Washington — The U.S. Women's Chamber of Commerce, an organization that advocates for economic issues on behalf of female small business owners, is seeking to partner with a credit union — potentially providing a huge opportunity, as the USWCC counts more than a 500,000 members across the nation.
USWCC is working with CU Strategic Planning (CUSP) to find the credit union that can best serve the members of the Washington-based organization. Credit unions that want to be considered must apply no later than Feb. 15 by contacting CU Strategic Planning Senior Consultant Mike Beall at: mike@creditunionstrategicplanning using the subject line: "USWCC Intent to Respond to RFP."
In the text of the message, CUs should include the following information:
- Full name of credit union
- The CU's charter number
- Name of CU's chief executive
- Chief executive's e-mail and phone number
"Interested credit unions should show a desire to be the credit union dedicated to serving the USWCC as well as existing members, should be flexible in expanding their field of membership, governance, and product offerings," said CUSP founder Jamie Strayer.
Margot Dorfman, USWCC's co-founder and CEO, said that USWCC is not necessarily looking for the "largest credit union" as a partner, but rather seeking the "right" CU with which to partner to build a portfolio of women's and small business-friendly loans and services, and in return, "drive our membership to this credit union. [This is a] win-win for everyone."
The ideal institution, USWCC explained, would be one with between $20 million and $100 million in assets and a "strong desire" to grow its products and services to existing members, develop business services to meet the needs of USWCC members, and increase its asset size.
The CU should also exhibit a commitment to be "flexible" in its governance and charter.
Dorfman also said in a statement that USWCC had considered chartering its own CU, but "came to the conclusion that partnering with an existing credit union is a more dynamic way to build something together cooperatively, to meet the needs of our members and their businesses, now, today."
Consequently, USWCC said it views partnering with a not-for-profit credit union as a "critical part" of its efforts to address American "business challenges" for women and small business owners.
USWCC noted that its decision to find a CU partner came on the heels of some findings from the 2012 U.S. Census Survey of Business Owners, which revealed, among other things, that women own 9.9 million small businesses nationwide, representing about 35% of the total number of such firms.
However, these businesses only generate 4% of the revenues. In addition, about 70% of women-owned firms have less than $25,000 in annual revenue and only 10% of them even have paid employees.
