On Oct. 12, the NCUA announced it has opened the doors for credit unions with both a low-income and minority depository institution designation to apply for the National Credit Union Administration’s MDI mentoring grants now through Oct. 29. These are not the long-awaited $1.75 billion CDFI grants, referred to as the Emergency Support & Minority lending Program. “We try to look out for any credit union’s bottom line,” said Stacy Augustine, CU Strategic Planning’s President/CEO. “Eligible credit unions should consider applying for these grants on their own because the grants were designed by the NCUA as a readily accessible resource.” So what’s the difference, then, between the NCUA program and the Treasury Department’s Minority Depository Institution grants that are still to come? NCUA MDI Mentoring Grants The 2021 Community Development Revolving Loan Fund (CDRLF) Grant Round will provide approximately $100,000 to low-income credit unions for the Minority Depository Institution Mentoring initiative. NCUA states the purpose of the MDI Mentoring initiative is to encourage strong and experienced credit unions to provide guidance to small MDI credit unions to increase their ability to thrive and serve low-income and underserved populations. Funding approval, up to $25,000, will be based on the applicant’s ability to demonstrate a well-developed plan for the mentoring assistance it would receive from the mentor credit union. Not to worry: NCUA put safeguards in place via a contract that the mentor will not merge with the mentee credit union for at least five years after the mentorship, which lasts 12 months. Awardees and their mentors must commit to participating in a cohort that will receive training and technical assistance from the NCUA throughout the project period. These awards will be announced by the NCUA on Dec. 15. 2021. More information is available at the NCUA’s website. CDFI Grants – the Emergency Support & Minority Lending Program At the end of 2020, President Donald Trump signed the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2021 (H.R. 133) into law, which provides for more than $12 billion in supplemental appropriations toward banks and credit unions certified by the Treasury Department as Community Development Financial Institutions. One of the initiatives under this appropriation is to make low-cost, long-term capital investments to MDIs and other CDFI minority lending institutions. According to the Office of the House Financial Services Committee, $1.75 billion of these funds will be available to provide additional grants and financial assistance to depository and non-depository CDFIs, including $1.2 billion earmarked for the minority lending institutions category. MDIs are defined as predominantly serving minority communities or meet other standards for accountability to minority populations as determined by the CDFI Fund. CU Strategic Planning’s grant writing services are focused on those applications requiring technical expertise and in-depth knowledge of the US Treasury CDFI Fund, and we expect the Emergency Support & Minority Lending Program applications to require that expertise. We are awaiting the announcement from the Treasury about this program, and will be ready to serve our clients the day the program opens. The Impact of MDIs MDIs have a long history in the U.S. of lending to communities of color. While regulators have a mandate to preserve and promote MDIs, the number of MDI banks (143 as of September 30, 2021) and MDI credit unions (509 as of June 30, 2021) has declined by about one-third over the decade following the 2008 Great Recession. Additionally, 1,163 CDFIs embrace a similar mission of delivering affordable lending options to economically disadvantaged communities, especially those in low- to moderate-income and minority communities. The disproportionate impact of the COVID-19 pandemic further disadvantaged these vulnerable communities, but CDFIs and MDIs maintained their focus on helping businesses in their target areas minimize the economic effect. Get Assistance for the Process CDFI experts are the heart of CU Strategic Planning, and we can work with your credit union every step of the way, from determining eligibility to winning CDFI MDI and other financial assistance grants. Let us show you how we can help your credit union.

