(September 28, 2006 – Durham, NC)  The Latino Community Credit Union (LCCU), located in Durham, NC was featured on the front page of the most recent issue of The Chronicle of Philanthropy, the leading news source for charity leaders, fund raisers, grant makers, and others involved in the philanthropic world.  The cover of the publication shows two LCCU members being assisted by a member of the all-bilingual staff at the community development credit union (CDCU).

The article, titled: “North Carolina’s Philanthropies Join Forces to Aid Hispanics,” discusses the Funders Collaborative, an innovative program sponsored by San Francisco-based Hispanics in Philanthropy. 

Since 2003, the Funders Collaborative has awarded almost $1.3 million to 28 organizations, including a $100,000 grant in 2004 to Latino Community CU to expand home lending opportunities for Latinos in North Carolina.

LCCU is one of the fastest growing credit unions in the United States.  Chartered in 2000, the credit union currently operates 5 branches across the state and serves more than 46,000 predominantly Latino members, 95 percent of whom are low-income.  For most members, the credit union is their first and only source of secure deposits and affordable loans; fully 75 percent of all members had never had an account at any financial institution prior to joining LCCU.

According to LCCU’s president and Federation Board Member, Luis Pastor, the grant from the Funders Collaborative helped the credit union jumpstart a mortgage-lending program which has, to date, helped more than 200 first-time Latino homebuyers to achieve the Universal Dream of owning their own home. 

“Thanks to the support from organizations like Hispanics in Philanthropy and their Funders Collaborative, we’re starting to see increased interest by the charitable and philanthropic world to fund organizations working with Latino populations,” said Pastor.  “In a country that will soon have a majority of its citizens identifying themselves as Latino, the increased support is indispensable to organizations like ours that work directly with this huge demographic.”

This past June, the Federation held its 4th Latino Credit Union Conference and 32nd Annual Meeting in Durham, NC, where LCCU and a number of other prominent CDCUs are headquartered.  The conference was a huge success with more than 400 attendees and high profile speakers including United States Treasurer Anna Escobedo Cabral and United States Senator Elizabeth Dole.

The Federation has recently released a publication covering the various highlights and events of the 4-day conference in Durham.

The new report can be accessed online through the Federations website. You can download the PDF by clicking here.

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Latino Community Credit Union (Cooperativa Latina) is one of the fastest-growing start-up credit unions in the country.  In just six years the credit union has grown to $34 million in assets, serving more than 45,000 members with 5 branches across North Carolina.