CU Affiliate Gets Grant to Work with Low-income Entrepreneurs

WASHINGTON – The Corporation For Enterprise Development, a non-profit that seeks to further small business entrepreneurship among low-income people, has granted $50,000 to Alternatives Community Ventures, a non-profit affiliate of the $45 million Alternatives Federal Credit Union. Both the credit union and its affiliate are based in Ithaca, New York. As a community development credit union, Alternatives has a long history of working with lower income communities. "Low-income entrepreneurs need a range of financial and non-financial services to support their businesses," says Andrea Levere, vice president of the Corporation for Enterprise Development. "This initiative will bring top community development financial institutions together to exchange innovative ideas about products and services that better serve the needs of these business owners." Traditionally, low-income business owners have been forced to get high-interest loans to finance their emerging enterprises, ACV explained. This initiative will explore how coupling savings and credit for small businesses will increase their survival and boost their growth.