Grants Funded by the National Credit Union Foundation

• Improving access to affordable financial services
• Financial education programming for all ages
• Increasing asset accumulation for those of modest means
• Development of small credit unions

Samples of recently concluded grants are listed by state (click each to view grants):

AK CO DC FL GA IL KY LA MA MD MI MO MT NY NC OR TX VT WA WI

Alaska

2007 Financial Literacy
Financial Education Program in Metlakatla
Tongass FCU in Ketchikan will use grant funds to provide financial education on thrift, credit, money management, budgeting, and online financial tools for 50 Metlakatla Indian families through a personal financial advisor.

Colorado

2006-2007 Meets Multiple Foundation Objectives
Financial Literacy for Los Angeles Hispanic Community
SCE Federal Credit Union received a grant to provide financial education to underserved youth and families in two of Los Angeles’ largest Hispanic communities. Working with community-based organizations and social service agencies, they will offer classes, experiential learning opportunities, and family mentoring within the context of financial literacy. The project will be evaluated for process and outcomes using qualitative and quantitative measures.

2004-2006 Access to Affordable Financial Services

Denver Check-Cashing Program
With this grant, Denver Community Federal Credit Union will establish a check-cashing business to reach unbanked people in Denver’s predominantly Hispanic Sun Valley neighborhood. The goal of this project is to transition the unbanked to banked status by providing transactional services as a first step on the path to longer-term wealth development. Partners in the project include the Piton Foundation, Annie E. Casey Foundation and the Colorado Credit Union League.

2005-2008 Asset Accumulation
Boulder Affordable Housing Program
In response to the high cost of housing in the Boulder, Colorado market, the
Elevations Federal Credit Union is using this grant to create permanently affordable housing for credit union members, staff, and income-eligible individuals. The Alliance for the American Dream Program will raise $2.5 million from businesses and individuals to develop and acquire 1,000 affordable homes. Partners in this project include Thistle Community Housing, a non-profit affordable housing organization, and NeighborWorks America, as well as local foundations and businesses, which are providing financial support.

2007 Meets Multiple Foundation Objectives
IDA Project with Denver Federal Credit Union
A grant from the Foundation will fund a potential national model partnership between a credit union and a United Way chapter. Mile High United Way will create an IDA program in partnership with Denver Community FCU for formerly homeless residents of a transformational housing project. They will also provide an array of financial education and independent living skills classes.

District of Columbia

2005-2008 Access to Affordable Financial Services
Washington, DC Shared Branch for Hispanic Consumers
A partnership between the District Government Employees Federal Credit Union, the IDB-IIC Federal Credit Union, and the OAS Staff Federal Credit Union received a grant to create a shared branch based in a low-income Hispanic neighborhood of Washington, DC to offer specialized products and services to this target audience. The new branch will work with a Hispanic advertising agency to market their services to Hispanic consumers.

Florida

2004-2007 Asset Accumulation
Tampa Housing Partnership
Seeking to provide homeownership opportunities to first-time homebuyers in Florida, GTE Federal Credit Union and Suncoast Schools Credit Union formed CU Housing Partners, LLC, and have pledged a dollar-for-dollar match for this grant. The program will serve as a model for community development projects in other underserved areas. Projects include: affordable mortgage lending, homeownership counseling, small business loans and construction financing for community development entities. Industry partners include: City of Tampa, Neighborhood Lending Partners, Tampa Housing Authority, Community Development Corporations and Fannie Mae.

Georgia

2006-2007 Meets Multiple Foundation Objectives
Financial Literacy and Resource Website for Georgia CUs
The Georgia Credit Union Affiliates received funding from the Foundation to support their GettingAhead Association Resource Center, which will help low-income people learn about credit union membership, improve their financial literacy, and discover resources on consumer issues. Using a special website designed in conjunction with community partners, they will offer credit counseling, information on loans, products and services for people with disabilities, and other information of value to people of modest means. The network of credit unions, community partners, vendors will sustain the Resource Center.

Illinois

2006-2007 Meets Multiple Foundation Objectives
Financial Empowerment Project on Chicago’s North Side
Building on their successful Financial Empowerment Project, North Side Community Federal Credit Union received a grant to expand its program to incorporate a free tax preparation service, financial education, and access to financial services targeted to low wage workers in the health care field. Working in partnership with four SEGs, the financial education workshops will be offered to employees at the workplace. A partnership with the Center for Economic Progress will provide tax preparation services to low-income community members.

