Grumbling about the economy, taxes and the ever-increasing cost of milk is a pastime common the globe over. Whether home is the South of France, Beijing, a hut in the Sahara or Whidbey Island, people love to complain about finances.
It’s 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.
Whidbey Island Local Lending, or 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 with interest, albeit at laughably low rates.
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 good will. 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.
WILL is the kind of organization that would contribute to the sense of community on North and Central Whidbey and help foster the kinds of businesses that are the lifeblood of cities like Oak Harbor and Coupeville.
