(June 8, 2009 - Washington, DC) Building on their successful joint initiative Helping Members Avoid or Survive Foreclosure, the National Credit Union Foundation (NCUF) and the National Federation of Community Development Credit Unions (Federation) have signed a collaboration agreement.

“The Foundation and the Federation share a deep commitment to helping the credit union movement fulfill its historic mission of serving people of modest means,” begins the newly signed memorandum of understanding (MOU).  “This MOU establishes a framework for the Foundation and the Federation to collaborate effectively and make the most efficient use of scarce resources in order to achieve the greatest positive impact in areas of common interest.” 

Specifically, the Foundation and the Federation agree to:

• Actively seek areas of collaboration through frequent and open communications among officers, program staff and consultants from both parties.
• Collaborate in areas of common interest and complementary capacity by identifying opportunities and developing joint strategies and plans that capitalize on the specialized resources and capacities of both parties.
• Identify the source of subject matter expertise on joint efforts, and assign final editorial control over information, training or publicity materials to the identified subject matter expert.
• Seek opportunities where collaborative efforts may enable the parties to gain access to financial resources that would otherwise be inaccessible to either party independently.

The next collaboration will take place on July 29 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.  The Foundation and Federation will deliver joint training at the REAL Solutions® League Liaisons Meeting to explain the mortgage crisis and what leagues and credit unions can do to assist their members and the communities they serve during difficult times.

“Every American will be affected in some way by the foreclosure crisis that is gripping our country,” said NCUF National Program Director Lois Kitsch and Federation Senior Consultant Terry Ratigan in a joint statement.  “Credit unions, which set the highest standards as responsible lenders, are on the front lines in the battle for financial stability and economic renewal.  With more than 1 million families facing foreclosure this year, credit unions face unprecedented demands from their members for products, services, advice and understanding.”

The recently released joint report, Helping Members Avoid or Survive Foreclosure, is available free of cost on the REAL Solutions Impact Center at http://realsolutions.coop.  The report is also available on this website.  To access the report, please click here.

Additional information on joint efforts between the Foundation and the Federation will be featured during workshops at the Federation’s upcoming 35th Annual Conference on Serving the Underserved, June 11-13, 2009 in Phoenix, Arizona. For more information about our conference, please click here.

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The National Credit Union Foundation is the US credit union movement’s primary national charitable program provider, fundraiser, and grant-maker.  NCUF’s signature program, REAL Solutions®, helps credit unions provide innovative products and services that have proven effective reaching working families with low wealth and modest means.  NCUF continues to earn the Better Business Bureau seal of approval as an “Accredited Charity” by meeting all 20 of the BBB Wise Giving Alliance Standards for national charities.  For more information about NCUF and its programs, visit www.ncuf.coop.

© 2009 National Federation of Community Development Credit Unions