2006-2007 Access to Affordable Financial Services
Affordable Mortgage Lending Program on Chicago’s South Side
South Side Community Federal Credit Union received funding for their mortgage lending program serving the low-income population living on Chicago’s south side. Named the Asset Building Project, this program targets people of modest means with homeownership counseling, mortgage loans and IDA accounts to provide access to credit and savings services.

Kentucky

2003-2006 Access to Affordable Financial Services
Appalachian Outreach
Grant funds are being used by Appalachian Federal Credit Union to open a branch from which they will serve the low-income families, individuals and communities in Appalachian Kentucky. Partners in the new branch project include Kentucky Highlands Investment Corporation, Federal Home Loan Bank of Cincinnati, Save the Children, East Kentucky Child Care Coalition, Federation of Appalachian Enterprises, and Human/Economic Appalachian Development Corporation.

Louisiana

2007 Asset Accumulation
IDA Program for Low-Income Members in St. Claude Neighborhood
ASI FCU in Harahan will use grant funding to open Individual Development Accounts (IDAs) for down payment assistance targeted to low-income families in an area damaged by Hurricane Katrina. This will complement the credit union’s housing counseling service through a HUD grant from NCUF.

2007 Meets Multiple Foundation Objectives
Asset Builders Program
LA DOTD FCU in Denham Springs will use Foundation funds to support a comprehensive financial education, financial products, and IDA program for down payment assistance for low-income families. This will complement the credit union’s housing counseling service through a HUD grant from NCUF.

Maryland

2006-2007 Small Credit Union Development
Small Credit Union Development for DC & MD CUs
With a grant from the Foundation, the Maryland and DC Credit Union Association will work with twelve small credit unions throughout the state on board training, risk management, investment assistance, new product support, and marketing. Through this project, the Association is deepening its commitment to small credit union development.

Massachusetts

2006-2007 Financial Education for Youth
Financial Education Fair for High School Students
HarborOne Credit Union received a grant to support the Brockton High School Credit for Life Fair, which will serve 250 high school seniors through an experiential learning exercise designed to teach them about managing money. Through the Credit for Life Fair, students learn about personal finance as they work through scenarios that include selecting a career, developing budgets, making purchase decisions, and being evaluated by credit counselors. HarborOne works in partnership with other credit unions, banks, schools and housing agencies to administer the Fair, which is now in its sixth year.

2006-2007 Meets Multiple Foundation Objectives
Asset Building Program for Low-Income Families
A grant from the Foundation to Lawrence CommunityWorks will support the Family Asset Building Program, an economic development strategy to serve low-income families with a first-time homebuyers initiative, financial literacy training, and an IDA Program. Offered in partnership with two local credit unions, this project would seek to expand the network to more credit unions and increase the number of clients participating in the IDA Program.

2006-2007 Meets Multiple Foundation Objectives
Tax Preparation and Asset Building Program
ELGA Credit Union received a Foundation grant to work in partnership with the Michigan Statewide EITC Coalition to offer free tax preparation services to low wage taxpayers coupled with low-fee refund loans and an IDA program to save their tax refunds. They will use a web-based program from the Michigan Law Poverty Center for the tutorial and the tax preparation software and develop the savings incentives products for those participating in the program. An evaluation will be conducted to determine the effectiveness of the savings incentive strategies and to assess the long-term viability of the project.

2006-2007 Meets Multiple Foundation Objectives
Financial Education for Youth and Disabled Hispanic People
A grant to Financial Health Credit Union will support Building Your Financial Health, a financial education program targeted to youth and Hispanic persons with disabilities. They will work with Michigan State University Extension to train other credit unions around the state on their MoneySmart curriculum, which has been adapted for people with disabilities. Partnerships with disability organizations will aid in outreach efforts while the preparation of bilingual materials will expand the curriculum to meet the needs of Spanish-speaking people with disabilities. A complementary asset building program will move clients from the classroom into the achievement of their savings goals.

Missouri

2005-2006 Access to Affordable Financial Services and Financial Literacy
Rural Missouri Financial Services
The Missouri Farmers Union Credit Union was given a grant to develop services for the family farmers and other members living in rural neighborhoods in Missouri. The credit union will use these funds to offer loans to members, develop home-based microenterprises, and provide sources of capital for new and expanding businesses. A series of workshops and publications will also be offered to educate members on financial issues.

