SAN FRANCISCO-NCUA Board Member Deborah Matz unveiled "Credit Union Partnerships With NeighborWorksr Organizations: Proven Models for Success" as part of her first Access Across America Partnering and Leadership Successes conference. "This report," said Matz, who serves as liaison to the Neighborhood Reinvestment Coalition and has a seat on the NRC Board, "is an effort to increase cooperative efforts between credit unions and NRC affiliates." The 28-page report, published jointly by NCUA and NRC, was distributed to the conference attendees. It provides eight case studies of successful collaborations from Alaska to Pennsylvania between credit unions and local NeighborWorksr organizations to provide affordable housing for low- to moderate- income households. "Credit unions can provide new and improved service to members, gain access to new members and receive deposits from community-based organizations as a result of these collaborative efforts," Matz emphasized. "The NeighborWorksr organization realizes a new source of funds. But the real beneficiaries are those who, as a result of this cooperation, now own their own home." NRC Executive Director Ellen Lazar commented, "While there is tremendous potential for credit unions and NeighborWorksr organizations to work together, to date collaborative efforts have been limited. This publication is intended to open channels of communication so that more credit union members have an opportunity to share in the dream of homeownership." "Through our partnerships with organizations such as NRC, NCUA's Access Across America initiative seeks to put actions to our strong commitment that more Americans should have access to the American dream of homeownership," NCUA Chairman Dennis Dollar said. "As an agency, we are committed to playing our part to further the President's goal of 5.5 million new minority homeowners by the end of the decade." Copies of the publication are available free through NCUA. NRC is affiliated with more than 200 community organizations that make up the NeighborWorksr network. [email protected]