CHICAGO The Center for Financial Innovations announced this morning it has awarded the National Federation of Community CUs $530,000 to fund three partnerships between credit unions and nonprofit organizations to integrate credit union products into social services delivery for low-income and underserved consumers.
Through the Initiative, funded by the Kresge Foundation, the Federation is also depositing $1.5 million in credit unions to support partnerships and lending in underserved markets.
In Phase I, the Federation and CFSI will deliver tailored technical assistance to ten select nonprofit-credit union partnerships in seven target cities: Chicago, Cleveland, Durham, North Carolina; New Orleans, San Antonio, Texas; St. Louis and the San Francisco Bay Area.
The grantees are:
- Self-Help FCU and Mission SF (with Year Up Bay Area) Integrating financial coaching programs and credit union products with award-winning workforce development programs for low-income youth ages 18-24 in San Francisco, California.
- South Side Community FCU and The Community Builders Engaging and supporting income-earning residents of a Work First Community Housing property with direct financial coaching and access to responsible financial products in Chicago, Illinois.
- St. Louis Community CU and Kingdom House Further integrating credit union products with social services, focusing on debt reduction, asset building, and youth financial education in St. Louis, Missouri.
In addition to monetary support, the three selected partnerships will receive in-depth technical assistance from the Federation and CFSI on partnership design and product and service delivery. A Learning Network will also be established to provide the Phase I and Phase II partnerships with peer-learning opportunities designed to strengthen their capacity and efficiency in delivering solutions that promote financial capability. Over the course of the pilot period, CFSI and the Federation will also work closely with the grantees to document the experience of the partnerships and the impact of each program.
