(June 29, 2009 – Bronx, NY)  Nine community development credit unions (CDCUs) today were awarded a total of $17.15 million in capital from the U.S. Treasury Department’s Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Fund.  The awards were announced at a ceremony in the Bronx, New York, by Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner.   The nine CDCUs accounted for approximately 19% of the total $90 million awarded to 59 organizations.  All are members of the National Federation of CDCUs.

The historically large award round was made possible by  American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (“Recovery Act”), or  “stimulus,”  funding of $100 million made available to the CDFI Fund this spring.  An additional round of funding is projected for September. 

The Obama Administration has also requested an appropriation of nearly $250 million for the CDFI Fund for the coming fiscal year.

“We are delighted with the strong showing our member CDCUs made in this awards round,” said Federation President/CEO Cliff Rosenthal.  “They are some of our most dynamic, innovative institutions, and we know they will continue to make a huge difference for the low-income communities they serve.”

The nine CDCU winners represent 30% of the 30 credit unions that applied to the CDFI Fund in the current round.  The $17.15 million they received amounted to 40% of the total dollars requested by credit unions.  “We would always like to see a larger credit union share, of course,” said Rosenthal, “but these percentages are a marked improvement over recent CDCU performance in previous award rounds.  Given the stress on the credit union industry, the CDFI Fund’s investments could not come at a better time.”

Rosenthal also praised the CDFI Fund for their “hard work in making these awards on an accelerated timetable.”

The winning credit unions are:

Credit Union	City	ST	CDFI Award
Alternatives FCU	Ithaca	NY	$2,000,000
ASI FCU	Harahan	LA	$2,000,000
Brooklyn Cooperative FCU	Brooklyn	NY	$1,150,000
Communicating Arts CU	Detroit	MI	$2,000,000
First Legacy Community CU	Charlotte	NC	$2,000,000
Latino Community CU	Durham	NC	$2,000,000
Mendo Lake CU	Ukiah	CA	$2,000,000
Opportunities CU	Burlington	VT	$2,000,000
Santa Cruz Community CU	Santa Cruz	CA	$2,000,000
Total 2009 CDFI Funds to CUs			$17,150,000
Percent of Total Awards				19.00%

© 2009 National Federation of Community Development Credit Unions.