In 2016 the Community Development Financial Institutions Fund (CDFI Fund) launched a new mandatory Annual Certification Report for all certified Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) including credit unions. The Annual Certification Report, which must be completed in the CDFI Fund’s Awards Management Information System (AMIS), allows the CDFI Fund to annually assess certified CDFIs’ compliance with certification rules. The CDFI certification report is technically cumbersome for credit unions. CU Strategic Planning does the report affordably to remove the burden on credit unions. How Does this Affect Your Credit Union? In 2016 the Community Development Financial Institutions Fund (CDFI Fund) launched a new mandatory Annual Certification Report for all certified Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) including credit unions. The Annual Certification Report, which must be completed in the CDFI Fund’s Awards Management Information System (AMIS), allows the CDFI Fund to annually assess certified CDFIs’ compliance with certification rules. The CDFI certification report is technically cumbersome for credit unions. CU Strategic Planning does the report affordably to remove the burden on credit unions. How Do I Complete the Report? CDFIs use data from their last complete fiscal year to complete the report for most organizational financial information (fiscal year (FY) 2017 in most cases). The CDFI Fund offers lengthy and complex instructions in multiple documents describing how to complete the report, a glossary of terms to ensure proper completion, a form to report significant changes at your credit union and instructions on how to upload the report into the CDFI Fund AMIS system provided by the CDFI Fund. Deadlines The reporting deadline for Report Year 2018: ACR Due Date for Report Year 2018: Tuesday, July 31, 2018 CDFIs certified on or after January 1, 2018 are not required to submit an ACR for Report Year 2018. The ACR form for the Report Year 2018 will be available for completion and submission on Thursday May, 31 2018. The CDFI Fund will provide a notification to all contacts identified in the certified CDFIs’ AMIS contact list when the ACR Report Year 2018 is available for completion and submission. Please make sure your CDFI’s contact information in your CDFI’s AMIS account is updated regularly for future notifications on reporting guidance and deadlines. Teleconferences The CDFI Fund will host two (2), one-hour teleconferences on Thursday, June 21, 2018 at 3:00pm ET and Thursday, July 19, 2018 at 3:00pm ET to provide additional assistance in completing the ACR. These calls are intended to serve as a forum for Certified CDFIs to ask questions and discuss the ACR. How to remove the compliance burden Contact Mike Beall at (202) 802-0036 or mike@creditunionstrategicplanning.com. CU Strategic Planning does all of the work so you don’t have to be burdened with the tediousness of figuring out the complexities. CU Strategic Planning is only accepting ACR clients until July 9, 2018.

CU Strategic Planning’s Efforts to Educate Congressional Appropriators Pave Way for Record Funding You only have to scroll to page 476 of the 2,232-page Omnibus FY 2018 Bill to find the record setting number of $250 million appropriated to the Community Development Financial Institution Fund. The dollar amount means that, in spite of the administration budget that called for near zero funding for the vital community development grant program, Republicans and Democrats in Congress saw value in the programs that credit unions and other CDFIs develop to serve low to moderate income families. “Credit unions are busy working with us right now on an amazing variety of consumer, mortgage, and microbusiness loan programs that innovate to extrapolate the support and development of thousands of jobs and hundreds of millions of loans to low income families. It took quite a while to get here with this FY 2018 budget, but we are extremely pleased that Congressional leaders of both parties and the president saw their way to the highest level of funding of the CDFI program,” reported Mike Beall, owner and Chief Strategic and Advocacy Officer of CU Strategic Planning. The US House of Representatives and the US Senate are expected to vote to pass the Omnibus spending bill before the Friday March 23 deadline of midnight to not only keep the government open but settle the budget for FY 2018 that runs through September 2018. The President would then need to sign the much-delayed federal budget. The bill may be seen as a starting point for the development of legislation for the FY 2019 budget. CU Strategic Planning used a pinpoint strategy to make appropriators aware of the importance of CDFI funding, allowing credit unions to make innovative loans to low income consumers while using the CDFI grant funds to mitigate potential losses in their Allowance for Loan Loss (ALL) accounts or to increase net worth as they take on additional risk while balancing the pricing of loans to meet consumer demand. CDFIs and their programs help consumers avoid predatory lenders of all varieties. “Stepping around the current political environment, we sought to talk about the value of the CDFI fund to credit union with members of Congress of both parties, and they responded positively from all political sides” said Stacy Augustine, owner and CEO of CU Strategic Planning. “With 2018 budget is done the company I founded on my kitchen table 10 years ago may pass the $100 million dollar mark of CDFI award dollars won on behalf of the amazing credit unions we work with. Consider me energized to do all I can to help credit unions develop creative lending programs that win CDFI award dollars,” said Jamie Strayer, owner and founder of CU Strategic Planning. 