A crowdfunding project
Earlier this year, the $741 million-asset credit union invested in a Vermont-based equity crowdfunding platform called Milk Money L3C. The transaction was made through VSECU's wholly owned, independently operated subsidiary, Vermont Heritage Financial Group, for an undisclosed amount.
Under the program, Vermont entrepreneurs and small business owners post their fund-raising requests on
"These five companies have raised nearly $75,000 in total from everyday Vermonters," Miller said. "Individuals have invested as little as $250 and up to $10,000 in these companies."
Additionally, 232 individuals have registered as investors and hundreds of Vermonters, including many VSECU members, have joined the credit union's co-hosted local investing events, demonstrating "tremendous interest" in the opportunities presented through the partnership. Miller said the partnership has received positive reactions from members, employees and the community at large, including recognition from local chambers of commerce, Vermont Businesses for Social Responsibility and more.
Lone Investor…For Now
To date, VSECU (through its subsidiary) is the only equity investor in Milk Money, which is in line with the intent of the partnership. Milk Money, however, does have several additional non-equity supporting partners, as well.
"Our investment in Milk Money has helped power the company's recent momentum, which includes the launch of five fundraising campaigns, with six more companies expected to launch new campaigns in the coming months," Miller said. "Milk Money is also seeing strong growth in the number of registered investors, with a 250% increase in weekly registrations compared to August, when the first campaigns were launched."
VSECU's employees, Miller added, have also shown "incredible enthusiasm" for what te credit union is doing, "reinforcing the value of our purpose-driven model" both internally and externally.
"We believe that equity crowd-funding – which connects local businesses to local, individual investors – is helping build stronger local economies by supporting local business growth from within, providing individuals with local investment opportunities that were previously unavailable and creating the opportunity for greater recirculation of wealth at the local level," Miller said.
Miller also said that VSECU has had a "great deal of positive feedback" from members on its "unique partnership" with Milk Money, and a "very positive response" to the local investing educational events they have hosted with Milk Money.
"We even had one member let us know he drove over an hour to attend an event to learn more about local investing and the opportunities currently available," he added. "Vermonters are very committed to 'going local' and there is real enthusiasm for the type of local investment opportunities and educational programs offered through Milk Money."
Calling All Co-ops
Cooperatives area big business in Vermont, and in March the credit union also launched a program called Co-op Capital to make strategic equity investments in local cooperative organizations. The goal of Co-op Capital was to "drive significant growth within Vermont's cooperative economy and positively impact" VSECU's local communities, according to the credit union.
Miller said he is "very excited" by the interest and number of inquiries they've received since launching the program earlier this year. "We've now made two commitments for funding and have been working with a number of co-ops that are at various stages of the application process," he said. "We anticipate announcing those first investments in the coming months."
