Top Headlines
CDCUs, Federation Awarded 4.7 Million from Federal CDFI Fund
Federation to Assist Credit Unions with Certification, Application
(August 29, 2008, New York, NY)The U.S. Treasury Department’s Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Fund yesterday announced $54.2 million in awards to 89 community development financial institutions around the United States. Twelve credit unions and the National Federation of Community Development Credit Unions (Federation) were among the winners.
Two credit unions, ASI FCU (Harahan, LA; $1.097 million) and Latino Community CU (Durham, NC; $1.0 million) were the biggest credit union winners. Other awards ranged from $39,000 to nearly $600,000. (See attached chart for complete list.) The larger awards are part of the CDFI Fund’s “Core” and “SECA: (Small and Emerging CDFI Assistance)” Financial Assistance (FA) programs, while the amounts of $100,000 or less come under its Technical Assistance (TA) program.
To read the full press release please click here.
Federation's CDCU Institute™ Graduates 8th Class
Special 10th Anniversary Celebration Planned
(August 21, 2008 - Madison, WI) The Federation’s CDCU Institute™, graduated its eighth class in the center of the credit union movement, Madison, Wisconsin. The Class of 2008’s twelve graduates celebrated the completion of an intensive, three-year program for staff and board members of credit unions specializing in serving low-income and underserved markets./p>
Fifty students attended this year’s CDCU Institute™. The week-long training is the Federation’s signature professional development program, where students learn skills to improve service to their communities and grow their credit unions while building connections to support their work. Attendees included representatives from credit unions large and small, from both rural and urban communities. Students that complete the three-year program graduate with a certificate in CDCU Management.
To read the full press release please click here.
Federation Investments in CDCUs Over $29 Million!
The Federation's Community Development Investment Program: Increasing the Impact of CDCUs
Community Development Investments recently passed an important benchmark with over $40 million assets under management. The Federation currently has over $29 million invested in deposits, grants, and loans to CDCUs nationwide. These investments represent a deployment of 89% of available capital in the deposit program and marks the Federation's continuing commitment to enhancing CDCU capacity.
Do you want to increase the impact of your credit union? Do you want to make more loans? Are your members affected by predatory lending? Apply now for our grants, deposits, and loans!
Next Application Deadline: Friday, October 3rd. Only complete applications will be reviewed.
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Apply for SECONDARY CAPITAL. You can increase your lending capacity by improving your net worth ratio; NCUA treats secondary capital as net worth for PCA purposes in low-income credit unions.
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Apply for a SHARED- RISK DEPOSIT. Help your members build and protect their assets and combat predatory lending by applying for: Predatory Relief and Intervention Deposits (PRIDESTM). PRIDESTM help credit unions that have established, or are planning to establish, anti- predatory lending programs to combat abusive lending practices in their communities. The Federation will share the risk on loans CDCUs make to the victims or targets of predatory lenders.
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Apply for a DEPOSIT. You can get the cash you need to provide loans to your members in two ways: Insured deposits in amounts of up to $100,000, and Nominee deposits, in which the Federation acts as a “nominee” or agent for a bank or other investor and places additional insured deposits above $100,000.
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Apply for an EQUITY GRANT. Equity Grants can provide you with additional strength and can be used to accelerate your growth or expand products and services. Funds are limited!
Not sure which of our products is right for your CDCU? Learn more by clicking here.
Federation's Mortgage Center Aids New Orleans Renewal
Purchases Help Residents Refinance Predatory Loans
Three years after Katrina, there are many signs of progress in New Orleans, but huge challenges remain. Residents continue to return to the city, but the rate has slowed markedly. The housing crisis is a large part of the problem.
Both renters and homeowners alike face major difficulties. “Rental prices are exorbitant, totally unaffordable,” says Mignhon Tourné, CEO of ASI Federal Credit Union, one of the largest community development credit unions (CDCUs) in the country and a vital resource for its 75,000 members in the New Orleans area. Current and prospective homeowners face their own set of problems. Homeowner insurance and private mortgage insurance (PMI) are hard to get and inordinately expensive, according to Tourné, putting a tremendous strain on family budgets. “If not for those barriers, we’d see more people returning to New Orleans,” she remarked.
To read the full press release please, click here.