Montana

2004-2007 Asset Accumulation
Rural Montana Homeownership Program
This grant helps three credit unions meet the needs of underserved rural Montanans through homeownership counseling, affordable mortgage lending and IDA’s, ultimately assisting 75 families in purchasing homes through IDAs. Credit union participants include: Gateway Community Federal Credit Union, Great Falls Teachers Federal Credit Union, and Sky Federal Credit Union. Industry partners include: Northern Rocky Mountain Resource Conservation & Development Area, Corporation for Enterprise Development, Fannie Mae, Montana State University Extension Service, and the Native American Development Corporation.

New York

2005-2007 Asset Accumulation
NYC Low-Income Tax Preparation
NYCfNAC is a collaboration of four low-income community development credit unions (CDCUs) in New York City. In its second year of operation, this project will result in: 1,500 tax returns prepared; $2.5 million in Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) refunds otherwise unclaimed; and 2,000 new members for the four participating credit unions. Participating credit unions include: Bethex Federal Credit Union, Lower East Side People’s Federal Credit Union, Union Settlement Federal Credit Union and Homesteaders Federal Credit Union. The IRS and various city agencies also participate in this project.

2006-2007 Access to Affordable Financial Services
Small Business and Microenterprise Lending Program
Alternatives Federal Credit Union received a grant to develop a lending program with community loan funds to provide lines of credit for members with small businesses. Working with economic development organizations as partners, they will develop the fund to assist small businesses and microenterprises with financing that allows them to borrow what they need through lines of credit instead of incurring heavy debt with term loans.

2006-2007 Small Credit Union Development
Training Institute for Small Credit Unions
The National Federation of Community Development Credit Unions (NFCDCU) received funding to enable 60 board members and staff from small credit unions serving underserved communities to attend the 2006 CDCU Institute. Those in attendance will receive training on increasing their membership, expanding their products and services, and strengthening their net worth in order to reach more people of modest means.

2006-2007 Small Credit Union Development
Strategic Planning & Technical Assistance for Small NY CUs
A grant to the New York State Credit Union League will support “Making the Strategic Connection,” a project to assist small asset size credit unions with integrated strategic planning, marketing and budgeting. Beginning with planning workshops, participating credit unions will develop their own strategic plans, marketing plans, and financial forecasts with consulting help from the League’s project managers.

2006-2007 Meets Multiple Foundation Objectives
Youth Life Skills Financial Education Program
The Syracuse Cooperative Federal Credit Union will receive funding to support a financial education program for disadvantaged urban youth, many of whom are from immigrant families. The Youth Life Skills Program will combine consumer education skills with financial education in a curriculum adapted to a diverse youth audience, taught in schools and community centers. An extensive evaluation of the program will be conducted to determine overall project success.

2007 Financial Literacy
Identity Theft and Cyber Safety Project
The New York CU Foundation
will use NCUF grant funding to advance consumer awareness of identity theft and cyber safety through a statewide credit union marketing and education program.

2007 Meets Multiple Foundation Objectives
Progressive Way to Better Credit Project
Progressive Neighborhood FCU received a grant to provide an alternative credit-building program that combines counseling with group training to help unbanked people with education, loans and savings.

2007 Meets Multiple Foundation Objectives
Affordable Housing Outreach and Lending Program
Lower East Side People’s FCU will use funding to provide affordable housing outreach and lending for cooperative apartments, and financing for housing development fund corporations serving members of two credit unions that recently merged with Lower East Side People’s.

2003-2006 Asset Accumulation
North Carolina Latino Community CU Mortgage Program
This marks the National Credit Union Foundation’s second grant to Latino Community Credit Union, the ground-breaking credit union working with Hispanics throughout North Carolina and the model for several other new credit unions, including Foundation grantee Hacienda Community Credit Union. This latest grant will help offset the cost of implementing a mortgage lending program. A total of 65 new mortgages will be originated during the 3-year grant period, 90 percent of which will be to first-time homeowners.

2007 Financial Literacy
Building a Better Future Program
An NCUF grant to Latino Community CU in Durham will support financial education and tax preparation services for Latinos in North Carolina as well as the development and distribution of a comprehensive guide and kit on implementing such programs for recent Latino immigrants with low incomes.

