The WE Lend Initiative $2.5MM Grant Empowering Women Entrepreneurs through Increased Access to Capital.

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1 1 The WE Lend Initiative $2.5MM Grant Empowering Women Entrepreneurs through Increased Access to Capital Media Q&A

2 2 The Initiative What is the WE Lend Initiative? The WE Lend Initiative is a $2.5 million, two-year investment in women entrepreneurs, awarded by Sam s Club to increase access to affordable loans and business training for a greater number of low to moderate income women entrepreneurs. This initiative leverages the powerful networks and expertise of three national organizations dedicated to small business prosperity and growth: Accion, The U.S. Network, National Community Reinvestment Coalition (NCRC) and Women Impacting Public Policy (WIPP). It will directly support and strengthen Women s Business Centers, a network of 100 offices recognized by the Small Business Administration to help women entrepreneurs. What does WE Lend stand for? The W and E in WE Lend stand for Women Entrepreneurs. How much is Sam s Club investing in the Initiative? The Sam s Club Giving Program is providing a $2.5 million grant to grow womenowned businesses and jumpstart job creation in lending desert communities. What is the purpose of the WE Lend Initiative? The Sam s Club Giving Program grant enables the WE Lend Initiative to achieve three key objectives that will benefit women entrepreneurs in underserved communities: Train select Women s Business Centers to become microlenders and provide capital for loans to women entrepreneurs Strengthen the Women s Business Centers referral process, motivating them to more effectively connect women with microlenders and financing to grow their businesses Increase the capacity of the Women s Business Centers to provide the women they serve with solid financial literacy and loan readiness skills How do Women Business Centers benefit from the WE Lend Initiative? To reach women entrepreneurs, the WE Lend Initiative will work with Women s Business Centers (WBCs), a network of 100 organizations who play a critical role in the growth, sustainability and success of women entrepreneurs nationwide. Accion, The U.S. Network, NCRC and WIPP have extensive collective experience in microlending and training and have long-standing relationships with WBCs. This twoyear initiative will have three main areas of emphasis: Through the Microloan Institute, provide capital for loans and train select WBCs to become lenders Through the program's Capital Access Training Program, train select WBCs to more effectively connect women business owners with financing to grow their

3 3 businesses Document and track results to share with the industry and drive future investments on women-owned business capital access programs Why is Sam s Club investing in this Initiative? According to new data from the Sam s Club Gallup Microbusiness Tracker, to be released this week, women remain a growing sector of small business, especially in the area of microbusiness, defined as firms with fewer than five employees. Women are more likely to be owners of the newest small businesses and 67% are still relying on personal savings to finance their business. In fact, 58% of women say having healthy cash reserves is a major business concern. Lack of access to capital and financing continues to be the leading deterrent to success for these U.S. women-owned businesses. The WE Lend Initiative seeks to bridge this financing gap and empower women entrepreneurs to pursue their dreams. The grant will help support and advance Women s Business Centers and endow them with improved training and microlending resources to help hundreds of women-owned businesses thrive. What does the WE Lend Initiative hope to achieve? Women s Business Centers reach 150,000 women entrepreneurs each year. By investing in this vast network, Sam s Club is helping to improve services women rely on to grow their businesses and to bring jobs to their communities. The goals include: Reaching 40 Women s Business Centers across the country to strengthen services and improve their ability to effectively connect women business owners with affordable financing Supporting approximately 1,600 women owned businesses through lending, training and capacity-building Delivering nearly 400 new loans to low- and moderate-income women business owners Creating and or maintaining an estimated 2,195 jobs in local communities Providing $1.5 million in direct financing to women business owners across the country Application Process WE-LendInitiative.org When can Women Business Centers apply? Starting April 4, Women s Business Centers can apply to receive WE Lend Initiative training, capital and support at Qualified WBCs will be notified in June 2014 and will participate in a rolling Microloan Institute curriculum through 2014 and Are there any application requirements? Considerations for acceptance include need, capacity and commitment. Considerations will also be influenced by WE Lend Initiative research dedicated to identifying U.S. lending deserts, U.S. counties across the country where small businesses receive a percentage of loans far below the national median.

