Our Stories
Inclusiv members serve residents of low-income urban, rural and reservation-based communities across the US. We are proud to help them close wealth gaps and create thriving communities. Below we highlight the support we provide and spotlight some of the countless stories about the incredible work our credit unions do to remove barriers to financial opportunities.
CDFI Credit Unions Serve Remote Rural Communities: Tongass FCU
There are several small communities in Southeast Alaska that do not have access to financial services. Most of these communities are located on remote islands or not connected to the road system.
Recognizing the need for financial services in these underserved areas, Tongass FCU established a plan to create TFCU microsites. The markets that TFCU seek to serve include small villages and towns within our Southeast Alaska field of membership, with population sizes of 400 to 1,000 year-round residents. TFCU microsites are open three days per week, four hours per day. TFCU also provides an ATM in the community. The sites are operated by one to two employees.
In 2005, TFCU began offering financial services in Thorne Bay, a former logging town located on Prince of Wales Island with 500 residents. At the time, TFCU didn’t realize that Thorne Bay would become a blueprint for future sites. Thorne Bay's community business association asked TFCU to establish the site and provided volunteers to assist.
TFCU's first space was located inside a sporting goods store that was in the lower level of the store owner’s home. The cash was kept in the gun safe, and transactions were noted on paper. Since then, TFCU has created a more sustainable model, hiring employees, using computers, and finding a permanent home in the City of Thorne Bay offices.
The Hydaburg microsite on Prince of Wales Island was opened in September 2019. TFCU partnered with a local school that provided a free office and a space for the ATM. The school in Hydaburg serves all grades and is the largest public building in the village. Hydaburg has never had local financial services or an ATM and is an hour drive from the nearest community with financial services, a TFCU branch in Klawock.
Hydaburg has approximately 400 residents. The new site has been especially beneficial in this community for elders who are unable to drive into Klawock and students learning about using financial services. The local tribe was the first organization to open an account with TFCU to demonstrate their support.
The second microsite was opened in Kake in December 2019. TFCU partnered with the local tribe to provide a free office space on the first floor of the tribal building and provided a space for the ATM in their local mini-mart. Kake is located on Kupreanof Island, 95 air-miles southwest of Juneau, the closest community with financial services. Kake has approximately 630 residents. In the first two weeks of services, TFCU opened 29 accounts. The grand opening was celebrated with locally made fry bread drawings for prizes, and transportation provided by the senior center van. Two Kake elders opened accounts that day.
Plans to open a microsite in the community of Hoonah in early 2020 were delayed due to the pandemic. The Hoonah Indian Association pitched in to complete physical upgrades needed to bring in equipment and teller stations, and, with considerations to travel and health and safety, staff was trained. The Hoonah microsite opened in summer of 2020.
TFCU is working to provide efficient services, using online and mobile banking to keep costs down. Community support and participation makes microsites sustainable. Partnering with the Hydaburg, Kake, and Hoonah communities ensure TFCU's long term sustainability and growth.
On December 7, 2023, credit unions in Oregon and Washington State united to form the Juntos Avanzamos/NLCUP Pacific Northwest Chapter. We extend our heartfelt gratitude to the National Association of Latino Credit Unions and Professionals (NLCUP), the GoWest Credit Union Association, Unitus Community Credit Union, and all credit union practitioners who participated in the Chapter's constitutive meeting. This collaboration is a significant step in our national initiative to build a strong network of local chapters dedicated to financial inclusion.
We are proud to announce the election of Erica Flores, Branch Manager at Rivermark Community Credit Union, as Chapter President, and Mary Navarrete, Director of Social Impact from Point West Credit Union as Chapter Vice President. Congratulations!
The Juntos Avanzamos/NLCUP Regional Chapters represent a joint effort to create local platforms for credit union professionals to collaborate, exchange knowledge, and collectively address local and national challenges in financial inclusion, particularly for Hispanic/Latino communities.
The credit unions that played a key role in constituting the Chapter include:
Unitus Community Credit Union
Central Washington Credit Union
Point West Credit Union
Peninsula Credit Union
Seattle Credit Union
Express Credit Union
Embold Credit Union
River Mark Community Credit Union
Wauna Federal Credit Union
Congratulations to all involved in this groundbreaking initiative!
Even before Hurricane María devastated Puerto Rico in 2017, causing $90 billion in damage, frequent climate events motivated Cooperativa Jesús Obrero to build resilient infrastructure that can provide lower utility bills and alternative power to its members. Its President Aurelio Arroyo González describes that the cooperativa is part of the “critical infrastructure” helping the community to function on a day-to-day basis as well as prepare for and recover from natural disasters.
Located in Guaynabo, San Juan’s metro area, Cooperativa Jesús Obrero was an early adapter of solar-generated energy, exploring the possibilities of using solar as an alternative energy source in 2011, running a pilot solar loan program in 2013, and creating solar loan lending guidelines for the Cooperativa in 2014. In 2015, the Cooperativa installed a 96.5 kW solar array at its branch in Guaynabo, PR. There, solar car ports provide shaded parking structures that reduce the branch’s energy costs by 86% annually. In total, the solar system has generated 831 mwH since 2015 and offset 649 tons of CO2 emissions. Spurred further by Hurricane María and the blackouts it created; Cooperativa Jesús Obrero expanded its solar loan program to support commercial solar development. The goal is for solar to be able to provide decentralized and consistent access to electricity if the electrical grid is impacted by a natural disaster.
