A Big-Picture Approach To Financial Inclusion

Sustaining a small business can be challenging, even more so when small business owners lack peer network support. According to a report from think tank Third Way using U.S. Census data, minority-owned businesses are growing at a faster rate than white-owned businesses; however, they are still underrepresented.

Financial Plus Credit Union ($1.3B, Flint, MI) recognizes the challenges minority-owned businesses face. To support these voices, it created a minority business spotlight it named Billboards of Inclusion in August 2023.

Billboards of Inclusion was open to all business owners in Michigan regardless of credit union membership. Winners got to work with Financial Plus’s marketing team — which includes an in-house graphic designer — to design a billboard that reflects their brand identity and community impact. The credit union then awarded the winners the billboard for four weeks in October 2023. That kind of exposure is a valuable resource for a small business.

“There comes a certain point in a business’ life where it either dies or it succeeds,” says Allen Williams, DEI business partner at Financial Plus Credit Union. “Sometimes advertising is the one piece that’s missing.”

Spread The Word

The credit union leaned on its relationships with local chambers of commerce, African American advisory committees, minority business directories, and other community networks to promote the contest. Williams also talked it up on the radio and on-stage at a cultural festival the credit union sponsored.

A selection committee representing Financial Plus’ management, commercial, and marketing teams sorted through more than 50 applications. It selected winners using a scorecard it had developed, reviewing essays on a 50-point scale and taking into consideration whether applicants addressed all contest questions, showed originality and authenticity in their ideas, and provided comprehensive responses. To ensure the process was unbiased, committee members agreed to recuse themselves from scoring entrants they knew.

In the end, the committee selected Harris Family Health in Flint, MI, and Heart of the City Development Center in Saginaw, MI.

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Harris Family Health is the area’s first direct primary care clinic. It serves individuals facing barriers to traditional medical services.

Heart of the City orchestrates social gatherings focused on developing essential skill in a secure environment to help individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities transition from family care to active participation in the workforce.

After raising a daughter with special needs, Cherie Long identified a disparity in the support and resources accessible to adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

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A Broader Strategy

Financial Plus is a community development financial institution (CDFI) committed to serving diverse communities. It supports businesses and promotes homeownership to minimize racial gaps. Billboards of Inclusion dovetails with the credit union’s broader strategy to achieve financial inclusion.

“Being a good corporate citizen within the communities we serve encapsulates our DEI strategy,” Williams says. “If we’re saying we’re investing in minority-owned businesses, we have to make sure we have the proper tools to act as a resource to those businesses — whether that means opening accounts, promoting local businesses during Black History Month and Hispanic Heritage Month, or showcasing exceptional minority-owned businesses through a contest like this one.”

Tracking Impact

Measuring the results of advertising isn’t always a perfect science, but Financial Plus does have solid impressions figures from its agency partner that detail how many people saw each of the Billboards of Inclusion based on location and traffic.

And although the credit union paid to place the billboards for four weeks, one of the winners’ billboards, which has a desirable highway location, is still up several months later. That can happen when advertisers have not purchased follow-on placements.

By design the billboards lack any mention of Financial Plus. That’s because the goal of the contest was to showcase the winners. However, the credit union did share photos of the billboards on social media to celebrate the winners. Anecdotally, Williams has heard the contest has made people want to do their banking with a local credit union rather than a large bank focused on national promotions.

Lessons And A Look Ahead

Williams advises credit union leaders to do their research before creating an initiative like this.

“In our community, billboards work well,” Williams says. “But in your community, it might be a website or a commercial or something entirely different that will be the most effective.”

Involving the credit union’s compliance department is also key when sponsoring a contest.

For Financial Plus, Billboards of Inclusion is just the beginning. It plans to hold the contest again in 2024 with an extended timeline and three winners instead of two.

“We’re trying to get it on our calendar earlier this year with billboards potentially up in August and September when it’s warmer and traffic tends to be higher,” Williams says.

If everything goes as planned, the 2024 contest should launch towards the end of the second quarter to allow more time for all phases.

You’ve Committed To Your Purpose. Now What?

Assess your organization’s operational understanding of purpose with Callahan’s Purpose Alignment Tool. The survey — developed by Callahan & Associates and leading credit unions — provides a baseline purpose score with insight into employee tenure and role.
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