2018 CDFI Financial and Technical Assistance Grant Applications for FY 2018 are due in early April. Mike Beall mike@creditunionstrategicplanning.com

The Honorable Shelley Moore Capito, Chairman Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government Appropriations 172 Russell Senate Office Building Washington DC 20510 The Honorable Christopher Coons, Ranking Member Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government Appropriations 127A Russell Senate Office Building Washington DC 20510 Dear Chairman Capito and Ranking Member Coons: CU Strategic Planning, an organization working with more than 500 credit unions nationwide, including 200 credit unions with the Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) designation serving over 5 million consumers, writes to you today to express strong support for the CDFI and for full funding of at least $248 million for FY 2018 and 2019 as the committee begins its work on bills for funding in these fiscal years. Using $248 million as a starting point and considering an increase based on the budget framework recently passed would allow CDFI credit unions to assist small business owners with small and micro business loans, and many innovative first time and other mortgage programs as well as small consumer loans to combat the cycle of payday lending. Additionally, we believe CDFI should be urged to restore the maximum Financial Assistance (FA) award to the previous level of up to $2 million per grant award to a CDFI institution. CDFI is an effective federal government agency and an important part of the U.S. Department of the Treasury. It has been a significant partner for our credit union clients working to lend to small businesses, an effort that has resulted in the addition of more than 10,000 jobs to the economy. CDFI has also helped retain jobs that would otherwise be threatened. The partnership between credit unions and CDFI has also led to tens of thousands of small dollar loans and used auto loans that have helped low to moderate income families have access to affordable transportation to their jobs, helping families avoid utilizing other support programs. Additionally, housing projects with credit unions in urban and rural areas have helped thousands of American obtain the American dream of homeownership even though they were from low to moderate income families. We regard sufficient funding for the CDFI Fund to be an essential part of Congress’ efforts to support infrastructure and economic empowerment in the nation, so we urge you to consider the CDFI Fund as a vital partner to credit unions that are the safe cooperatively owned places to save and borrow for more than 108 million Americans. Respectfully, Michael V. Beall, Esq. Chief Strategic and Advocacy Officer

The Honorable Shelley Moore Capito Chairman Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government Appropriations 172 Russell Senate Office Building Washington DC 20510 The Honorable Christopher Coons Ranking Member Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government Appropriations 127A Russell Senate Office Building Washington DC 20510 Dear Chairman Capito and Ranking Member Coons: CU Strategic Planning, an organization working with more than 500 credit unions nationwide, including 200 credit unions with the Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) designation serving over 5 million consumers, writes to you today to express concerns with the cuts to the CDFI budget contained in the draft House Appropriation’s Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government Appropriations for 2018. This $190 million House number represents a figure well below the 2017 funding 2017 level of $250 million), as well as those from 2016 and 2015 ($233 million in each year). Our strongly held view is that the Senate should restore funding to the 2017 level of $250 million. We also recognize that the budget for the total Treasury Department may be reduced by between 6-7%, based on the House number. If that decision holds in the Senate, then we would strongly encourage you to consider that CDFI’s budget only be cut at the same rate, which would put the Appropriation at approximately $233 million for 2018. CDFI is an effective federal government agency and important part of the U.S. Department of the Treasury. It has been a significant partner for our credit union clients working to lend to small businesses, an effort that has resulted in the addition of more than 