CU Strategic Planning has changed its employee holiday calendar to more authentically reflect the values of the company. Offices will close on Oct. 11 in recognition of Indigenous Peoples’ Day and on June 19th in honor of Juneteenth, both dates of significance to the staff. CFO/Co-Owner Sharon Hall is a descendent of the Blackfeet Nation. "This change is personal to me," she acknowledged. "The thousands of missing school-age children found in mass graves awakened in me the history of our people being silenced. My business partners listened when I said my people should no longer be silenced. They responded by officially replacing Columbus Day with Indigenous Peoples’ Day." Hall added she hopes this stands as an example to the entire credit union system of how the practice of DEI is operationalized with the credit union operating principles of social responsibility and nondiscrimination. Chief Strategy & Advocacy Officer Mike Beall explained that he and his partner, George, chose Indigenous Peoples’ Day for their wedding weekend. “Sharon is a guest at our wedding. It is no longer Columbus Day to us,” he said. Earlier this week, Beall was designated an official ‘LinkedIn Influencer’, achieving 36,000 views for his LBGTQ leadership on gay marriage in the credit union system. At the same time, the executive team added Juneteenth as an official company closure and staff holiday. "Ronaldo shared the context of Juneteenth recognizing the legacy of Black Wall Street that was stolen and the incredible loss of life," CEO/Co-Owner Stacy Augustine said. "That was only 100 years ago.” "They honored me as an executive, a Black executive, knowing how inappropriate it would be to provide DEI consulting without leading by example with a diverse ownership team and equity,” Chief Diversity Officer/Co-Owner Ronaldo Hardy stated. “They didn't want to hire me as an employee to build something they, as a majority White ownership team, direct or reap benefits from exclusively, as has so often been the treatment of Black people in American history." Hardy was extended equity to build out the company’s DEI consultancy and empowered to make policy decisions like recognizing Juneteenth. "By enacting these changes to staff holidays, CU Strategic Planning is working to be an organization that acknowledges stolen generational wealth, assimilation and lost lives,” Augustine said. “This work is essential to authentically lead credit unions in CDFI and DEI consulting."

It happens every year: each Community Development Financial Institution must complete and submit an Annual Certification Report (ACR) to the CDFI Fund by March 30th to preserve its status as a CDFI. But don’t be lulled into thinking that it’s just a routine task to check off. The old adage “you get what you pay for” is true, and in the case of the ACRs it can be even worse than that: trusting the results to a free or low-cost provider, or to one using a strictly automated process, can lose your credit union your next million-dollar CDFI grant. The free way is the fast way. In order to complete an ACR at no or low cost, a provider needs to work efficiently and rely heavily on technology. CU Strategic Planning processes many ACR resubmissions annually due to these no cost solutions causing significant harm to credit unions. In four cases in 2020 alone, future grants were at risk due to declining ACR numbers. The alternative provider’s fast service didn’t consider the implications. In another two cases, the ACRs were rejected for low numbers. In order to even write these credit unions’ grants, we had to ask the CDFI Fund for a special exception to resubmit their entire ACRs. Without this, those credit unions would have lost the grants. What’s the Harm? The ACR sets how the CDFI Fund perceives your credit union is lending to its Target Market. If the percentage of your loans to the Target Market go down, which is often the case with a low-cost ACR or an automated technology-only approach, it looks to the CDFI Fund as if your credit union’s commitment to lending to your Target Market has decreased. And of course, the CDFI Fund provides taxpayer-funded grant investment to increase the lending of CDFIs into their communities of need, not decrease. This is taken into consideration when evaluating grant applications. Compliance. Compliance. Compliance. Why is it essential to keep your Annual Certification Reporting with your grant reporting and grant applications? In a word, compliance. The Target Market established in the ACR represents the people and communities your CDFI grants (comprehensive business plans) are designed to serve. If the “easy, free” method shows a dramatic shift in who you serve as a Target Market it not only undermines your grant, it sets your compliance up to fail. When credit unions complete their own ACRs, we’ve seen their numbers skyrocket, creating a compliance nightmare of unachievable goals for future grants. The opposite is often true for those using the low- or no-cost option; because the free way is the fast way with no analysis, we see ACR numbers dip to a threshold that puts their certification at risk. When this happens during the time a pending grant application is being evaluated, or worse, while a credit union is holding CDFI funds the certification goes into a cure period. A credit union cannot receive or hold grant funds if it does not have a CDFI certification. A cure period is the first step in the CDFI Fund’s removal of the designation from a certified CDFI. It is the window of time a CDFI has to correct or amend the ACR. CU Strategic Planning has had to come to the aid of several credit unions stuck in this cure period due to relying on a free or low-cost provider. It was a relief to the credit unions that we saved them from a compliance nightmare. Stick With Us CU Strategic Planning’s Annual Certification Report services are comprehensive. We collect, organize and submit all information to the Department of the Treasury CDFI Fund on your behalf, so that you can continue to focus on what makes you a CDFI in the first place—serving your members and empowering your community. Our Annual Certification Report Services include: Review of any changes to your credit union that could affect CDFI qualification requirements; Review/recalculation of changed service delivery to your Target Market; Review of accountability to your Target Market; Description of Development Services provided to the Target Market; Calculation of Financial Products and Development Services provided to the Target Market; Compilation of financial reporting data showing credit union’s health; and Entering all information in the CDFI Fund’s proprietary Information System. We know being a CDFI is not easy. We also know it's a significant investment. For your ACR, it will be the best $3500 you’ll ever spend. We protect your CDFI and set it up to win future grants. Friends don’t let friends choose free. Get in touch to discuss our ACR services and ensure your ACR stays with your grant at CU Strategic Planning.

