Honors Mission Area FCU YCUP for 10 Years of Youth Leadership

Mission Area FCU Youth Credit Union Representatives Receive Plaque Commemorating their 10th Anniversary from Federation Executive Director Clifford Rosenthal.

(San Francisco – November 5, 2007)  Five years ago the National Federation of Community Development Credit Unions held one of the first Financial Literacy Day events in the country.  Held annually through 2006 at credit unions, churches, and banks, the event regularly drew NCUA board members, local credit unions, city officials, as well as a broad range of representatives from community organizations.

This year, the focus shifted to California, where an emerging group of community development credit unions (CDCUs), led by Federation board member and Community Trust CU (Modesto) staff member Sandell McLaughlin, have worked with the California and Nevada Credit Union Leagues, credit unions, and regulators to stage one of the best-attended and extensive programs to date.

“As financial literacy becomes ever more important in America, we are collaborating to educate our communities,” said McLaughlin, “We are excited to be able to share the ideas from this successful forum with colleagues all over the country in early 2008.”

This year’s event, titled Financial Literacy Day: Best Practices Forum was held at the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco.  It drew approximately one hundred people who came to learn about financial education for youth, immigrants, people living with disabilities, the elderly, and the unbanked. 

The program was also notable for the broad representation of financial regulators, along with the increasingly important role credit unions have played in financial literacy.  “The FDIC loves you,” community affairs officer Linda Ortega told the audience, “You guys have the heart” for the work of financial education.

The program also included keynote presentations from the Treasurer for the City and County of San Francisco, José Cisneros, NCUA Board Chairman JoAnn Johnson, and Mission Area FCU Youth Credit Union Program (YCUP) representative Diane Tello. 

Treasurer Cisneros spoke about his office’s partnership with credit unions in the Bank on San Francisco program.  He emphasized that “Establishing a relationship with a financial institution is key – getting people to know that they have a ‘true partner’ working to make them successful,” and that, Federation members Northeast Community FCU and Mission Area FCU “are our experts, our CDCUs.”

NCUA Board Chairman Johnson explained that, “We can’t be the moral police for how people spend their money… it’s about making choices,” and that, “CUs have gained the appreciation of the government” for the work they are doing to help people make better choices.

NCUA Board Chairman JoAnn Johnson speaks about the importance of financial literacy at the Federation’s Financial Literacy Day: Best Practices Forum.

During the event, the Federation also celebrated the 10th Anniversary of Mission Area FCU's YCUP by presenting representatives with a plaque commemorating the milestone.

“Mission Area’s YCUP has consistently been one of the Federation's most innovative youth programs,” said Federation Executive Director, Cliff Rosenthal, “They continue to push the envelope with their work that touches their entire community.”

The Federation has long been a supporter of Youth Credit Union Programs because of the valuable effect they have on their communities and the importance of educating the next generation of credit union leaders.  Each year the Federation organizes a youth track during their annual conferences, as well as offering program support to CDCU youth programs nationally.

The day also featured multimedia presentations.  The Federation presented its West Coast premiere of “Bridges to the Underserved: Credit Union Partnerships,” and Tena Lozano of the California Credit Union League’s Richard Myles Johnson Foundation shared excerpts from the Credit Union-supported BizKid$ television series.

“Bridges to the Underserved” is a 17-minute video detailing the Federation’s efforts to promote partnerships between large credit unions and CDCUs to better serve low-income communities.  It features one of the leading partnerships in the country, between $4-billion Patelco CU and the two aforementioned CDCUs, Mission Area FCU, which serves a predominantly Latino membership, and Northeast Community FCU, whose membership is largely Asian American. 

Sponsors for this year’s financial literacy day included Patelco CU (San Francisco, CA), Community Trust CU (Modesto, CA), the California and Nevada Credit Union Leagues, and the Bank of America Educational Endowment.