10,000 jobs to the economy. CDFI has also helped retain jobs that would otherwise be threatened. The partnership between credit unions and CDFI has also led to tens of thousands of small dollar loans and used auto loans that have helped low to moderate income families have access to affordable transportation to their jobs, helping families avoid utilizing other support programs. Additionally, housing projects with credit unions in urban and rural areas have helped thousands of American obtain the American dream of homeownership even though they were from low to moderate income families. We regard sufficient funding for the CDFI Fund to be an essential part of Congress’ efforts to support infrastructure and economic empowerment in the nation, and so we urge you to consider the CDFI Fund as a vital partner to credit unions that are the safe cooperatively owned places to save and borrow for more than 108 million Americans. Respectfully, Michael V. Beall, Esq. Chief Strategic and Advocacy Officer

While the Low Income Designation (LID) is automatic for some credit unions, it is elusive to others. Management of credit unions serving working class populations can misinterpret not receiving the automatic approval to mean their credit union is ineligible for the designation. This is particularly confusing for the CEO of a CDFI Certified credit union that did not automatically receive the Low Income Designation. What should you do if you know your credit union serves working class people, but was not automatically approved? There are a few easy steps to obtain it, even if you went through the process and were previously denied. The NCUA’s process for providing the designation is fixed, driven by an analysis of member addresses. Don’t let that scare you away. For some credit unions, it can be more difficult to obtain than a CDFI certification, but it is still far less work. In fact, it may take you less than 20 minutes. The hurdle is that unlike the CDFI Fund’s guidance on obtaining the CDFI Certification, there is not well documented guidance on effort you can invest in the process to obtain the Low Income Designation. CU Strategic Planning has received verbal guidance over the years on approved means to document a credit union’s service to low income populations. Credit unions located in pockets of geographic poverty come by the designation naturally. Credit Unions located in higher wealth areas serving working class people can have a more difficult time. Given all credit unions are chartered to serve working class people, far more credit unions are eligible for the designation than those that follow through to obtain it. NCUA Process Understanding the process is the first step. A credit union qualifies for the designation when the majority of its membership (50% + one member) qualifies as low income (NCUA 2017). For those that receive it automatically, it is because the NCUA periodically evaluates federal credit unions by analyzing member addresses during a regular examination. For federally insured state credit unions, the analysis is performed by the applicable state supervisory authority in compliance with state, then federal, regulations. A credit union’s examiner does the analysis. But the credit union provides the data, and that is key to unlocking the designation. The Key is the Calculation Successfully earning the designation requires documenting “50 percent, plus one member.” Every member counts either for or against a credit union reaching the threshold. Examiners analyze the Aries Report to sort members counting “for” and “against.” Consider that this is literally 50 percent of members, plus one member: A single member is the determination. There is only one aspect of the Aries Report that is used to sort the members into “for” and “against.” It is the location of a member’s address. As a result, preparing your Aries Report for the analysis is permissible and will result in approval for credit unions serving working class populations that did not automatically receive the designation. There are important steps to prepare an Aries Report for approval. Steps to Prepare your Aries Report for approval If your examiner has already reviewed your Aries Report and you did not take these steps to prepare your file, request a second review after completing: Remove from the file all members with PO Boxes listed as the address. A PO Box does not have a residential street address. Therefor every PO Box automatically counts against the credit union’s 50 percent, plus one member. An address that does not count for a credit union receiving the designation does count against it. This is the primary reason many eligible credit unions do not receive the designation. Create a tab on the Excel sheet labeled “students.” Identify and place all students on this tab. Every student is considered low income and automatically counts towards achieving the 50 percent, plus one. The key is using the permissible means of eliminating members that count against the designation, and identifying those members that count towards the designation. At 50 percent, plus one member- EVERY member counts.