The HERO Community Development Certified Financial Counseling program, developed and administered by CU Strategic Planning, has been updated to be more interactive, help community development financial institutions better track employees’ progress through the training, and empower front-line staff to better assist low- and moderate-income consumers. The web-based training, testing and certification tool was designed to help CDFIs better serve low- to moderate-income people, as well as demonstrating their commitment to mainstream financial access for all. HERO (Helping Everybody Reach Opportunities) focuses helping to make a difference in peoples’ lives by training CDFI staff on the very best techniques for identifying financial distress, intervening and coaching low- and moderate-income individuals and families to improve their financial lives. “Upgrading to a new learning management system makes HERO more valuable than ever for unlocking opportunities in economically distressed communities,” CU Strategic Planning Vice President of CDFI Grant Compliance Christine Duncan said. “Our goal is to ensure CDFIs have the very best resources to serve America’s most financially vulnerable. The updates we’ve made will make that easier for our clients.” Duncan also pointed out that the training and tool can help credit unions that received CDFI RRP awards to achieve their lending goals for grant compliance. The HERO curriculum contains nine courses, testing staff knowledge after each section. After all are complete, staff receive a certification. HERO trains teams to work directly with consumers to prevent financial catastrophes by catching distress early and preventing losses to borrowers. Credit unions’ loan portfolios will also increase as staff trained as Community Development Certified Financial Counselors are able to identify high-priced and predatory loans to refinance at the credit union. Members benefit from paying down debt faster, retaining household income and improving creditworthiness. The training program is priced so organizations can easily train and certify all their staff. CU Strategic Planning Chief Strategy & Advocacy Officer Mike Beall added, “The identification and refinancing of high-interest rate loans from predatory lenders will change lives, which in turn creates loyalty and measurable impacts beyond the balance sheet. HERO provides more than just training and eventual certification: It’s a toolbox with a constantly updated database of in-depth information on the latest predatory practices, problems consumers will come to you to solve, links to outside tools and resources that delve deeper into topics, as well as practical tools and calculators that your team can employ throughout the consumer financial coaching process.” Learn more about HERO counseling at herocounseling.org, and learn more about why your staff should be financial counselors with our webinar, 4 Reasons You Need to Train Your Front-Line Staff As Financial Counselors.

CU Strategic Planning specializes in writing winning grants applications for The U.S. Treasury's CDFI Financial Assistance Awards, but for 2021 extended its reach to include an application for a Technical Assistance Award from the same fund: for FLAG Credit Union. The $54 million CDFI and its members won big with a $125,000 award, the full amount of the request. Just 174 organizations received Technical Assistance awards in FY 2021, totaling $24.1 million, according to Treasury. Technical Assistance Awards help Certified CDFIs and emerging CDFIs to build capacity to provide services to low-income and underserved people and communities across America. “We’re very excited to be receiving this grant so we can increase our reach to deserving people who need the guidance and services we can provide,” FLAG CU Interim CEO Amy Green said. “And we couldn’t have done it without the extraordinary support of CU Strategic Planning’s experienced and dedicated team.” FLAG CU is based in Tallahassee, Fla., which has a poverty rate of 26.4%. Over the last five years, the credit union has increased its lending in the area by 42.5%. Flag CU will leverage the grant to add staffing and upgrade its technology to increase lending and expand financial inclusion. FLAG will create a new position at the credit union, Financial Navigator, to help members access the credit union’s technology and offer one-on-one coaching to consumers, particularly the low-income and elderly members who are unfamiliar with technology. This will prove an essential role as the credit union expands its ability to serve through technology; FLAG will also use the grant money to lease two interactive teller machines. "FLAG Credit Union is an example of why the TA Awards exist,” CU Strategic Planning President/CEO Stacy Augustine said. “It is on the path to becoming a stronger CDFI and earning future, larger Financial Assistance Awards. Our job is to facilitate that path. While we've both won today, it is the marginalized consumers in Tallahassee who are the big winners." CU Strategic Planning, the leading writer of CDFI grants for credit unions, focuses mainly on Financial Assistance Award grants, earning client credit unions $250 million in CDFI grant funds to date.

