Grumbling about the economy, taxes and the ever increasing cost of gummy bears is a pastime common the globe over. Whether home is the South of France, Beijing, a hut in the Sahara or Whidbey Island, people just love to complain about finances.
It’s simply human nature.
Yet, leave it to our little pocket of the world to be one of the few communities where private citizens with means are doing something about it. Instead of whining on the porch about the sad state of the nation they are putting their money where their mouth is, and the South Whidbey Record wholly endorses their efforts.
Whidbey Island Local Lending (WILL) is a loosely organized group of about 40 islanders. Simply put, they are investors who offer an alternative to highly restrictive and traditional lending options — namely banks — for new or existing businesses with insufficient or poor credit history.
The program should not be confused as a charity. Loans are investments, not grants or gifts. People are expected to get paid back, and often with interest, albeit laughably low rates. Some have been zero, others come in the form of free bagels.
The particulars are figured out privately between borrowers and lenders, but it’s clear that the backbone of the program isn’t about making money. It’s about fostering the economy and seeing the community thrive.
Such a goal is hardly just an act of goodwill. According to the U.S. Small Business Administration, small businesses account for the following share of the country’s economy:
99.7 percent of U.S. employer firms
63 percent of net new private-sector jobs
48.5 percent of private-sector employment
42 percent of private-sector payroll
46 percent of private-sector output
37 percent of high-tech employment
98 percent of firms exporting goods
33 percent of exporting value
The federal Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that since the end of the recession, from mid-2009 to mid-2013, small firms accounted for 60 percent of the total net new jobs.
WILL can indeed make a difference on Whidbey Island, a big one. The organization is still young, however, and has yet to spread to Central and North Whidbey. All but one of the 17 approved loans, totaling $642,700, have been made to South End businesses by South Whidbey investors.
With any luck, that will soon change and it will be thanks to the example being set by WILL investors, people with the courage to risk what’s theirs for the betterment of their community.
To get involved as a lender, email Alina Frank at eft@whid
bey.net. Borrowers can learn more by attending WILL’s next mashup, a gathering of lenders and loan hopefuls, from 5 to 7 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 16, at the Bayview Cash Store.