The Honorable Shelley Moore Capito The Honorable Tom Graves Chairman Chairman Subcommittee on Financial Services Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government Appropriations and General Government Appropriations 172 Russell Senate Office Building 2000 Rayburn House Office Bldg. Washington DC 20510 Washington, DC 20515 The Honorable Senator Chris Coons The Honorable Mike Quigley Ranking Member Ranking Member Subcommittee on Financial Services Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government Appropriations and General Government Appropriations 127A Russell Senate Office Building 2459 Rayburn HOB Washington, D.C. 20510 Washington, DC 20515 Dear Honorable Senators and Representatives: CU Strategic Planning works with more than 500 credit unions, and works directly with more than 200 credit unions with the Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) Fund designation serving more 5 million consumers. We write to you today to urge you to robustly fund the CDFI Fund for fiscal years 2017 and 2018 at the levels of at least previous year’s appropriations. CDFI is an effective federal government agency and important part of the U.S. Department of the Treasury that has been a significant partner for our credit union clients working to lend to small businesses that have added more than 10,000 jobs to the economy, and to help retain jobs that would otherwise be threatened. The partnership between credit unions and CDFI has also led to tens of thousands of small dollar loans and used auto loans that have helped low to moderate income families have access to affordable transportation to their jobs, helping families avoid utilizing other support programs. Additionally, housing projects with credit unions in urban and rural areas have helped thousands of American obtain the American dream of homeownership even though they were from low to moderate income families. We regard sufficient funding for the CDFI Fund to be an essential part of Congress’ efforts to support infrastructure in the nation, and so we urge you to consider the CDFI Fund as a vital partner to credit unions that are the safe cooperatively owned places to save and borrow for more than 105 million Americans. Respectfully, Michael V. Beall, Esq. Chief Strategic and Advocacy Officer

This a public service announcement. Every year we see it—credit unions that are tricked into paying to renew their governmental registrations. The System for Award Management (SAM.gov) is an official website of the U.S. government. Anyone doing business with the U.S. government needs to maintain a registration on SAM.gov, but registration is free. Similarly, there’s also no registration charge for registering on other CDFI-related web sites like the CDFI Fund’s Award Management Information System (AMIS) or the Federal Audit Clearinghouse. Third party organizations offering to update your CDFI’s registration on a governmental web site for a fee may be legitimate, but their solicitations are often misleading and imply that they are operating on behalf of the governmental sites themselves, which makes them suspect. CDFIs should also be wary about opening attachments that purport to be grant related, but aren’t really sent from the CDFI Fund since these may include viruses or detrimental script. If in doubt, please contact us straight away!

The NCUA Explained The National Credit Union Administration is most commonly referred to as the NCUA. It is the independent federal agency that regulates, charters and supervises credit unions. It’s examiners review credit unions’ safety and soundness. The NCUA provides several services important to consumers: It operates the National Credit Union Share Insurance Fund insuring the savings of account holders in all federal credit unions and majority of state-chartered credit unions. The NCUA provides a Consumer Assistance Center to help consumers in resolving disputes with credit unions and provides information about federal financial consumer protection and share insurance matters. Consumers can submit complaints and questions. Provides financial literacy tools and resources. Provides a guide on how consumers and community groups can charter a new credit union. The ability to research a specific credit union. The NCUA provides several services important to credit unions: Peer analysis resources to measure performance against other credit unions. Industry data Technical assistance grants NCUA Guarantees the Safety of Consumers’ Money The NCUA insures member accounts through the National Credit Union Share Insurance Fund (NCUSIF). Consumers’ checking, savings, and certificate accounts are insured to at least $250,000. It also insures some retirement accounts, including IRAs, which are insured separately up to $250,000. Consumers can look for the NCUA’s logo (See top of this page) at their credit unions to affirm that their money is insured. Insurance provided by the NCUSIF is similar to the insurance provided by banks through the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). Like FDIC coverage, NCUSIF funds are backed by the full faith and credit of the United States government. Not one penny of consumers insured money has ever been lost by a federally insured credit union. Frequently Asked Questions About NCUSIF Insurance What accounts are insured? Checking Savings Certificate Money Market Accounts For a consumer with more than one account, the balances are added together and insured up to $250,000. Retirement accounts, like IRAs, are also insured up to $250,000—that's separate from the $250,000 in other accounts. What accounts are not insured? Stocks Bonds Mutual funds Annuities Life insurance. How can families increase their coverage? You can manage your account ownership to have additional coverage on multiple accounts. For example, spouses with joint ownership on an account each have $250,000 for a total of $500,000 in coverage. For More NCUA Information: Visit www.ncua.gov or call the NCUA’s Insurance Call Center toll-free at 1-800-755-1030 (press option 1) from 5 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. PDT, Monday through Friday. Consumers can also look up how much of their money is insured at their credit union(s) by using the NCUA’s Share Insurance Estimator tool. It’s easy to enter an accounts number to receive the estimate of coverage.

