Serving the Underserved: Building Alternative Financial Services in Low-Income Communities
The National Federation of Community Development Credit Unions, sponsored by Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Baton Rouge and the Louisiana Credit Union League, held a roundtable devoted to building the financial security of low-income communities in Louisiana in Baton Rouge on April 15, 2015.
Program At-A-Glance
9:00 am - Breakfast/Meet and Greet
10:00 am - 10:15 am - Welcoming remarks
10:15 am - 11:00 am - Building Blocks Overview: Developing External Resources (LID and CDFI Certification), an overview of the regulatory powers that can strengthen a credit union's capacity to serve low-income consumers and underserved communities. Speaker: Pablo DeFillippi, Federation
Click here for the presentation
- What is secondary capital and how can it be used to propel rapid growth and profitability by serving low to moderate income markets (LMI)
- Field of Membership expansion opportunities
- Overview of CDFI certification requirements and the benefits it brings to credit unions
11:00 am - 12:00 pm - The Market Opportunity/ Developing your CDFI Mindset and Strategy: Understanding the LMI market and the growth opportunities it represents for Louisiana credit unions. Speaker: Sarah Taylor, CU Breakthrough
Click here for the presentation
Identify needs in your community and learn how your credit union can respond
- Profile of the Payday Loan borrower and addressing the needs of immigrant and emerging markets
- Community development products profile
- Determining your baseline: What services do you already have in place to meet the community's needs in a way that is both responsible to the consumer and sustainable to your institution
- How do you integrate your LMI strategy into your overall business strategy so that your institution's core competencies are best leveraged
12:00 pm - 1:00 pm - Working Lunch: Film Screening – “Spent: Looking for Change” a film by The Young Turks
1:00 pm - 2:00 pm - Putting the Pieces Together: Guided discussion with CEOs of credit unions that have successfully leveraged external resources and partnerships to increase their capacity to meet the needs of LMI consumers. Moderator: Pablo DeFilippi, VP Membership, Federation; Panelists: Kathy Deloney, CEO, Red River Mill Employees FCU; Helen Godfrey-Smith, CEO, Shreveport FCU; Mignhon Tourne, CEO, ASI FCU.
- How successful credit unions develop and deploy payday alternative loan programs, small business loan programs, used vehicle loan programs and immigration loan programs
2:00 pm - 2:45 pm - Microfinance & Small Business Lending: The lack of access to responsible lenders that can help protect and build assets in low income communities is one of the biggest barriers facing financially underserved markets. Speaker: Blake Myers, Federation Senior Consultant
- Understand how payday loan alternatives, small dollar loans, micro credit for the financing of legalization or naturalization fees for immigrants and micro loans for home-based businesses can become engines for institutional growth while providing new opportunities for low-wealth consumers
2:45 pm - 3:00 pm - Break
3:00 pm - 3:30 pm - The ABCs of Community Partnerships: As a CDFI your credit union will be sought after by community based organizations interested in partnering with an institution committed to serving LMI consumers. Speaker: Susan Brunner, CU Breakthrough Consultant
Click here for the presentation
- How do you structure the partnership to make sure it is not only effective, but also sustainable? Community involvement is a decisive factor in the CDFI grant allocation process
- Leverage your LMI loan products and services with partner resources to meet community needs
3:30 pm - 4:30 pm - Partnerships at Work in Louisiana. Panelists: David C. Aguillard, Executive Director, Catholic Charities of the Dioceses of Baton Rouge (click here for the presentation) and Raymond A. Jetson, Pastor, Star Hill Church, President & CEO MetroMorphosis (click here for the presentation)
- Overview of Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Baton Rouge and MetroMorphosis partnership
- Strategies and initiatives addressing financial needs of the underserved market in Baton Rouge
- Current financial partnership opportunities
4:30 pm - 5:00 pm - Thinking Ahead: A look at state CDFI Coalitions: Through years of advocacy work by a multi-sector CDFI coalition representing credit unions, banks and loan funds, New York State became the first state that has successfully replicated a CDFI Fund-like program; this year the program will have its first budget appropriation. What does it take to build such a coalition? Can it be done in Louisiana? Speaker: Susan Brunner, CU Breakthrough Consultant
Click here for the presentation
5:00 pm - Meeting Adjourned
Thank you to our partners!
