For Baton Rouge’s Neighbors Federal Credit Union, the long wait is finally over. While they were awarded $35 million in a secondary capital award from the US Treasury as part of the $8.7 billion awarded to CDFIs and MDIs in the Emergency Capital Investment Program (ECIP) in December 2021, they just last month were able to begin using the funds.
A Community Development Financial Institution is measured by service to one or more target markets. A target market can be either a historically distressed investment area, a low-income population, or an “other targeted population” - vulnerable or underserved populations that have historically been denied credit or lack adequate access to capital.
A change in census mapping required Neighbors to modify their CDFI-approved target market in order to maintain their CDFI status. CU Strategic Planning worked with the credit union to do this and demonstrate that it was still lending to low-income populations and the underserved in and around Baton Rouge. The CDFI Fund approved this change and reconfirmed Neighbors’ CDFI status in December of 2022.
“We were so pleased to see Neighbors make it over the finish line for this award,” Chief Experience Officer Mike Beall said. “We know they’ll be able to use those secondary capital funds to provide real benefits to their members and community.”
CU Strategic Planning has a long history of working with Louisiana credit unions. We’ve had the pleasure of partnering with 25 of them and have helped 19 earn certification as Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs).
Those CDFIs have won over $121,000,000 in grants and awards from the CDFI Fund and US Treasury, providing critical capital to help communities address generational inequality, recover from natural disasters, and come to the aid of those disproportionately affected by the COVID-19 epidemic.
Those credit unions include:
ANECA FCU
Ascension CU
Caddo Parish Teachers FCU
Centric FCU
Greater New Orleans FCU
Neighbors FCU
New Orleans Firemen's FCU
Ouachita Valley FCU
Pelican State CU
Shreveport FCU
Southwest Louisiana CU
St. Tammany FCU
UNO FCU
And we’re pleased to be working with new clients for this round of CDFI FA awards, including:
Baton Rouge Telco
Bossier FCU
Campus
We’re currently handling the compliance reporting of over $100 million in awards for LA credit unions, including the $35 million ECIP award to Neighbors.
Contact us to find out more about our CDFI Services, including certification, grant writing, compliance and strategic consulting.