“CDCU” is an acronym coined by a trade association serving credit unions called The National Federation of Community Development Credit Unions. CDCU stands for Community Development Credit Union. Credit unions that pay membership fees to join the trade association can use the term CDCU, and call their institutions community development credit unions. While CDCU indicates membership in the trade association, this differs from formal government designations earned by credit unions serving low income people. The most common of these designations are the CDFI certification and Low Income Designation. To become a Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI), a credit union must be certified by the US Department of the Treasury, CDFI Fund. To become Low Income Designated, a credit union must meet criteria set by the National Credit Union Administration. In each case, documentation must be submitted to the agencies to demonstrate service to the low to moderate income people. Being a community development credit union (CDCU), ad a member of the trade association does not provide access to federal funding from these agencies or other regulatory benefits. A credit union member of the trade association using the identifier “CDCU” may serve low-and moderate-income people and communities, though not all do. Some CDCUs are credit unions that generously provide financial support to the trade association through membership dues to support the efforts of other CDCUs serving low income communities. While most credit unions calling themselves CDCU’s specialize in serving populations with limited access to safe financial services, not all have received the CDFI certification. As with all credit unions, CDCUs are: Fully insured regulated depository institutions Not-for-profit Financial cooperatives owned by the member/customers As with all CDFIs, the sub-segment of CDCUs that have a CDFI certification specialize in providing: Distressed consumers with access to mainstream financial products and services. The ability to open savings accounts and cash checks even if the accounts are denied by other banks and credit unions. Financial coaching, counseling and support to help consumers improve credit and access products they are otherwise denied. Loans to refinance and/or consolidate predatory debt, build credit and solve emergencies. Financial products and services to eliminate debt traps which decrease household stability.

Community development financial institutions (CDFIs) are: Are financial institutions dedicated to empowering and protecting working class, moderate to low income people, vulnerable populations and disadvantaged communities. Mission-driven financial institutions working on a local level that know their communities best. They do this by: Providing access to mainstream financial services consumers with no credit, a shallow credit profile or distressed credit are otherwise denied. Serving communities that typically are underserved by traditional financial institutions, or may not have another mainstream financial institution (bank or credit union.) Deploying microbusiness loans, small business and/or commercial business loans to individuals and businesses without access to loans needed to establish, grow or keep their business in business. Why is this important? Lack of access to affordable financial services leaves the most financially distressed consumers vulnerable to be preyed upon by wealth stripping predatory lenders, check cashers and the like. CDFI’s prevents these wealth stripping alternative service providers from siphoning household income critically needed to pay for groceries, utilities and housing. Its not just the poor, elderly people are impacted by wealth stripping. Job creation and retention is critical to household stability and asset building. Business ownership is the number one means of asset building for racial minorities. It is this economic opportunity that transforms neighborhoods, rebuilds rural towns and urban centers and stops the cycle of multi-generational poverty. What are their biggest benefits of CDFIs to American taxpayers? They have invested billions of private dollars in low-income areas, reducing tax payer investment. Reduce reliance of individuals and families on entitlement programs through self-empowerment. CDFIs have a special designation and access to a grant program offered by the US Department of the Treasury, The CDFI Fund. By providing microenterprise, small business and commercial loans, CDFIs are job creators and economic engines in distressed communities across the United States. Through auto lending CDFIs help families get to work to retain jobs, and ensure access to education, health and childcare. Through unique mortgage products including alternative down payment options, home rehabilitation and rental loans, CDFIs prevent homelessness for working families, create household stability essential to performance of children in school, and help families build assets. Through first accounts and second chance checking, CDFIs prevent consumers from losing limited resources, essential to purchasing groceries and utilities payments, to check cashers and predatory service providers. Credit unions are CDFIs, but not all CDFIs are credit unions. What do they have in common? CDFIs, like not-for-profit credit unions, are profitable but not profit-maximizing. They put community first, just as credit unions put their members first, not corporate shareholders. For more than 30 years, CDFIs they have had a proven track record of improving lives in communities of America that need it most. It can be argued that credit unions, as cooperatives, were the very first CDFIs even before the term “community development” or “CDFI” was coined. The credit union international operating principles incorporate tenants essential to community development, including social responsibility, non-discrimination, equal distribution of profits and financial education. Credit unions are owned by members of the community and are governed by elected volunteers that live in the community- not corporate stock holders. Credit unions are the only sector of CDFIs that are exclusively not-for-profit, and the only depository institutions providing not-for-profit access to savings and checking. There are over 1,000 CDFIs as of 2017, which include: loan funds, which can be for-profit or non-profit, for-profit banks and for-profit venture capital (VC) funds. Find a CDFI.

