In April 1997, a small group of local volunteers began exploring ways to promote economic opportunities for the low-income population of Thurston County through a system known as microcredit. In its simplest form, microcredit means that a group of people pool their money and make loans to each other. This original group of volunteers believed that access to capital should be available to anyone, regardless of their income level, and thought that microcredit could be a great way to broaden that access. In 1998, the credit union group adopted the name "TULIP" (Thurston Union of Low-Income People), and began to plan for how it could accomplish its goal of starting a new state-chartered financial institution.


In 2001, after the volunteer Board conducted research into the feasibility of a new credit union for low income people, the Olympia Food Co-op donated the services of a part-time staff person to focus on the task of getting the credit union started. The partnership formed with the Co-op was the first of what would be many beautiful friendships. Over the next couple of years, TULIP found numerous supportive allies in the credit union world. In particular, Washington State Employees Credit Union and Boeing Employees.

Why are these "competitors" helping us? It may seem strange, but credit unions are cooperatives. The credit union movement is directed by a set of general principles, including a commitment to "cooperation among cooperatives" This means that members of the "credit union family" are committed to helping other credit unions. The TULIP project is of particular interest to many others in our community, because it is so apparent that there is a critical need for credit union services that is not currently being met.


TULIP hopes to carry on a long and healthy tradition of working under the guidance of cooperative principles. Along with our partners, we are working to build and maintain a sustainable, self-help, self-governed, community development business, which is open to everyone. We believe this will make our community a place where everyone has an opportunity to participate fully in all aspects of economic activity, and one which can contribute to the health and sustenance of the local economy.