From sauce makers to startups, credit unions fuel small business dreams
Deborah and Freddie Lee had built one of St. Louis’ most beloved homegrown food brands from nothing. They started making their gourmet sauces in a home kitchen, grew their customer base at farmers markets and flea markets, and eventually expanded their distribution to hundreds of grocery store locations across the region. What they couldn’t do was convince a bank to give them a loan.
“We had a credit score around 700,” Deborah recalled, “but no one would give us a loan—not even for $5,000 to cover supplies and travel.” Institutions that were denying the Lees’ loan applications were also buying their sauce.
Their story changed when they connected with St. Louis Community Credit Union (SLCCU), a Black-owned, CDFI-certified institution that evaluates borrowers through a different lens. SLCCU approved the Lees for two loans totaling $650,000, which they used to purchase a 6,700-square-foot facility and scale their production capabilities.
“We were able to believe in the banking system again,” Deborah said. That sentiment, relief mixed with hard-won trust, echoes in small business communities across the country, wherever credit unions are doing what traditional lenders will not.
Small loans, life-changing outcomes
Credit unions are reaching small business owners not only through lending, but also through programs that build the skills and confidence to compete for capital in the first place. In Brighton, Michigan, Lake Trust Credit Union recently hosted the inaugural Entrepreneur Pitch Competition through its Lake Trust Foundation. It was the capstone event for the first cohort of the Lake Trust Entrepreneurship Institute at Cleary University, a free, online program that helps early-stage business owners sharpen their plans, marketing, and financial skills.
The winner was Emily Stone, founder of Whole Mama Michigan, a holistic maternal and family wellness hub in Brighton that connects families with classes, services, and care providers from preconception through the postpartum period. Stone’s $5,000 prize is a direct investment in that vision. With the funding, she plans to expand her reach to more postpartum mothers, support more expecting couples, and partner with additional local practitioners.
“These are businesses that are kind of in that zero-to-five-year mark,” said Nicole Paine, business development manager at Lake Trust. “What I love about this is it’s a cohort. They’re a group, and they’re moving together and supporting each other. That’s where the magic happens.”
Beyond the loan—building founder pipelines
Some of the most durable impacts credit unions have on small business development happen long before a loan application is ever filed. In Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, Limestone Financial Credit Union has been running “Learn It. Plan It. Pitch It.” (LiPiPi), a six-week entrepreneurship program for middle and high school students developed in collaboration with Michigan State University Extension of Schoolcraft County. Participants develop business ideas, conduct market research, build budgets, and receive one-on-one mentorship before presenting to a panel of community judges.
The program has produced outcomes that go well beyond classroom exercises. In a notable follow-up to the second year’s competition, participant Leiona Deyo (an eighth grader who pitched a skating design business) was hired by a competition judge to design a commemorative cycling jersey. The project had stumped professional designers, but Deyo delivered it in near-final form.
Jennifer Watson, CEO of Limestone Financial Credit Union, described the program’s purpose plainly: “It’s not just about business plans—it’s about unlocking potential, building confidence, and making connections that can change lives.”
The third year of the program, recently covered by the Pioneer Tribune, continues to expand the credit union’s reach as a community economic development engine, not just a financial institution.
Mission-driven finance meets venture-scale impact
Credit unions are also entering the entrepreneurship ecosystem. In April, Telhio Credit Union (Ohio’s top SBA-lending credit union) announced a strategic partnership with Rev1 Ventures, a nationally recognized Midwest venture studio that has supported more than 200 startups and contributed to the creation of 2,780-plus jobs across the state. Telhio became the first credit union to join Rev1 as a funding partner, entering a network of more than 40 leading corporations committed to driving innovation and startup growth.
“Telhio has always believed that strong communities are built by supporting the people and ideas driving them forward,” said Nick Biratsis, vice president of marketing at Telhio. The partnership positions a credit union at the leading edge of Ohio’s innovation economy, a signal that mission-driven finance and venture-scale impact are not mutually exclusive.
Empowerment as a business strategy
For credit unions that have earned CDFI certification from the U.S. Treasury (as SLCCU and others in this article have), their mission alignment is further reinforced by access to federal funding, technical assistance, and accountability standards that orient lending toward underserved markets and historically marginalized borrowers.
The programmatic dimension matters as much as the capital. In Mississippi, Hope Credit Union partnered with Alcorn State University’s School of Business and the Mississippi Small Business Development Center to host Hope Day @ Alcorn. The free Financial Empowerment and Business Resource Forum connected students, faculty, and community members with lenders, business advisors, and financial professionals.
The event, held in April, addressed one of the most persistent gaps in small business development: the distance between classroom financial education and the real-world capital and guidance entrepreneurs need to launch and sustain a business.
“When financial empowerment takes root in a community, it looks like ownership,” said LJ Molden of Hope Credit Union. “People own their own homes, entrepreneurs own their own businesses, and communities own their own assets.”
