2020-05-05 Town Hall Calls on COVID-19 Crisis Pt. 7

Part 7 of Inclusiv's COVID-19 Town Hall Calls on COVID-19 Crisis webinar focused on minority depository institutions (MDIs) and their response to the COVID-19 crisis. The webinar consisted of an advocacy update, a panel discussion and an update on available resources from the NCUA. Highlights were as follows:

• Inclusiv Senior Vice President of Membership and Network Engagement, Pablo DeFilippi gave an advocacy update
• Noel Poyo, Executive Director of the National Association for Latino Community Asset Builders (NALCAB) spoke about minority-owned small businesses falling through the cracks of relief programs. Minority businesses are more likely to be small proprietors - the businesses least likely to receive PPP funding.
• Michelle Outlaw, Vice President of Programs at African-American Credit Union Coalition (AACUC) discussed the disadvantages minority small businesses faced in the first round of PPP funding, including a lack of documentation. These issues sparked many credit unions to create their own COVID-19 relief measures to help customers who were not approved for federal help.
• Monica Belz, President and CEO of Kauai Government Employees FCU also highlighted "lack of documentation" as a major issue for local small businesses in being approved for PPP. Another challenge was the dependence of the local economy on tourism. Belz talked about steps being taken by KGEFCU to help its community build more resilience for the future.
• Martha Ninichuk and Gisele Roget of the NCUA reported on available NCUA resources, including grants and loan programs for MDIs - including the Mentoring Grant Program.