CDCUs Receive $12.7 MM from CDFI Fund in Recent Awards
Low- and moderate-income communities across the nation will soon receive a boost to their local economies thanks to awards made today to 180 community development financial institutions (CDFIs) by the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s CDFI Fund. The announcement was made at El Maguey y La Tuna, a restaurant in New York City ‘s Lower East Side which was financed by local CDFI, the Lower East Side People’s Federal Credit Union, the largest CDCU in New York City . On-hand to announce the CDFI Fund’s FY 2010 nationwide round of awards, totaling $104.9 million, were United States Treasurer Rosie Rios, Congresswoman Nydia Velázquez, Congressman José Serrano, and CDFI Fund Director Donna J. Gambrell.
Among the awards announced today, 21 awards totaling more than $12.7 million were made to CDCUs and the Federation itself, and all but three of the CDCU awardees are members of the Federation. A breakdown of the CDCU awards in this round is available by clicking on the link.
Federation President/CEO Cliff Rosenthal, who accepted the Federation’s award for $750,000, offered praise for the CDFI Fund. “The CDFI Fund is an absolutely unique source of innovative funding, which has enabled us as a national entity to support hundreds of low-income credit unions across the United States ,” he said. “We’ve been doing this to help them build their capital during these very difficult times and to allow them to recycle their capital for additional lending… We are very grateful to this indispensable and irreplaceable federal agency.”
“The Federation has fought long and hard to ensure that CDCUs continue to receive their fair share of CDFI awards,” explained Rosenthal. “Today we’ve seen a much more equitable distribution with some of the largest number of awards to CDCUs in recent years, including various credit unions new to the Fund,” he said. “These awards will bring major impact to the communities served by CDCUs and CDFIs generally.”
To read more, and for a breakdown of CDCU awards, go to:http://www.cdcu.coop/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageID=1685.
New Jersey Credit Unions Celebrate BEST Internship Program
Partnership Seeks to Expand CU Service to People with Disabilities
Front Row (left to Right): Daymar Rivera and Cathyann Frank from McGraw Hill FCU; Jose Del Valle, BEST Intern; Mulu Gebreyesus, New Community FCU; Megan Timbie, BEST Intern and Pamela Owens of the Federation. Back Row (Left to Right): Angel Santos, from the NJ Credit Union League; Jessica Revoir and Helga Britton from 1st Financial FCU; Regina Calamanco, Michael Holguin, Joshua Stanlaw, and Crystal Castro, BEST Interns; Stacie Fourroux and Jennifer Seder from Healthcare Employees FCU; and Paul Gentile, CEO of the NJ Credit Union League.
Credit unions and the disability community are coming together in a unique way that will help members of the disability community gain valuable work experience at credit unions while helping the cooperatively-owned financial institutions learn how to better serve this underserved community. The New Jersey Credit Union League recently hosted a luncheon for credit unions, interns and representatives from the disability community to discuss the experiences of Cycle II of the BEST internship program.
The Building Economic Strength Together (BEST) program is a collaborative project that provides internship opportunities for people with disabilities. The goal of the program is to strengthen the connection between credit unions and the disability community, a large and widely unbanked or underbanked group. The BEST Internship Program serves as a way to reach out to this large and growing population in a meaningful way, while helping credit unions learn how best to serve this population. The program was developed in partnership between the Federation, the National Disability Institute (NDI), and Allies Inc., a New Jersey-based training group for people with disabilities.
To read the full press release, go to: http://www.cdcu.coop/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageid=1686.
Federation Training Opportunities in September
Over the past year, the Federation has steadily increased its use of webinar technologies to bring our members specialized trainings from the convenience of their own credit unions. Below is a list of upcoming training happening this month!
The Do’s and Don’ts of Working with NCUA – Sept. 1, 2010 – 2:00PM EDT
Building an Inclusive Economy with a “Green” Portfolio – Sept. 8, 2010 – 2:00 PM EDT
Increasing Your Bottom Line by Decreasing Expenses – Sept. 15, 2010 – 2:00 PM EDT
Increasing Your Bottom Line by Increasing Revenue – Sept. 22, 2010 – 2:00 PM EDT
Webinar titles in blue are presented by the Federation’s Faith-based & Small CU Program.
For more information about each session, and to register, visit our events calendar at:http://www.cdcu.coop/i4a/calendar/?pageid=471&showTitle=1.
Federation Aging Initiative Survey
20-Minute Survey on CDCU Service to Aging Populations – This long and harsh recession has taken a toll on many communities, but we are especially concerned about its effects on older adults – people 65 and above – and those who are approaching retirement age. This group may have little time and ability to recover from the recession, and may be particularly vulnerable to financial scams. The purpose of our survey is to see how the recession may be affecting the older membership of CDCUs, especially among low-income and minority populations. To our knowledge, no one else has conducted this type of research, and your feedback will be very valuable to us.
We are pleased to offer a $25 gift card to member CDCUs who complete the survey. Any credit union may respond, but only Federation-members are eligible for the $25 gift card.
Start the survey: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/9XGSBW3.
CDCU Job Openings
Managing Director – Credit Where Credit is Due / Neighborhood Trust FCU (New York, NY)
Job openings are posted on our website at no cost to our members. To submit a job opening, please email the ad text to: info@cdcu.coop.