(July 5, 2010) The CDFI Fund recently notified credit unions whose CDFI certification had expired and was automatically extended, that they will be required to submit a re-certification application.
For credit unions that applied to the Community Development Capital Initiative (CDCI), the CDFI re-certification application must be received by the CDFI Fund by 5:00pm EDT on July 30, 2010.
For credit unions that did NOT apply to the Community Development Capital Initiative (CDCI), the CDFI re-certification application must be received by the CDFI Fund by 5:00pm EDT on August 30, 2010.
To help CDCUs with the re-certification process, the Federation is offering fee-based technical assistance to all credit unions through its CU Breakthrough™ consulting service, and limited free telephone consultations to member CDCUs. Additionally, the Federation has developed an application toolkit with templates to assist credit unions with re-certification. The toolkit is free to members and $150 to non-members. To order a toolkit, please contact Oulga Caesar, Office Manager, at ocaesar@cdcu.coop or (800) 437-8711 x208.
For more information about our certification resources and technical assistance, please contact Melanie Stern atmstern@cdcu.coopor x211, or Brian Gately at bgately@cdcu.coopor x201.
Below are resources from our Technical Assistance Department to help you apply to the CDFI Fund and utilize Federation programs with your grant money.
Community Development Capital Initiative (CDCI) - The U.S. Treasury Department announced on February 13, 2010, a new initiative to provide secondary capital loans to CDFI-certified credit unions and banks. Loans will be for terms of 13-years at dividend rates of 2% for the first 8 years, increasing to 9% for the last 5 years to encourage reypayment. Secondary Capital loans are counted as institutional net worth, but can only be accepted by low-income designated credit unions.Get the facts about this new program by clicking here.
Federation Technical Assistance Budget Estimation Workbook - This workbook contains the tools to estimate the costs for the CDCU InstituteTM and Federation Technical Assistance (TA) services. This workbook should be used in conjunction with the Quick Guide to Capacity-Building Services.
Beginning in the 1980s, the Federation spearheaded efforts to create a federal CDFI Fund to support community development finance in low-income communities. We helped coin the term “CDFI,” and in 1995 we joined our partners in celebrating the birth of the U.S. Treasury Department's CDFI Fund.
More recently, the CDFI Fund has become a major component of the Obama administration's efforts to stabilize communities affected by the economic downturn, the rash of foreclosures nationwide, and rising rates of unemployment. Credit unions have long been a critical sector of the CDFI industry and the Federation remains committed to ensuring that this sector continues to grow and thrive.
Throughout our more than 20 year history working with CDFIs, we have helped dozens of credit unions become certified and successfully apply for millions of dollars in awards from the Fund.
To learn more about our CDFI services and to view member testimonials, please click here.
