Filene Fill-In Ep. 32: Two Wins and a Miss for Credit Unions

Filene Research Institute

Today's story looks at two credit unions doing everything they can to support and grow their communities' small business sectors by building out programs that cater to the needs of business owners and entrepreneurs. These credit unions, Alterna Savings in Canada and Neighborhood Trust in New York, are part of Filene's Financial Empowerment Incubator work and are actively testing new programs to serve those who traditionally are underserved or don't have access to other financial institutions or services. Then we talk with a brand new small business owner just looking to open a few basic business accounts with a credit union in her community, and the roadblocks that prevent her from following her heart down the credit union path. Ultimately, we try to assess answers to these questions: How much does the right support system set up our future success or lack thereof? And, If small businesses are such a vital part of our national economy and local communities, why do entrepreneurs have such a hard time gaining access to the credit they need to start, run, or expand their business? Maybe the bigger picture here is getting obstructed by the day-to-day, the small and now. It’s the “can’t see the forest through the trees” adage. Twenty years in the future, a community could be financially stronger with every small business and entrepreneur it has, but we tend to be fixated on extracting value today--the ROI of now. A recent Gallup Poll article indicated, “For the first time in 35 years, American business deaths now outnumber business births.” Filene’s incubator programs, and the credit unions that implement and test many of our financial empowerment programs across the U.S. and Canada are attempting to address these issues and more. Here’s to more wins for consumers, small business owners, entrepreneurs, credit unions and our communities in the future. Filene Incubator: https://filene.org/incubator/reaching-minority-households Alterna Savings: https://www.alterna.ca/ Neighborhood Trust FCU: http://www.neighborhoodtrustfcu.org/ Jennifer Laud Consulting: http://www.jlaud.com/