WASHINGTON -
The Foundation awarded $580,000 in matching grants to 14 CUs and related organizations that will leverage almost $3.5-million in innovative programs aimed at expanding services to the underserved. The funds, which were awarded by organizations having pledged their own money to the programs, will be provided starting in January, according to NCUF Deputy Director Steve Bosack, deputy director. Among this year's winners are:
* A program by Guadalupe CU in Santa Fe, N.M. will open a Spanish-language branch in conjunction with the REAL Solutions program to provide financial education, transaction services and products to the city's growing Hispanic population. Partners in the project include Cesar Chavez Community School, ACCION New Mexico and Homewise.
* An initiative by Mission Area FCU in San Francisco will provide financial education and low-cost services, including payday loans for youth and adults, in a low-income area of one of the nation's most expensive cities. Partners include Patelco CU, the National Federation of CDCUs and the city of San Francisco.
* LA DOTD FCU, in Baton Rouge, La., will open student-run credit unions in three schools and provide Individual Development Accounts for youth aging out of foster care and preparing to go out on their own. The credit union is partnering with Junior Achievement, state agencies and community organizations that will provide additional funding and expertise on the project.
* The Idaho CU League is joining with four credit unions to expand the National Endowment for Financial Education (NEFE) program to high school students and prison inmates who will need financial education upon release. Partners include the Idaho Department of Education and the University of Idaho Extension.
* Several grants will help expand assistance for victims of Hurricane Katrina, including an initiative launched by Neighbors FCU in Baton Rouge to help families affected by the hurricane buy reliable used vehicles, now that federal bus service to New Orleans has been discontinued. Partners in the project include Enterprise Car Sales, which will provide the used cars. The credit union and Catholic Community Services will partner to assist with cash down payments, insurance assistance, payment subsidies and counseling and education.
* Southern Teachers & Parents FCU, also in Baton Rouge, will offer a car-buying program for displaced Katrina victims that will include first-time credit, savings matches for car loans and education. Enterprise Car Sales will also be a partner.
Other recipients of the Foundation's innovation grants are: Brooklyn Cooperative FCU, New York; Carter FCU, Spring Hill, La.; La Capitol FCU, Baton Rouge; Syracuse Cooperative FCU, Syracuse, N.Y.; Truliant FCU, Winston-Salem, N.C.; the Pennsylvania CU Foundation; the New York CU Foundation and Wisconsin CU Foundation, and Arizona Saves, a non-profit group that works with CUs and banks to promote savings.
Of the total $580,000 of approved funding, $502,000 will come from earnings on the National Foundation's Community Investment Fund and $77,000 will come from the Foundation's Disaster Relief Fund, according to Bosack.
The Foundation provided $540,000 in funding to 10 organizations last year to fund programs for the underserved.
