ALEXANDRIA, Va. -- As part of the Bush Administration's designation of February as National Black History Month, NCUA has focused on its role in helping credit unions serving predominantly African-American communities.
"As we celebrate National African-American History Month by honoring the many important accomplishments of African-Americans throughout our nation's rich history, I appreciate the pro-active role credit unions are playing in empowering African-American communities, particularly in the area of financial literacy and homeownership," stated NCUA Board Chair JoAnn Johnson.
The agency pointed to its work with the Community Development Revolving Loan Fund, which it said helped credit unions working in primarily African-American communities to register a positive impact.
The agency offered up the East End Baptist Tabernacle Federal Credit Union in Bridgeport, Conn., which received a loan and grants from the NCUA for community financial education classes and to help provide much needed lending services to low-income communities within the city of Bridgeport, as an example. These lending services include home repair loans, alternatives to payday loans, debt consolidation loans, and transition loans to help members move from welfare or unemployment to work, the agency said.
Shiloh of Alexandria Federal Credit Union in Alexandria, Va., received a loan and grants from the NCUA to support its community outreach, including pre-purchase homeownership counseling and financial education to members of the Shiloh of Alexandria Baptist Church and residents of the Parker-Gray neighborhood of Alexandria.
Toledo Urban Federal Credit Union in Ohio, meanwhile, received grants from the NCUA to bolster the credit union's Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program. For example, in 2007 the credit union prepared more than 200 income tax returns free of charge and returned more than $87,000 in Earned Income Tax Credit monies to the community.
"NCUA recognizes there are specific initiatives that can help African-American credit union members move along a path of financial health and well-being. I look forward to a very bright future we can all share and of which we can be proud," added Johnson.
--dmorrison@cutimes.com.
