The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Fund announced $104.9 million in awards for 180 financial institutions serving struggling communities, including 20 credit unions. While these grants represent the largest single round of awards in the CDFI Fund’s history, credit unions made up only 11.1 percent of the list of winners. Credit unions compete against banks, and loan funds for these awards. Loan funds and banks garnered nearly 89% of the awards.
One winner on the loan fund side is surprising: The National Federation of Community Development Credit Unions (The Federation), the leading trade association for community development credit unions (CDCUs), submitted its own application. The Federation was awarded $750,000. Loan funds continue to outpace individual credit unions in receiving awards. Despite this trend some credit unions did win big.
Among the winners:
- Latino Community Credit Union, NC $750,000
- Brewery Credit Union, WI $600,000
- Express Credit Union, WA $463,245
Theorizing what the credit unions had in common that received awards, Mikal Gilliat of Brewery Credit Union shared with the National Credit Union Foundation Credit Union Development Educators Listserv, "The CDFI (Fund Awards) reward institutions who embody the principles we learned and grew through Development Education (DE)." He's not the only credit union professional with this theory.
"Our official mission is to help credit unions realize their potential using the Credit Union International Operating Principles," explained Jamie Chase founder of Credit Union Strategic Planning on why her firm has the only track record of winning CDFI Fund awards for credit unions in every round during the last several years. "It's about being true to why credit unions exist. When you are authentic about social responsibility, accountability and democracy it is inspiring. They key word in winning grants is ‘compelling.’ Being inspiring is compelling. That is what it takes to get a score that wins awards."
Credit Unions Strategic Planning recently participated in workshops in Hawaii to certify credit unions to receive these grants. According to Chase, credit unions serving native populations have better odds at winning these grants than any other credit unions, “We calculated the success rate to exceed 70 percent for credit unions based in Hawaii, because they serve native Hawaiians and qualify for the a separate round of funding which is typically less competitive. I don't gamble but those are pretty good odds compared to the traditional success rate for these awards which hovers around 30 percent."
Credit Union Strategic Planning shared their award winning application from last year with The Federation to help more credit unions win awards. Last year Credit Union Strategic Planning wrote the larger of the only two applications funded for credit unions in the Supplemental Round that President Obama made available through the CDFI Fund to help with the Recovery Act. This year Credit Union Strategic Planning wrote 20 percent of the grants for credit unions that won CDFI Fund Awards. |
