BALTIMORE NCUA will begin accepting applications June 17 for this year’s round of small credit union grants and the agency plans to award $1.2 million in grants up to $24,000.
This year’s grants will be focused on those small credit unions that continue to grow and exhibit an ability to survive, according to Bill Myers, director of NCUA’s Office of Small CU Initiatives. “We’re trying to build our grant program in a way that’s sustainable for small credit unions,” Myers told attendees to the annual convention of the National Federation of Community Development CUs this morning.
NCUA will award grants for collaborative projects (a maximum of $2,000 per credit union); computer modernization (up to $7,500); financial capacity (up to$10,000); relocation (up to $10,000; new product and service development (up to $15,000) and staff and volunteer training (up to $3,000). Credit unions can apply for more than one grant with a maximum of $24,000 in funding.
The application process will end July 12 and NCUA will award the grants on August 29.
NCUA is also urging small credit unions to apply for one of its low-interest (0.40 percent), five-year community development loans. The agency has more than $16 million available for the loans but has only $4 million loaned out, leaving as much as $12 million in available funding, according to Myers. “We really want to place this money,” said Myers.