Oregon

2003-2006 Financial Literacy
Portland Hispanic Outreach
Point West Credit Union (formerly Hacienda Credit Union) will use Foundation grant dollars to expand their credit/debt reduction, First Accounts and financial literacy efforts. Outcomes of the grant project include: 3,000 new members and savings accounts; 200 one-on-one counseling sessions; and, distribution of 2,100 packets of financial literacy materials. Partners include Hacienda Community Development Corporation, Portland Teachers Credit Union and Credit Union Association of Oregon.

Texas

2006 Asset Accumulation
El Paso Affordable Mortgage Lending
In 2002, the Foundation approved a three-year grant for El Paso’s Affordable Housing Credit Union Service Organization (EPAHCUSO). In the second year of this grant, EPAHCUSO held nearly 50 presentations and seminars to help El Paso’s consumers gain a better understanding of personal financial matters. Over 2,000 first accounts were opened as a direct result of these programs. Programming included literacy classes stressing the importance of savings and asset accumulation.

2006-2007 Financial Education for Youth
Statewide High School Financial Education Program
The Texas Credit Union Foundation received a grant to implement a state-legislated high school financial education program. This pilot project will enable teachers in 20 Texas school districts to deliver an approved financial education curriculum to reach 5,000 students. Volunteers from credit unions and the Jump$tart membership will train teachers on the curriculum and serve as active mentors to them during the school year.

2007 Meets Multiple Foundation Objectives
Financial Literacy Workshops and Affordable Housing Program
El Paso Affordable Housing CUSO
will use NCUF funds to support a multi-dimensional program incorporating financial literacy, credit management, asset development and homeownership activities for low-income families.

2003-2006 Access to Affordable Financial Services
Rural Vermont Community Development
Opportunities Credit Union (formerly Vermont Development Credit Union) was given a grant to expand services into two underserved rural regions of Vermont. End-result goals include development of the nations first statewide, full-service community development credit union. Outcomes include 5,900 new members, 590 first accounts to formerly unbanked individuals, and a financially self-sustaining model for a full-service, statewide social mission financial institution.

2005 Access to Affordable Financial Services
Washington State Hispanic Outreach
A grant to the Washington Credit Union Foundation will support the outreach efforts of credit unions in Washington to serve Hispanic consumers. Funds will help to establish an Hispanic Advisory Group to work with participating credit unions, develop and disseminate a guide on outreach programs, create a training network to facilitate financial education sessions, and organize cooperative promotion efforts directed toward the target population.

2007 Meets Multiple Foundation Objectives
Neighborhood Assets Program
A grant to Neighborhood Assets Program in Washington will support access to affordable financial services, counseling, savings incentives, and asset-building opportunities for unbanked members in partnership with Numerica CU in Spokane and Washington State Employees CU in Olympia.

2006-2007 Meets Multiple Foundation Objectives
Consulting and Training for CUs through REAL Solutions Project
With funding from the Foundation, Filene Research Institute will expand its REAL Solutions Project to introduce 250 new products at 125 credit unions targeting low-income consumers. The project will offer intensive consulting, training and research through state credit union league partnerships. In addition, they will track the results of participating credit unions’ efforts to reach people of modest means and publish the results to share within the industry.

2006-2007 Access to Affordable Financial Services
Good Money Collaboration between Wisconsin CU and Goodwill Industries
Prospera Credit Union received a grant to support their Good Money not-for-profit payday lending model, a program offered through a branch based in the Goodwill retail store in Appleton. Created through collaboration with Goodwill Industries of North Central Wisconsin, this project will offer alternative financial services at a low cost to people of modest means. In addition, the branch will serve as a training and employment facility through Goodwill’s Workforce Development and Action Employment Services.

2006-2007 Financial Education for Youth
Youth CU Demonstration Project

A grant to Star Credit Union, the only youth credit union in existence, will support financial services to at-risk children. Created by Great Wisconsin Credit Union and Summit Credit Union as a way to serve children from families of modest means, Star Credit Union was established for the members of the Boys and Girls Club of Dane County. A financial education program incorporating games and other learning tools will teach children about thrift, financial services, and the stock market, and members will staff the committees to learn about running a business.