At JVA Consulting, we love sharing stories about some of our favorite clients, and Tara Tongco Rojas of CoBiz Financial is one. We first worked with Tara when CoBiz was starting its employee foundation, helping her train new foundation board members, and this year got to work with Tara as she joined the board of another client, the Colorado Parent and Child Foundation.

So we are very excited to share the news that Tara and CoBiz colleague Kate Wilson have been selected as finalists in TIAA-CREF’s Raise the Rate contest.

The contest is gathering ideas on how to raise the personal savings rate in America by 10 percent in two years. Tara and Kate’s project, “Women’s Saving Club,” was one of just 10 finalists out of more than 1,000 submissions. As finalists, Tara and Kate have already won $1,000 and still have the opportunity to win up to $50,000.

Tara and Kate both enjoy working on volunteer projects and developing entrepreneurial ideas. One of the topics they always came back to was how to educate and inspire about families’ finances, and as a result the Women’s Saving Club was born. The ten women in the club have already made steps toward saving.

“The beauty of this idea,” Tara said, “is that doesn’t require changes in tax law, banking operations or technology. Just grab your girlfriends, set goals, and meet regularly to hold each other accountable and share ideas.”

To learn more about the Women’s Saving Club and to cast your vote in the Raise the Rate contest, click here. Voting will take place until December 9 and the winner will be announced on December 13.

Tara and Kate will donate 10 percent of any prize winnings to the Women’s Bean Project to help provide resources that work to end the cycle of poverty and unemployment for women.