NEW YORK — The National Federation of Community Development Credit Unions has announced two new programs that, it said, would exemplify its twin goals of strengthening CDCU's and helping mainstream credit unions.

The first, called “CU Breakthrough,” is a fee-based service designed to help credit unions expand their services in low-income and underserved communities, the Federation said in its announcement.

The new service offers a roster of experienced consultants, drawn from the ranks of community development credit union (CDCU) professionals with practical experience in serving underserved populations, such as low-income rural or inner city communities, Native Americans, immigrants, people with disabilities, and the growing millions who are vulnerable to predatory lenders, the Federation added.

“For credit unions that plan to expand into these communities for the first time, CU Breakthrough can help them to navigate unfamiliar terrain,” the organization said.

The second program is a $25 million Capital Campaign designed to expand and grow the Federation's existing capital effort which has invested $30 million in 120 CDCUs over the last 25 years.

“We launched this campaign, because we had a good problem,” said Federation Executive Director Clifford Rosenthal. “Virtually all our available funds are deployed. Many of our CDCUs are growing strongly, and can make good use of additional capital.”