Member Meetings
Member Meetings
We believe in the value of community support. Twice monthly we have evening events for our members and guests. The first Tuesday meeting of each month allows members to network and access business resources. Members can bring marketing materials, products, or displays to let people know about their businesses. This is also the time where members can connect with our business advisors who offer one-on-one assistance on a full array of business challenges.
Advanced Trainings
Every 3rd Tuesday of each month, our member meeting includes a brief training in an area of business. These vary and are often in response to the requests of our members. Trainings cover such areas as contracting, sales strategies, taxes, goal setting, risk management, on-line marketing, or any other topics of interest. If you are interested in teaching an Advanced Workshop, please see our volunteer page.
Business Groups and Peer Loans
During the later part of our Member Meetings, our Business Groups meet. Business Groups are one of the most powerful aspects of Washington CASH. Being self-employed can be very challenging, difficult, and sometimes lonely. Business groups provide a tremendous support system for our business owners. Group members give feedback, support, accountability, and most importantly, they are dedicated to the success of each member.
Washington CASH was built on the concept of the Grameen Bank (founded by the Nobel Peace Prize winner, Muhammad Yunus). In the mid 1990’s Peter Rose traveled to Bangladesh to personally learn about microfinance and the peer lending model. When he returned he began Washington Community Alliance for Self-Help. We continue to use this model as it provides access to capital to people who are considered unbankable or underbanked. Traditional banks make lending decisions based on character, credit history, collateral, capacity, a personal guarantee, and at least 2 years of being in business with a positive cash flow. That leaves our clients with no access to capital through the traditional avenues.
At CASH, we use something completely different to judge the viability of a loan: SOCIAL COLLATERAL. The majority of our clients are low-income women who are just starting their own businesses. In many cases, they have no credit or poor credit history, no collateral, and no track record as a business owner. In our peer loan groups, a member can apply for a small loan (starting at $1,000 going up to $5,000). Business Groups consist of 5 to 10 members each. They meet regularly and assist each other in building their businesses. When a member is ready to apply for a loan, the other group members review the business plan, listen to how the loan will be used and repaid, and make the final decision about this borrower receiving the loan. The group informs Washington CASH staff that a loan has been approved and the check is issued. If the borrower gets behind in a payment, the peer group is “frozen” and cannot apply for any future loans until the other loan becomes current or repaid. This social pressure keeps that loan borrowers accountable to building a successful businesses so that loans can stay current. Our loan repayment rate is 89%.
One tremendous advantage of our peer loans is that we do report to the Credit Builder’s Alliance. That means that borrowers are rebuilding their credit by borrowing from Washington CASH. Many of our clients have gotten back on track with their credit through this opportunity.
Business Groups have some general guidelines they are asked to follow, but they primarily run their own meetings, elect a leader, treasurer, secretary, create their own agenda, and set rules that work for their group. To inquire about joining a Business Group or getting a Peer Loan, please contact us at info@washingtoncash.org.
Group Mentors
Each Business Group has an experienced mentor. Mentors are volunteers who currently or in the past have owned their own business. Some of our mentors are past clients who have grown and developed their business to a successful level and now, give back to Washington CASH through this volunteer commitment. Group Mentors do not take a lead role in groups, but rather act as support and a ‘go-to’ person for help and advice. If you are interested in becoming a mentor, please see our volunteer page for more information.
Business Advisors
There are many experienced and skilled people who choose to volunteer with Washington CASH. During member meetings, these volunteers offer to provide 1-on-1 technical advice to our members. Members can sign up for the consults and meet with the business advisor at a later date, convenient to both parties. Examples of volunteer business advisors are attorneys, accountants, marketing experts, business planners, and many more. If you are interested in becoming a Business Advisor, go to our volunteer page.
