The National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) awarded more than $3.5 million in Community Development Revolving Loan Fund (CDRLF) grants to 135 low-income-designated credit unions spread across 37 states.
Thirty-nine grantees were minority depository institutions, which received almost $1.4 million total. Another 18 grantees were first-time applicants, according to the NCUA.
NCUA Chair Todd Harper explained that CDRLF grants “can provide the seed money needed for credit unions serving low-income members and under-resourced communities to grow small ideas into big initiatives that build intergenerational wealth and change lives.”
The individual grants ranged between $1,100 and $100,000 and were grouped into six categories:
- Underserved Outreach: 26 grants totaling $1,255,087
- MDI Capacity Building: 26 grants totaling $1,154,500
- Digital Services and Cybersecurity: 66 grants totaling $629,200
- Impact Through Innovation: four grants totaling $400,000
- Training: 11 grants totaling $52,500
- Consumer Financial Protection: two grants totaling $20,000
“These grants also assist credit unions in reaching more people with the safe, fair, and affordable financial products and services they need, promoting consumer education, building staff capacity, and providing greater online security for their members,” Harper said.
Information about CDRLF grants and a complete list of awardees are available on the NCUA website, along with a list of CDRLF-eligible credit unions via NCUA’s Office of Credit Union Resources and Expansion administers CDRLF grants to eligible credit unions.
The office also supports low-income-designated credit unions; credit unions interested in a low-income designation; minority depository institution credit unions; credit unions seeking changes in their charters, bylaws, or fields of membership; and groups organizing to start new federal credit unions.