Fiscal Year 2009 CDFI Program Opens
Federation Offering Member-CDCUs Technical Assistance for CDFI Applications
(August 12, 2008 - Washington, DC) - The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Fund today released its Fiscal Year 2009 Notice of Funds Availability (NOFA) for the CDFI Program. This annual funding notice provides up to $54 million in appropriated funds, subject to final appropriations, in the form of awards to community-based organizations, known as community development financial institutions - or CDFIs. These CDFIs provide affordable financing and related services to low-income communities and populations that lack access to credit, capital and financial services.
To make this funding opportunity available to the public as soon as possible, the CDFI Fund is posting the NOFA electronically on the Grants.Gov website (www.grants.gov) in advance of the Federal Register publication on Friday, August 15, 2008. Potential applicants are strongly encouraged to read this funding notice thoroughly. Additional guidance can be found on the CDFI Fund’s website (www.cdfifund.gov).
Click here to view full the CDFI Fund news release.
**Federation members should be aware that we offer Technical Assistance to CDCUs applying for CDFI certification and/or CDFI awards.**
For more information about our Technical Assistance services, please contact Brian Gately, Director of Technical Assistance, at (800) 437-8711, x 201 (bgately@cdcu.coop) or Pablo DeFilippi, Associate Director of Membership Development, at x304 (pablo@cdcu.coop).
Two CDCUs Selected as Semi-finalists for 2008 Wachovia NEXT Awards
ASI FCU and Lower East Side Peoples’ FCU Chase $8.7 MM in Grants & Loans
(August 7, 2008 – New York, NY) On Monday, August 4, ASI FCU (Harahan, LA) and the Lower East Side Peoples’ FCU (New York, NY), two prominent community development credit unions (CDCUs), were selected as semifinalists for the 2008 Wachovia NEXT Awards for Opportunity Finance. The awards recognize excellence among community development financial institutions (CDFIs) that responsibly serve low-income and low-wealth people and communities. However, in addition to recognition, winners also receive major grants and loans to help expand their innovative efforts, thanks to generous support of the Wachovia Foundation and The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.
The two CDCUs are among ten selected semifinalists, but they are not in direct competition with each other since the awards are given in two main categories, based on the amount of lending activities within each institution. With over $285 million in assets, ASI FCU is chasing the top prize category for institutions with more than $50 million in lending capital, with more than $20 million in assets, the Lower East Side People’s FCU (LESPFCU) is hoping to win the award for institutions with $10 - $50 million in capital dedicated to lending.
If selected, ASI FCU could receive a $5 million below-market loan plus a $500,000 unrestricted grant, and LESPFCU stands to win a $2.5 million below-market loans plus a $250,000 unrestricted grant. In addition to the two large prizes, another four grants of $25,000 each will be made to CDFIs that have demonstrated excellence in advocacy, community impact, financing, or innovation.
To read the full press release, please click here.
Federation to Open San Francisco Field Office
Further Expanding National Presence of CDCUs
(August 6, 2008 – New York, NY) The National Federation of Community Development Credit Unions (Federation) is pleased to announce that long-time staff-member Rafael O. Morales, the current Public Affairs Officer, will soon be relocating across the country to open a regional office in San Francisco, CA.
At the new location, Morales will continue to focus on Federation communications as a primary duty, but will increasingly provide leadership and support to regional initiatives and events, including working with the California Low Income Credit Union Network; acting as liaison to the California and Nevada Credit Union League, the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, state and local government agencies and officials; and working on other special projects as required.
“We are extremely pleased to be able to have a physical presence in California where a large percentage of the Federation’s Western Region members are located,” explained Federation President / CEO Cliff Rosenthal. “Rafael has been with the Federation for five years and is very familiar with the organization and our work, and I’m confident that he will be able to hit the ground running to promote new partnerships and initiatives that leverage the capacity of CDCUs, credit unions in general and other institutions across the Bay Area and statewide.”
To read the full press release, please click here.
5th Latino & 34th Annual Conference Presentations Now Available!
We are pleased to announce that we have finished uploading conference presentations from our recent 5th Latino Credit Union Conference and 34th Annual Conference on Serving the Underserved to the Federation’s website.
To view presentations, please click here.