4 4 Lending Deserts What is a lending desert? Research funded by the WE Lend Initiative and led by NCRC is identifying U.S. lending deserts, potentially hundreds of U.S. counties where small businesses receive a percentage of loans far below the national median. Research findings will be available from the WE Lend Initiative in late April/early May. Why are you choosing to include proximity to a lending desert as part of the application requirement? There are numerous considerations for acceptance including need, capacity and commitment. The Women s Business Centers located near lending deserts are less likely to have access to loans and are therefore in more need of assistance from initiatives like WE Lend. The Sam s Club Small Business Member How many business members does Sam s Club have? For more than 30 years, Sam s Club has served small business members. Today, with more than 630 clubs, we serve about 600,000 small business owners every day. The majority of these members are microbusinesses with fewer than 5 employees. Beyond this grant, how is Sam s Club investing in small business members? We re listening to our members and providing support and solutions. Last year, Sam s Club invested more than $2 million in microlending for small businesses, as well as in programs aimed at women-owned and Latino-owned businesses. In 2013, we provided $10MM in grants to organizations like SCORE, the National Association of Community College Educators and women-focused COUNT ME IN, who are dedicated to training, education and lifting awareness for microlenders and organizations that ease the burden of accessing capital. As a result, last year: We helped 3,600 micro business owners get the training they need to succeed; We enabled 265 small-business loans to micro businesses through non-profit grantees; We created or maintained 1,200 jobs. By helping small business owners grow revenue, they continue to be self-employed and hire others We continue to use data to learn more about our members and we are able to use our scale and resources to take our commitment to small business prosperity to the next level. Member Services: SBA Loans, Instant Savings, Business Expos, Click n Pull Philanthropy The Sam s Club Giving Program is focused on increasing financing, training and education for today s micro and small business owners to empower them to grow and create jobs in their communities.

5 5 Sponsorship Support of U.S. Chamber of Commerce s America s Small Business Summit, Dream Big Blue Ribbon Awards Winners, National Small Business Week, NAWBO, Catalyst and more! Showcase Events program bringing 150 new local small businesses to sell from our clubs every year. Supplier Summits for women, minority and veteran owned businesses to learn how to get on the shelf at larger retailers. SMALL BUSINESS BOOT CAMPS: Announced last year, Sam s Club provided a $500,000 grant to 24 community organizations like local SCORE chapters and Chambers of Commerce to host business-planning training for local businesses. From New Orleans to northern Maine and DC to Citrus Heights CA, our 24 Small Business Boot Camps helped more than 500 small businesses with business planning, HR, Marketing, Finance Support and so much more. We are continuing to review the products and services and grants and education we could provide to small businesses to ensure we remain relevant with them and their pressing needs. Our goal is to provide ways to add value to their membership. At Sam s Club, we believe that the more we listen and connect, the more of a difference we can make in the communities we serve. As a big company, how does Sam s Club strive to be entrepreneurial? Sam Walton, one of the world s great entrepreneurs, started Sam s Club as a microbusiness with one location. Today, his entrepreneurial mindset still inspires associates at every level to think about the member first and how we can be a club of the community. How is serving small businesses part of the focus for Sam s Club? Entrepreneurship is an important cornerstone of the Sam s Club business. Our founder Sam Walton is one of the world s most successful entrepreneurs and thirty years ago, he developed Sam s Club to help small business owners. Through the Sam s Club Giving Program, we have extended our commitment to helping small business owners access capital through a targeted philanthropic focus on small business. Last year we helped to train over 3,600 small business owners, enable grantees to provide 265 small business loans and create or maintain 1,200 jobs through grants to nonprofit partners. We will continue to develop new services and membership advantages as well as offer training and financial support in local communities. Why is it important to Sam s Club to focus on organizations that aid small businesses? Small businesses are the very essence of the American dream, helping to drive the economy and job growth. So Sam s Club is proud to assist people as they start and build their operations. We all know an entrepreneur or visit them up and down Main Street from day care centers to the local pizza shop. We take great pride in being on their growth journey with them.

6 6 The WE Lend Initiative: A Powerful Collaboration Sam s Club, the nation s eighth largest retailer and leading U.S. membership club, offers savings and surprises to millions of members in 635 U.S. club locations and at SamsClub.com. The Sam s Club Giving Program, established by The Walmart Foundation in 2008, is dedicated to micro- and small business prosperity, investing more than $11 million in national and local programs dedicated to improved training, education and increased access to capital for small business owners. For more information on national or local giving, visit SamsClub.com/giving. ACCION, The U.S. Network is the largest and only nationwide micro and small businesslending network in the United States which connects small business owners with the accessible financing and advice it takes to create or grow a healthy business. Since 1991 Accion U.S. has made over 46,000 loans, totaling over $360 million. Businesses also nationwide turn to Accion for advice via workshops, online tools and one on one consultation. The National Community Reinvestment Coalition (NCRC) is an association of more than 600 community-based organizations that promote access to basic banking services, including credit and savings, to create and sustain affordable housing, business development, job creation, and vibrant communities for America s working families. Women Impacting Public Policy (WIPP) is a non-profit, non-partisan organization established in 2001 that educates and advocates on behalf of its coalition of 4.7 million business women including 75 business organizations. The WIPP Education Foundation provides education and research for the economic empowerment of women owned small businesses. Women's Business Centers (WBCs), as recognized by the U.S. Small Business Administration, represent a national network of nearly 100 educational centers designed to assist women start and grow small businesses. More than 150,000 women entrepreneurs visit WBC locations each year. WBCs operate with the mission to "level the playing field" for women entrepreneurs, who still face unique obstacles in the world of business.