Excite Credit Union receives $3.1M in grants to support small and minority-owned businesses
Federal grants allow Excite CU to offer new loans to low-income and COVID-impacted entrepreneurs and businesses
SAN JOSE, CA (May 2, 2023) — Excite Credit Union today announced that it has been chosen to receive two grants from the U.S. Treasury’s Community Development Financial Institutions Fund (CDFI Fund) totaling $3.1 million. As the only CDFI credit union based in Santa Clara County, California, Excite CU is eligible to receive grants to support low-income and immigrant communities, including businesses struggling to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.
The U.S. Treasury awarded $194.1 million in grants under its annual Financial Assistance program and $1.73 billion under the one-time Equitable Recovery Program, which focused on areas hardest hit by COVID-19. Excite CU was awarded $660,000 and $2,478,839 under these two programs. As the only credit union based in Santa Clara County to receive either award, Excite is uniquely situated to deploy new capital to the most underserved in Silicon Valley, which suffers from the widest income gap in the nation. Excite is also just one of a few grant recipients with significant operations in the tri-county region of southeast North Carolina (New Brunswick, Pender and New Hanover counties).
The grant funding will be used to support start-ups and small businesses, especially immigrant and minority-owned businesses. Loan money is available to qualified entrepreneurs and small businesses in the San Jose and Wilmington regions, including start-ups, businesses that use an ITIN (Individual Taxpayer Identification Number), and micro businesses with 10 or fewer employees. Women-owned businesses are encouraged to apply, including companies in the childcare, beauty, and food industries.
“Excite is the community’s credit union committed to providing financial services that support our members and neighborhood businesses,” said Romondo McEachern, Business Banking Manager for Excite Credit Union. “With this federal grant money, we can directly impact the areas we serve, providing much-needed cash to entrepreneurs and businesses that translates into more jobs and services for the community. This program is an ideal way to put federal funds to work at a local level.”
Excite CU collaborates with regional small business training programs such as the Latino Business Foundation Silicon Valley (LBFSV) and Jobs to Grow in Santa Clara County, and Genesis Block Hub for Entrepreneurship in North Carolina. Graduates of these business training programs are eligible for streamlined applications and start-up capital.
For more Excite Credit Union news and a copy of the annual report, visit https://excitecu.org/media.
About Excite Credit Union
Excite Credit Union is a member-owned and community-oriented not-for-profit financial cooperative. Their mission is to give everyone the chance to build a stronger financial future. With branches in California and North Carolina, Excite offers a full range of banking for individuals, businesses and organizations. Excite is also the only credit union based in Santa Clara County designated as a Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI), Low Income Credit Union (LICU), and Juntos Avanzamos member of the Inclusiv network. These designations reflect the credit union’s ongoing commitment to serving low-to-moderate income households, entrepreneurs and immigrant communities with fair and safe deposit and loan products. For more information, please visit www.excitecu.org/community.