I started my Diversity, Equity and Inclusion advocacy journey in high school, and I’ve carried that into my work in and with credit unions. When I first started using my voice on this issue professionally in 2017, I could have been committing career suicide. But I also couldn’t sit back and do nothing for the credit union community I love and have grown in as a leader and executive. My commitment overcame my very natural and very real fear. Overcoming obstacles, such as fear, is what credit unions are made of. Founded to serve the common person who couldn’t get financial services anywhere else during The Great Depression, we were there to serve. I’m sure that was an incredibly scary time for the U.S. Here we are again, so let’s get started. My commitment to DEI started all the way back in high school, where I was elected student body president. Believe it or not, my Louisiana high school still had segregated proms and other events, and I graduated in 2001! We wanted to host a black history program, but the principal said no because auditorium usage was limited, and he didn’t want to upset the teachers who wanted to host programs. I didn’t realize I was an activist back then, but that ‘no’ didn’t sit well with me. I proceeded to obtain the signature of every teacher in the school, identifying that they were fine with our usage of the auditorium for the program. The principal still said no. We went to the local radio stations with the story, which provided coverage, and staged sit-ins. Finally, the principal gave in to a multicultural program. Fast forward to today, and I’ve earned a master’s degree in human resources education with a concentration in leadership development, including several organizational development courses. I applied my education and experience in the credit unions I’ve led, both of which were turnaround situations. I knew culture was the driving force of everything we do, but a few months into my role as CEO of SWLA Credit Union I experienced an epiphany. I realized how much I’d grown my career through assimilation. Professional norms were not developed, intentionally or not, with a diversity of viewpoints in mind. I sold myself and my community out every time I code switched, hiding my blackness. There’s an element of my blackness that brings a benefit, and it’s only present if I let it be present. I wasn’t going to live like that anymore, nor would I make others suffer through it. My conviction for diversity, equity and inclusion was stronger than my fear for my career. It worked. As a troubled credit union, others wanted to see an emphasis on SWLA’s financials and figures rather than culture. Everything grows from their culture, like plants. Give them the right water, nutrients and lighting, and they’ll grow. The proof is in the results. SWLA Credit Union is financially sound and continuing to grow because of the culture and policies we put in place then. When people feel they can bring their whole selves to work through a culture rooted in DEI, productivity increases, efficiency increases, and therefore financial performance does the same. When we figure out culture, effective business strategies flow from there.

Excite Credit Union CEO Brian Dorcy says he is “Excited” about achieving Community Development Financial Institution certification. The credit union anxiously awaited its CDFI status for a long 15 months. When the team received word of its approval, they quickly put together a late afternoon Zoom happy hour to celebrate! “We really appreciate the diligence and resilience that CU Strategic Planning put into the application process,” Dorcy said. “We were concerned when our initial application was denied. Still, we quickly huddled and strategized on the changes necessary to meet the rigorous standards for CDFI certification.” “This certification is recognition of the good work that we are already doing. In fact, more than 60% of our lending is already directed toward lower-income consumers in our core markets in Silicon Valley and New Hanover County, NC. We expect to leverage this new status to launch a micro-business lending program in October, specifically to serve the needs of BIPOC-led businesses hit hardest by the pandemic.” CU Strategic Planning celebrated along with Excite CU. "CU Strategic Planning works on certifications until they are approved,” Chief Strategy & Advocacy Officer Mike Beall, who’s also a co-owner of the firm, said. “Our services are not a one-time application submission. The single fee includes the consulting until the certification is obtained. A denial is never the end with us. What drives us is that we know credit unions are serving the underserved, accountable to their communities and have the mission of community development." CU Strategic Planning AVP of Certification Services Carrie Ostrem added, “The team at Excite Credit Union really persevered through the CDFI certification process, and it was obvious their determination was driven by an authentic desire to help the most economically vulnerable in their community,” Ostrem said. “We at CU Strategic Planning were proud to work alongside the Excite Credit Union team through this certification and cannot wait to see their efforts to unlock even more opportunities for consumers who deserve their products, services and guidance.”

