Coalition of Filipino American Chambers of Commerce—Statement of Work (CFACC)

Introduction:The Coalition started in May 2018. There are millions of Filipinos in the US, and many come from the Philippines to work in technical and professional jobs here. There are also many Filipino business owners, spread across the US in a number of urban areas. In California alone there are 8 independent Filipino American Chambers of Commerce. There is one in Hawaii that has been in place for decades that is in the process of joining this coalition. The Coalition of Filipino American Chambers of Commerce (CFACC) is currently creating Chambersof Commerce in cities that are not currently served. CFACC hopes to be the voice of this community in order to influence local municipal policies. In addition, CFACC is aligning itself with the National Diversity Coalition, a multi-ethnic association ofChambers of Commerce representing the African-American, Latino, and other communities. They hope to affect US federal government policy. CFACC also facilitates what is known as social investment. Many Filipinos living and working in the US are still citizens of the Philippines and have families there, to whom they send part of their earnings each month. As an alternative means of contributing to the well-being of these families, CFACC works with an international credit union, based in Japan, which will lend modest sums–$5K-$10K to Filipinos working in the US to purchase franchises and small businesses—for example, gas stations and laundry services—in the Philippines. They can then hire members of their families or extended families to manage and work for these businesses, and pay off the loans, which typically have a 5-year installment term, from the profits. The benefits to the expatriate Filipinos are that they no longer have to send money back home to help their families, who would now be positioned to earn better livings than currently. The benefits to those who still reside in the Philippines would be increased income and self-sufficiency. The interest rates on these 5-year loans, assuming the borrower passes the credit screen, ranges from 2.5% to 8%, depending on the creditworthiness of the borrower, who is probably either a small business owner or technical/professional employed in the US. Currently CFACC operations are funded by donated labor on the parts of its officers, donations from the officers, and donations in kind, such as meeting facilities provided by Chambers of Commerce who are members of the Coalition. To expand its scope of operations, CFACC seeks large corporations that regularly donate—via grants—to non-profits that advocate social investment. CFACC’s Philippines project is a good example of social investment: investment aimed at creating sustainability for people who are impoverished and live in countries that lack effective “social nets Statement of Work: •Review the CFACC website, and clarify the business environment of CFACC.