused on small business funding that has tremendous growth, impact, and sustainability potential.
Business Impact NW began operations in the fall 2014 and produced $350,000 in microloans as of August 2015, with a minimum $2 million more in microloans targeted through September 2016. The $350,000 in current loans also produced approximately $700,000 in additional economic impact and created 14 new jobs.
Other programs to begin in 2016 include a crowdfunding loan program involving credit union members joining the funding of local microbusiness loans and a real estate funding program for business owners and for underdeveloped community development projects working with local private and public partners.