The work we do with credit unions allows them to make real differences in the lives of their members and communities. This could be through CDFI certification or grant funding, assisting with business plans, product design, partnership creation or any of our other many services. And as part of this work, we get to hear the wonderful member impact stories that illustrate what credit unions are doing to unlock opportunities in the communities they serve. We will be highlighting some of these stories here. Orange County’s Credit Union Sees a Person, Not a Credit Score A member was struggling with poor credit as a result of being victimized by identity theft. When she moved to Orange County, California and rented an apartment, the deposit she had to pay was four times the normal amount! She attempted several times to open a checking account at different banks but was unable to, despite earning a decent living and explaining why her credit score was so low. Instead, she was forced to use a check cashing shop for her paychecks that charged an outrageous fee. She worked to rebuild her credit, but could only get a secured credit card with a 20% interest rate. Eventually, she found help at Orange County’s Credit Union and was not only able to open a checking and savings account, but was also approved for a much-needed $16,000 car loan. The credit union representatives listened to her story and were able to give her the loan, meaning she no longer had to commute to her job by bicycle. The member subsequently contacted the credit union to thank them. The last part of her message: “Somebody actually believes in me. You have no idea how important that was to me… to know that somebody believed in me.” Orange County’s Credit Union believed in treating the whole person, rather than just a credit score. A Member's Partnership with Express Credit Union Makes it Possible to Get Out of Debt, Build Income and Create Financial Stability Sarah was 25 years old when she first joined Express Credit Union in 2009 and a new first-time mother. She was struggling financially, had bad credit and couldn't get a checking account. Express Credit Union initially qualified Sarah to open a savings account and continued to work with her. In less than a year of opening the savings account, she paid off a negative balance on a different bank account, and then qualified to open a checking account with Express. In the early days, she was able to access the credit union’s Pay Day Alternative loan product to help build credit and pay down debts. She even earned refunds for paying the loans off on time without penalty. Over time, Express was able to finance her first auto loan, which allowed her to get to work and take her daughter to daycare, instead of using public transportation. In her words, "Honestly, Express provided exactly what I needed from a banking partnership in the early stages of trying to get out of debt, build income and create some financial stability." Since joining Express, Sarah has become the owner of a small insurance agency. She purchased a home in west Seattle that she now rents out, as she has moved to Washington, D.C. and just bought a second home there. Sarah still is a fully active and engaged Express member even now that she lives on the East Coast. She gave that first car to her mother, since it holds such sentimental value and demonstrates to her the progress she's made and success she's created.

TransUnion (NYSE: TRU) and CU Strategic Planning announced today a partnership to help credit unions apply for Treasury Department Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) Fund grants. Leveraging TransUnion’s Prama platform, credit unions will be able to better hone their applications and use the CDFI funds for maximum impact in the communities they serve. Prama, winner of the 2020 FinTech Breakthrough Award, employs advanced credit data analytics to improve understanding of consumer behavior, identify growth opportunities and enhance portfolio profitability. The product suite includes anonymized information on virtually every credit active consumer in the U.S and quickly turns data into insights, becoming the lending industry’s first self-service platform to enable real-time integrated action. “Partnering with credit-data market leader TransUnion has been an amazing opportunity to better serve our credit union clients with finely tuned CDFI Fund grant applications that maximize impact in communities that have been marginalized and underrepresented in mainstream banking,” CU Strategic Planning Chief Strategic and Advocacy Officer Mike Beall said. “It helps CU Strategic Planning make more informed, data-driven strategic decisions to increase financial inclusion and provide stronger support to minority depository institutions.” Three key use cases for Prama include helping lenders understand consumer behavior, identify growth opportunities and improve portfolio profitability which allow for greater reinvestment back into the communities CDFIs and other lenders serve. “CU Strategic Planning has extremely strong connections with smaller and community development credit unions which enables TransUnion to help expand financial inclusion initiatives,” said Sean Flynn, senior director of TransUnion’s credit union business. “TransUnion strives to use information for good and unlock economic opportunities for all through data.”

