FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -
"It's a huge job and it's a difficult job," he said. "Mainstream credit unions can't do it alone. CDCUs can't do it alone. Partnerships are good politics-Cooperation is what we do."
Rosenthal outlined how such partnerships could work during his presentation at the NASCUS 2007 State Summit.
"Community Development Partners are credit unions that have demonstrated their commitment to expanding service to low-income communities," Rosenthal said.
These CUs do this by: expanding their membership and presence in low-income areas, partnering with local CDCUs, participating in public and private initiatives to serve low-income people and partnering with the Federation, Rosenthal said.
At present, there are 42 credit unions in the Federation's Development Partners Program, with assets totaling about $75 billion and membership equaling about 7 million.
As of last year, the Federation's CDCUs consisted of 219 members, with total assets of $3.47 billion and total membership of about 900,000.
"Community-development credit unions have a specific mission to serve low-income people," Rosenthal said. "They have the ability to accept nonmember deposits, and can access secondary capital.
"The bulk of our credit unions are small to very small. We're proud of the fact that small credit unions have been innovators of nationwide programs. Our credit unions have been on the forefront of developing alternatives to payday lending."
Some programs CDCUs have created, Rosenthal said, are: Earned Income Tax Credit, Alternatives to Payday Lending, lending to immigrants, Financial Literacy Day, and outreach to people with disabilities.
One new program the Federation is just getting off the ground is the "CU Development Exchange." This program allows for one- to two-week exchanges between CDCUs and mainstream CUs. Mainstream CUs can advice CDCUs on marketing, operations and compliance.
The Federation has also recently introduced CU Breakthrough Inc., which provides consulting services including: market research, FOM studies, board training, grant writing, and start-up assistance.