Since 2011, Cooperativa Jesús Obrero has financed 450 photovoltaic (PV) solar systems in 26 municipalities across the island, and its renewable energy financing makes up 10% of its total loan portfolio. These solar loans have the potential to reduce energy costs for the Cooperativa’s members. For example, a residential PV system installed in Guaynabo and financed by Cooperativa Jesús Obrero in 2016 reduced the customer’s monthly energy bill from $250 to just $3.
As part of expanding their solar loan program, the Cooperativa’s President took the Inclusiv-University of New Hampshire virtual Consumer Solar Lending Professional Training and Certificate Program and earned the Solar Lending Professional Certificate. While in the class, he shared his solar lending expertise with executives from other enrolled financial institutions.
Looking towards the future, at the current rate of sea level rise almost 50% of Puerto Rico’s coastline is projected to disappear within 30 years, impacting 60% of Puerto Rico’s coastal residents. “[The] communities we know will change drastically,” and CDCUs and cooperativas will continue to play a critical role in supporting their communities as they adapt to climate change, Arroyo reflects.
Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) were established during the Reconstruction Era to provide higher education to Black Americans at a time when a vast majority of colleges and universities would not admit them. Serving a population overlooked and denied by mainstream financial institutions, many of these institutions ventured beyond education, establishing their own credit unions.
First organized nearly 100 years ago as not-for-profit and owned by the members, some of the oldest credit unions in the entire movement were established on the campuses of Florida A&M University (1935), Howard University (1935) and Virginia State University (1939).
HBCU credit unions helped Black communities to find financial success by providing loans used for furthering education, buying homes and managing debt. They also provided a safety net to build assets and raise families. Many members can tell stories of grandparents or parents receiving their first home or car loan from an HBCU credit union.
Although their benefits cannot be denied, HBCU credit unions are increasingly facing challenges. These credit unions tend to be smaller than other credit unions, with limited resources and face stringent financial and regulatory burdens. They also face social challenges, particularly a lack of widespread awareness of the unique contributions they make to their communities. Without the proper recognition, HBCU credit unions are limited in their ability to garner the necessary support and partnerships. Connectedness between HBCUs and their associated credit unions has also decreased.
Despite their smaller size, HBCU credit unions continue to provide a range of innovative financial services. For example, Florida A&M University FCU founded their SmartSteps Micro Loan Program which works with local governments to provide financial support to women and minority-owned small businesses. Councill FCU, which has historically been connected to Alabama A&M University, has been taking steps to improve financial literacy for all members. Across the country, they are increasingly working to help their members and communities succeed.
HBCU credit unions are also gaining visibility through their work with organizations like Inclusiv and TruStage. Inclusiv’s mission is to supports credit unions in removing barriers to financial opportunities for underserved communities through initiatives, expertise, investments and advocacy for its member credit unions. Inclusiv has consistently advocated for the support of HBCU credit unions, sharing stories that illustrate how these institutions support financial well-being and generational wealth for their communities. TruStage (formerly CUNA Mutual) is an organization that provides reliable insurance, investment and technology solutions to better help members plan for tomorrow. These groups, in conjunction with the African American Credit Union Coalition (AACUC), are helping HBCU credit unions plan for many more decades of service.
Support for HBCU credit unions – pillars of resilience and progress – is not just a financial matter but critical to achieving equity and empowerment. By fostering financial literacy, supporting entrepreneurship, and providing accessible banking services, HBCU credit unions not only enhance economic stability, but they also contribute to the broader goal of social justice. As more of us recognize this historical significance and ongoing impact, it will become clearer to the greater financial landscape that investing in HBCU credit unions is an investment into a future where everyone can thrive. Embracing these institutions is essential for building a more inclusive and prosperous society for generations to come.
Greylock is guided by the following values: Care, Educate, and Inspire. They are the face of financial inclusion in the communities they serve in Pittsfield, MA.
Knowing that systemic change takes time, they have invested in a multi-year set of initiatives across the organization and across the communities they serve. Thanks to their CDFI partnership, Greylock has been able to improve their services to low-to-moderate income households every year, and in 2023 they were able to provide:
• $5.2 million in “New Road” auto loans that helped credit-challenged borrowers avoid predatory car loans
• $8.3 million in affordable loans, supported by financial coaching and education, to help Members fill emergency needs, build their credit, and avoid the high interest rates of predatory lenders; and
• Over $400,000 in Safety Net Loans, an alternative to expensive payday loans.
Greylock has also been steadily increasing their support for New Americans via bilingual coaches, classes in different languages, additional lending products for credit building, free ITIN application processing and the creation of a special ITIN mortgage program with fewer qualification barriers than traditional mortgage lending programs. Due to this dedicated support and focus on New Americans, they now have four branch locations that have earned the Juntos Avanzamos designation, three in Massachusetts and one in New York.
Additionally, Greylock was able to collaborate with great community organizations, like the Westside Legends, based in the city of Pittsfield, to lend over $7 million for mortgages to 37 black and African American households.
CDFI grant funds also help support Greylock’s community development initiatives by ensuring a team of highly trained and certified financial literacy coaches are available to meet the needs of the credit union’s membership and the community. In 2023, 1,797 local residents attended 137 free financial educational seminars and 1,611 free financial coaching sessions were provided by 38 on-staff Certified Credit Union Financial Counselors.