JetStream Federal Credit Union was founded in 1947 in Miami Falls, Fla., to serve the Miami FAA employees and their families. Today, JetStream’s mission is very different; the membership had changed significantly by the time the current CEO of JetStream, Jeanne Kucey, stepped in back in 2009. In addition to converting from a single-SEG credit union serving Miami-Dade County FAA employees to a community charter, the credit union had also taken in an NCUA-orchestrated merger with a credit union in Puerto Rico decades earlier. By 2011, the NCUA performed a study based on zip codes and discovered that 75% of JetStream’s members qualified as low-income. Kucey realized that JetStream needed more resources in order to expand its products and services to these members and potential members. She also wanted to lend deeper in the credit score spectrum. JetStream FCU first partnered with CU Strategic Planning in 2010, when seeking CDFI funding to expand its auto lending program. She explained that the local area lacks good public transportation, so much of JetStream’s membership must drive to work. Many of its potential members were low-income or had minimal, poor or no credit history. JetStream won a CDFI grant and was able to make more car loans to hard-working people who needed them most. Eventually, JetStream also started making small business loans after getting many requests from members who were not able to obtain capital loans from banks. Many of JetStream’s branches are in the three counties near the San Juan airport, and JetStream was able to help those areas get back to normal following 2017’s Hurricane Maria. Using CDFI grants earned after the devastation, the credit union helped members replace items insurance didn’t cover, such as air conditioning units, furniture and appliances. Building upon past success, JetStream currently has an application in for a solar energy and home rehab grant, to help individuals without equity in their homes and those with challenged credit make repairs and upgrades. Existing homes in Miami-Dade County are old, Kucey explained, and many homes have roofing problems, mold issues or need new air conditioning units. While JetStream offers home equity loans, many people don’t meet the standard underwriting. “If you have a lot of low-income people who aren’t being served by others, and you need to expand your resources so that you’re able to help more people, I really think it’s not just the best way to go, but the only way to go,” Kucey said, referring to using the grant to fulfill credit unions’ people-helping-people philosophy. Kucey said the CU Strategic Planning team really understands the process, which has been a weight off her team. JetStream FCU views CU Strategic Planning as an extension of its own operations. The results have also been tremendous for the credit union, earning more than $3 million in grants, helping the credit union realize its goals and assist its low-income and minority members. Read the rest of JetStream's Case Study, and find others on our Case Studies page.

We first published a version of this post in 2018, and since then CU Strategic Planning has continued to lead the industry in certifying credit union clients as CDFIs, handling annual reporting, and writing award-winning grants. With the most recent round of CDFI RRP Grants, we have now directly won one quarter billion dollars in CDFI Fund grants for credit unions! You can learn more about our CDFI certification and grant writing services and CDFI reporting, or download further resources to learn more about becoming CDFI certified and how to use that designation to access financial awards that will allow your credit union to unlock opportunities in the communities you serve. CDFI Certification is the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s recognition of specialized financial institutions serving low-income communities. CDFI Certification opens the door to opportunities for CDFIs to excel—both operationally and financially. The Treasury’s CDFI Fund provides grants and financing to organizations certified as Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs). The CDFI designation limits those who can apply for those resources to ensure the program benefits those that need it most, with institutions accountable to their communities in their mission to make a difference. The designation of CDFI certification conferred by the CDFI Fund to indicate that a financial institution provides financial products and services to underserved and economically distressed consumers and communities. Eligibility Requirements to Become CDFI Certified To be eligible for CDFI Certification, an organization must meet the following criteria: Have a primary mission of promoting community development Provide both financial and educational services Serve and maintain accountability to one or more defined target markets Maintain accountability to a defined market Be a legal, non-governmental entity at the time of application (with the exception of Tribal governmental entities) Fortunately, all credit unions meet most of these requirements. Low-income-​designated credit unions generally meet all of them, and it's just a matter of documentation. The NCUA has worked to streamline the application process over the past few years, but it is still recommended