NEW YORK — The National Federation of Community Development Credit Unions has met with early success in its campaign to raise at least $25 million for use as capital by community development credit unions working with lower income communities.

At a recent San Francisco meeting of the West Coast Financial Literacy Forum, an event sponsored in part by the Federal Reserve Bank in San Francisco, the Federation announced that it has raised $8.5 million in investments and commitments.

Investors include philanthropic organizations and foundations, the U.S. Government through the U.S. Treasury Departments Community Development Financial Institutions Fund and at least one charitable organization tied to a major bank.

“We have the most extensive, diversified portfolio of any community development financial intermediary,” explained Federation Executive Director Cliff Rosenthal. The Federation's investments have gone to inner-city, rural, and reservation-based credit unions from Vermont to Hawaii, and over the last two years, it has made significant investments in CDCUs rebuilding New Orleans and the Gulf region, the Federation said.