Q: What is a "community development credit union," or CDCU?

A: A CDCU is a credit union which serves "predominantly low-income" members or communities.

Q: What does "low-income" mean?

A: The National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) defines low-income as having "annual household income ... at or below 80% of the median household income for the nation as established by the Census Bureau." When the final 2000 census figures are released, median U.S. household income will be about $42,000, which means about $33,000 for a "low-income" household. All these figures can be adjusted upward if you're located in a high-cost area. Adjustments range as high as 40% (for Hawaii). Different standards apply for employee credit unions. State regulators may also issue low-income designations. Please click here for more information about obtaining low-income designation.

Q: Do all of our members have to be "low-income" in order to qualify for membership in the Federation?
A: No, only a simple majority, or 51%.

Q: Must we have a low-income designation from NCUA in order to join the Federation?
A. No, you do not. If you certify in good faith that you meet the standards, you are eligible to join NFCDCU as a policy member even if you don't have the official designation. However, you do need low-income designation in order to obtain non-member deposits or secondary capital from us or any other investor.

Q: Do we have to call ourselves a "CDCU" to join the Federation?
A: No, you don't need to have "CDCU" in your name.

Q: Do we need a community or geographic charter to join?
A: No, many of our members are faith-based, associational, employment-based, or serve a combination of membership types.

Q: Do we need a special "CDCU" charter or designation from the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA)?
A: There is no special CDCU charter or designation from NCUA. NCUA does operate the "CDCU Revolving Loan Fund" for limited-income credit unions, which was established in 1979 through the  Federation's efforts. You do not need to be a participant in the NCUA program in order to join the National Federation of CDCUs.

Q: I'm interested in getting funds from your Capitalization Program. Do I automatically qualify for deposits or grants if I join?
A: In order to obtain funding, a credit union must make an application. The application is reviewed by an independent Capitalization Committee, which makes all funding decisions. You will need to have low-income designation in order to legally accept a non-member deposit or secondary capital loan. Click here for more information about the Capitalization Program.

Q: Can you help us with applications to the federal Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Fund?
A: Yes, we can assist with CDFI certification and funding. We have helped many of our member credit unions win grants and other assistance from the CDFI Fund.

Q: Are there charges for the Federation's technical assistance services?
A: There is no fee for our consultations at our office or by telephone. (We offer a toll-free number for our members.) When we provide on-site assistance, we may require reimbursement of travel expenses and a fee.

Q: Do we have to give up other memberships to join the Federation?
A: Absolutely not we encourage our members to be fully involved in the credit union movement. For example, more than 90% of our members belong to state credit union leagues.

Q: Many credit union organizations hold high-priced meetings and conventions. What is the Federation's policy?
A: We recognize that your travel budget is limited, so we keep the registration fees very affordable for our Annual Meeting. We also offer regional conferences at nominal cost, as well as national conferences for special audiences, such as faith-based credit unions, Latino credit unions, and youth.

Q: What can the Federation provide me that other organizations cannot?
A: We offer many programs available nowhere else in the credit union movement, such as AmeriCorps*VISTA, the CDCU Institute , special faith-based, youth, and Latino programs, and our Capitalization Program. If your credit union has large ambitions but limited resources, we can help you achieve your goals. Click here for more information about our programs and services.

Q: Can you refer me to other members of the Federation in my area?
A: Our regional Board members would be pleased to speak with you.  We can also provide listings of Federation members in your region.