that credit unions receive assistance; it's important to not just meet the criteria, but also to document and demonstrate it . CDFI Certification Application Process To apply to become certified as a CDFI, an organization must submit a CDFI Certification Application to the CDFI Fund for review. The application documents how the organization meets the certification requirements. Application steps include: Submitting a charter to show that the applicant is a legal, non-government entity and not be under the control of any government entity at the time of certification application. Tribal governments are typically excluded from this requirement. Submitting a mission statement and/or board resolution documenting a primary mission of promoting community development. Conducting a loan analysis, mapping and other documentation to show the applicant primarily serves 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” (OTP). OTPs are vulnerable or underserved populations that have historically been denied credit or lack adequate access to capital. Demonstrating that the organization is accountable to its designated target markets through the make-up of its board of directors or an advisory board, where the members are representative of the target market. Demonstrating that the applicant must be a financing entity. Regulated certification applicants, including CDFI credit unions, are deemed to automatically meet the financing entity criteria. Document the “development services” the organization provides in conjunction with its financing activities. Development services include technical assistance or training activities that prepare borrowers to access the institution’s financial products. There must be a direct link between the institution’s development services activities and its financial products. Maintaining CDFI Status The CDFI certification is maintained annually with a CDFI annual certification report in the CDFI Funds AMIS system. If a certified CDFI fails to submit its annual certification report it will need to complete the entire certification process to be reinstated as a CDFI. Get Assistance for the Process CU Strategic Planning is made up of CDFI Experts, and we can work with your credit union every step of the way, from determining eligibility to winning those CDFI financial assistance grants. Let us show you how we can help you.

The work we do with credit unions allows them to make real differences in the lives of their members and communities. This could be through CDFI certification or grant funding, assisting with business plans, product design, partnership creation or any of our other many services. And as part of this work, we get to hear the wonderful member impact stories that illustrate what credit unions are doing to unlock opportunities in the communities they serve. We will be highlighting some of these stories here. American 1 Credit Union Helps Member Keep His Loans Protected and Affordable An American 1 member service rep recounts: “I had a member looking for a car loan, while also in the process of refinancing his house. His mortgage lender specifically told him to keep his new car payment under $400/month. In the past, this member had always chosen to protect his loan with Life and GAP coverage, but the best payment we could get him was $398/month with no protection products. I assured him I would do my best to help him not lose the protection on his loan. “I was able to request a rate exception for his term so he could keep the protection products on his loan. This member told his mortgage lender about our GAP policy during this process and the lender adamantly told him to get our GAP as it was too good a deal to pass up. This member walked away happy, had a payment amount that his mortgage lender was okay with, and he got to keep his loan protection.” A Member Keeps Her Car Thanks to MERCO Credit Union’s Flexibility Two years ago, a member was part of a married couple with two full incomes and a car financed through MERCO Credit Union. Now, she’s a 36-year-old single mother with her work reduced to part-time because of COVID-19—a steep drop in income. Over the course of 2020, the credit union provided her with two 2-month "skip-a-payment" options, waiving the usual fee due to the pandemic. In December, MERCO also modified her auto loan, reducing her payment and waiving the standard loan-to-value requirements but maintaining the same interest rate, even though her credit score declined. The difference in the monthly amount wasn’t significant to the credit union, but the combination of payment skips and refinancing allowed her to pause her car payments for about 6 months, meaning the world to her. The newly single mother was able to keep her car to get to the work that she held onto. While many other institutions might have repossessed her car, MERCO worked with this member to help her stay on track. SkyPoint FCU Keeps a COVID-19 Health Crisis from Becoming a Financial Crisis A member of SkyPoint FCU lost his job and then temporarily his health, due to COVID -19. The credit union allowed him to skip four months of payments on his personal loan, and he was granted six months of reduced payments on his credit card—from 2% of the balance for his minimum to 1% for six months—until he could resume employment and make regular payments.