Clifford N. Rosenthal holds close to his heart the lessons of the 1960s.
When he attended Columbia University during the "Summer of Love," he protested the Vietnam War and marched in support of civil rights.
Today, the 48-year-old Mr. Rosenthal is executive director of the New York-based National Federation of Community Development Credit Unions, which represents 120 institutions serving low-income and minority communities.
Although he has traded in his overalls for a suit and tie, his passion for helping the underdog hasn't died.
Haves and Have-Nots
"We see our role as keeping unpopular causes in the public eye," said Mr. Rosenthal. "During the '80s, I saw, and I continue to see, a polarization between the haves and the have-nots. There are problems many people would want to ignore, and we're here to remind people about those problems. It's a constant advocacy struggle."
For Mr. Rosenthal, credit unions are an instrument for social change. His mission - and the Federation's - is to help make that potential a reality.
"Credit unions allow people to take charge of their own economic destiny," he said. "I want to see the number of [community development] institutions increase five to 10 times" within the next 10 years. "I want to see them achieve self-sufficiency and help and build their communities."
As of June 30 this year, 146 credit unions with a total of $285 million in assets were designated as low-income by the National Credit Union Administration. The NCUA estimates about 150 additional credit unions serve poor communities without the designation.
Mr. Rosenthal and the Federation have done their share to help the community development credit unions since he took the helm in 1983.
Investment Program
He formed the National Federation's Capitalization Program, which in 10 years has raised more than $10 million in investment for credit unions from banks, foundations, and religious organizations.
He also has expanded the association's training programs, helped organize a dozen credit unions in financially underserved communities from New York to Los Angeles and helped banks get Community Reinvestment Act credits for putting deposits into low-income credit unions.
Much of this was achieved under less than ideal conditions. On Sept. 30, 1982, the Federation's federal funding dried up. In a year, the eight-year-old organization went from having a budget of $500,000 to $5,000. For nine months there wasn't enough money for Mr. Rosenthal to draw a salary.
"We easily could have disappeared in 1983," Mr. Rosenthal said. "For the better part of five years we had to scramble to provide what services we could to our members and seek new sources of revenue."
Praise for Commitment
James Taylor, president and founder of 28-year-old Watts United Credit Union in Los Angeles and a member of the Federation, said he admires Mr. Rosenthal's commitment.
"In jobs like ours, the financial rewards are not great, so you have to believe in what you're doing," Mr. Taylor said. "Cliff eats it, sleeps it, prays on it."
Mr. Rosenthal hustled to find new supporters. He was successful, and by 1993, the organization had a budget of $1 million.
In 1991, the Federation became a related organization of the Credit Union National Association in 1991, in part to get financial support and lobbying leverage on Capitol Hill and with the regulator, Mr. Rosenthal said. CUNA representatives say they entered into the relationship with the Federation to better their lobbying and focus more on community development credit unions.
Mr. Rosenthal's tenacity in fighting for community development credit unions has drawn mixed reactions.
"Up until very recently Cliff Rosenthal and the Federation were the only real advocates for low-income credit unions," said Christopher Kerecman, executive assistant to NCUA board member Robert Swan. "He's not afraid to stand alone."
But a staff member of the House Banking Committee said Mr. Rosenthal has shown an unwillingness to compromise. He said Mr. Rosenthal opposed the community development financial institution bill because it included funding for the Bank Enterprise Act, which awards banks a rebate on deposit insurance premiums if the lend in poor areas.
"He only wants things one way," the staff member said. "That could hurt him in the long run.
Mr. Rosenthal says community development credit unions are finally being noticed.
President Clinton wants to use community development financial institutions to rebuild impoverished areas.
And since October 1992, the National Credit Union Administration has chartered 11 institutions serving low-income or minority communities, after years of hardly chartering any at all.
"I'm optimistic," Mr. Rosenthal said. "The president seems committed to change, which is difficult to do, and NCUA is heading in the right direction."
Last year's riot in Los Angeles was a "wake-up call" to the agency and the president about the need to get financial institutions into the inner city, he said.
"My own orientation isn't geared toward confrontation so much as cooperation," he said. "More and more as a nation we're being divided. We need to find ways to bring people together. There are just too many things tearing us apart."
