JACKSON, Miss. — HOPE CU, one of the nation's leading community development credit unions, and its President Bill Bynum, were named winner Tuesday of the Aspen Institute's John P. McNulty $100,000 prize recognizing innovation in addressing important social issues.
"Each year, the McNulty Prize recognizes the outstanding work of individuals and organizations who have made a positive impact on the lives of others," said McNulty prize judge and former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright. "By opening the doors of economic opportunity to underserved individuals across the country, HOPE has proven that financial institutions focused on community development can truly transform weak economies into stronger, sustainable ones, and improve the lives of thousands of people in the process."
Bynum, an advisor to Presidents Clinton, Bush and Obama on community development issues, founded HOPE to provide financial services that support jobs, housing, access to health care and other critical needs in the poverty-stricken regions' most distressed communities.
"Our goal is to ensure that hardworking people have access to the tools they need to buy homes, start businesses, educate their children and otherwise support their families regardless of their station in life," said the head of the $170 million CDCU.
Since 2008, as other institutions were closing their doors in underserved communities, HOPE has responded by expanding from three branches to 15 and increasing its membership from 9,000 to 28,000 in low-income communities of Mississippi, Louisiana, Tennessee and Arkansas.
Bynum and HOPE were one of four finalists in this year's competition. Each finalist received $10,000.