Credit unions around the world operate per the same core principles and values. They are: Democratic Structure Open and Voluntary Membership Democratic Control Non-Discrimination Service to Members Equal Distribution to Members Service to Members Building Financial Stability Social Goals On-Going Education Cooperation Among Cooperatives Social Responsibility How were they created? Credit unions are cooperatively owned businesses. The first modern cooperative was founded in Rochdale, England in 1844. Its creation was driven by a social agenda based on the concept of people working together to achieve a better life for themselves and their community. The Credit Union International Operating Principles are a variation of the original “Cooperative Principles”. What do these principles look like in action? Open and Voluntary Membership Membership in a credit union is voluntary and open to all that meet membership requirements, based on a common bond. For example, school teachers and municipal workers formed credit unions. Some credit unions serve entire geographic communities, like a town or city. Democratic Control Credit union members enjoy equal rights to vote (one member, one vote) and participate in decisions affecting the credit union, without regard to the amount of savings or deposits or the volume of business. In some countries, credit unions offer the first or only opportunity for citizens to vote. Non-Discrimination Credit unions are do not discriminate based on race, nationality, sex, religion, politics or income level. Credit unions provided the first loans to women in their own names in the U.S. They look for ways to serve all. Service to Members Credit unions’ services are directed to improve the economic and social well-being of all members. Therefore, credit unions were not involved in the mortgage collapse in the early 2000s and why credit unions do not offer predatory loans. Equal Distribution to Members Credit unions are not-for-profit. The profit they do make ensure the safety and soundness of the business. Profits in excess of that safety and soundness belongs to and benefits all members with no member or group of members benefiting to the detriment of others. This also drives the credit union business model. Credit unions do not profit maximize on the lending side to reward savers. Nor do they operate with a business model that is punitive to savers for the benefit of borrowers. The principle structure of the business is that all owner-members equally benefit from the business. Credit unions encourage thrift through savings and use the deposits as capital to provide loans at a fair rate. The net income is applied to capital reserves at a level determined by the board of directors based on regulatory guidance. Beyond that reserve, the credit union board determines if the net profits will be distributed to members in the form of a payment of dividends or through improving or adding access to services to benefit all members. Building Financial Stability A prime concern of the credit union is to build the financial and social strength for the cooperative business and its members. Financial education is a core activity at every credit union in the world. Credit unions actively promote the education of their members, officers, and employees, along with the public in general, in the economic, social, democratic, and mutual self-help principles of credit unions. The promotion of thrift and the wise use of credit, as well as education on the rights and responsibilities of members, are essential to the dual social and economic character of credit unions in serving member needs. Cooperation Among Cooperatives In keeping with the collaborative philosophy and practices of cooperatives, credit unions actively cooperate with other credit unions, cooperatives and their associations at local, national, and international levels to best serve the interests of their members and their communities. For examples, credit unions create new products and share best practices and model policies so that other credit unions can offer the same products. This is unheard of in the banking industry. Credit unions offer more surcharge free ATMS than almost any bank through the CO-OP Network and allow members of peer credit unions to use branches as their own through Shared Branching. A consumer with a small town credit union experiences greater convenience and access to their money that if they were a customer of a big, corporate bank. Social Responsibility Continuing the ideals and beliefs of the cooperative pioneers, credit unions seek to bring about human and social development through financial justice. Their vision of extends both to the individual members and to the larger community in which they work, worship or live. The credit union ideal is to extend service to all who need and can use it. Every person is either a member or a potential member and appropriately part of the credit union sphere of interest and concern. Decisions should be taken with full regard for the interest of the broader community within which the credit union and its members reside. These Credit Union Operating Principles are founded in the philosophy of cooperation and its central values of equality, equity, and mutual self-help. Recognizing the varied practices in the implementation of credit union philosophy around the world, at the heart of these principles is the concept of human development and the brotherhood of man expressed through people working together to achieve a better life for themselves and their community. They were adopted by the World Council of Credit Unions on August, 24 1984.

The Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Fund was created in 1994 as an independent agency administered by the U.S. Department of Treasury. The CDFI Fund’s work transforms communities and creates economic opportunity for all Americans. It does this by leveraging public funds to increase private investment in distressed communities through mission-driven financial institutions. (In laymen terms, the CDFI Fund uses federal grants to motivate financial institutions to lend when they normally might not be able to take the risk without harm to their other customers/members.) Since inception, the CDFI Fund has awarded more than $2 billion in funding to financial institutions designated with a Community Development Financial Institution certification and $43.5 billion in New Markets Tax Credits. In 2015 alone, that resulted in the deployment of over 3.3 billion in loans and investments to improve quality of life, revitalize neighborhoods and empower Americans. These special CDFI certified financial institutions expand credit, capital, and financial services to historically underserved populations which increases quality of life and reduces reliance on federal and state entitlement programs. The federal funding is not available to corporate, profit-maximizing banks. Instead a financial institution must pass rigid criteria documenting that it serves low income populations, historically underserved, impoverished regions, and other populations that have been financially disadvantaged. Most not-for-profit credit unions meet this criteria. The CDFI Fund operates multiple programs, including, among others, the CDFI Award program, which credit unions participate, New Markets Tax Credits, Bank Enterprise Award Program, and the Capital Magnet Fund. Each unique program promotes access to capital and encourages economic growth to underserved, distressed or low income communities or populations. Grants are awarded based on the creditability and compelling nature and projected impacts of a CDFIs comprehensive business plan. All funds must be matched at a minimum level of one to one with non-federal money, or in the case of credit unions a financial assessment of retained earnings. In addition to financial assistance, the CDFI Fund also provides technical assistance and training to CDFIs. In a strong display of bipartisan support, both houses of Congress voted overwhelmingly in favor of creating the CDFI Fund. Appropriations have also been supported through both Democrat and Republican administrations with funding levels varying over time. The CDFI Fund has spurred an entire industry in the field of community development finance. As well city and county economic development agencies and departments around the US are being renamed to “Community and Economic Development.” Many associations have emerged supporting the CDFI field: The Opportunity Finance Network is the premier trade association and network of CDFIs. Membership is limited to CDFIs meeting benchmarks of excellence in the field. The Association for Enterprise Opportunity is a trade association supporting microenterprise loan funds. The CDFI Coalition is billed as “the united voice” advocating on behalf of the CDFI industry, collecting industry data, and educating the public about community development finance. Membership is open to all who support the field of community development finance. The Community Development Bankers Association is a trade association supporting community development banks and thrifts. The National Federation of Community Development Credit Unions is a trade association serving CDFI certified credit unions and friends. It also operates a CDFI certified loan fund and has a for-profit consulting arm which operates using a network of independent subcontractors. The Community Development Venture Capital Alliance provides technical assistance, information, and resources on community development venture capital funds. Community-wealth.org provides practitioners with links to information on CDFIs. The Center for Responsible Lending conducts ground-breaking research on the extent and impact of predatory lending, to provide useful information to consumers, community advocates, and policymakers.