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NYCfNAC
provides the following programs and services to enable its participating
credit unions to better serve immigrant and low-income communities:
New
Products and Services
NYCfNAC
undertakes research and development on behalf of the credit unions
to assess the feasibility of implementing new products and services.
If feasibility is established, NYCfNAC identifies appropriate
vendors, negotiates pricing, and provides technical assistance
throughout the implementation phase.
- In 2001, NYCfNAC
assisted credit unions in the development of an affordable credit
card product.
- NYCfNAC negotiated
with the City of New York to permit credit unions to become
Enrolled Lenders in the NYC Capital Access Program, which provides
loan loss reserve contributions for financial institutions making
small businesses loans in low-income areas.
- In 2002, NYCfNAC
created a participation loan framework that allows our Participating
Credit Unions to share large loans, which allows them to meet
their members' needs and to reduce their risk.
- In
2004 , Union Settlement FCU implemented its new Loan Call Center
that allows members to apply for loans 24 hours a day over the
telephone or through the credit union's website.
- In April 2005, participating
credit unions will start offering IRnet, a product
for sending money to 35 countries at competitive rates.
Outreach
and Education
Our
outreach and education activities are aimed at two audiences:
1) the credit unions' current membership, and 2) the thousands
of "unbanked" low-income families living in New York City. Our
efforts are intended to help families become more knowledgeable
consumers of financial services, gain access to affordable financial
services and credit, and promote the development of the communities
served by our credit unions.
Newsletter
NYCfNAC
has developed a common newsletter, MoneyTalk,
which all Participating Credit Unions share. The newsletter has
educational articles and allows for the credit unions to showcase
their services.
Volunteer Income Tax Assistance
(VITA) Program
NYCfNAC provides year-round support
to credit unions offering free tax preparation services which
ranges from securing funding, to planning, administering and evaluating
their sites. The Volunteer Income Tax Assistance or VITA sites
provide thousands of low-income families with free tax preparation
services. In 2007, Brooklyn Cooperative and Union Settlement Federal Credit Unions prepared 4,900 returns generating $6.97 million in tax refunds. Together with Neighborhood Trust, the credit unions opened accounts for 866 individuals.
Initiative for Outreach to the Unbanked (IOU) Program
NYCfNAC's
IOU Program aims at bringing the unbanked -- immigrant communities,
low-paid workers, public housing residents, recipients of public
assistance, and others -- to participating credit unions. Under
the IOU Program, NYCfNAC partners with organizations that serve
these groups and engages them in a variety of activities, from
enrolling in participating Credit Unions to attending financial
education workshops.
Banking
in the USA. In
February 2004, NYCfNAC partnered with Centro de Educacion de
Trabajadores (CET), who provides English and computer classes
to adult immigrants, to incorporate basic banking concepts into
CET's English classes. Under Banking in the USA, students participate
in a series of basic banking workshops designed and delivered
with the collaboration of the Neighborhood
Economic Development Advocacy Project (NEDAP), one of the
leading advocacy organizations in economic development in New
York City. In these workshops, students learn how the financial
system works in the US, as well as about thefinancial services
that credit unions offer.
Financial
Education
Improving low-income
families' money management skills is a key step to help them build
assets. To that end, NYCfNAC has developed a series of workshops
on basic financial topics. The workshops are particularly relevant
for low-income groups, such as minorities, immigrants and recipients
of public assistance that tend to meet their financial needs through
fringe banking institutions. The workshops are generally organized
in four modules:
The mainstream financial system. This
module emphasizes the advantages of using mainstream financial
institutions (e.g. Banks and credit unions) as opposed to the
high-cost often predatory fringe banking institutions, such
as check-cashers, pawn-shops and pay-day lenders. It emphasizes
the importance of saving regularly as one way to build assets
and the advantages of opening a savings account.
Affordable financial services in the community.
Shows participants how to shop around for such financial services
as savings and checking accounts, personal and business loans,
etc. This module focuses on but is not limited to services offered
by community development credit unions or CDCUs. It also addresses
the importance of building credit history, how to avoid credit
card scams and alternatives to improve their credit history.
Q & A. The Q & A section allows
participants to spend time on issues of particular interest
to them. For instance, immigration and tax-related questions
related to financial services are common among immigrants groups;
business loans and related services are usually the focus of
microentrepreneurs groups.
Taxes and money management. The objective
of this module is to explain the importance of paying taxes;
clarify tax myths and encourage participants to use free tax
preparation services offered by the numerous VITA Site located
in the city.
It'
s Your Money
The
series of articles, "It's
Your Money", addresses a variety of basic financial topicstopics
and it is designed to address questions such as how to start saving,
how to choose the right financial service provider, etc. The articles
are produced in both English and Spanish, with the collaboration
of volunteers from McGraw-Hill's Program Writers to the Rescue.
Marketing
Working
with a graphic designer, NYCfNAC has helped our Participating
Credit Unions to design four
professional marketing and outreach campaigns.
Business
Lending
Through the Centralized Business Lending Program, NYCfNAC provides
expertise in business lending, credit analysis and underwriting
to its participating credit unions. The program's primary objective
is to substantially increase the loan portfolios of the credit
unions by expanding their ability to make small business loans.
Together with the credit unions and community partners, NYCFNAC
aims to provide
affordable credit
to small yet growing businesses and promising new ventures located
within the boroughs of Manhattan, Bronx and Brooklyn.
Aside from serving the credit needs of existing members of the
credit unions, the Business Lending Program expands their membership
base by undertaking its own business development and marketing
activities to reach out to entrepreneurs and businesses who
lack access to traditional financing and are eligible to become
members of the credit unions.
Infrastructure
Development
NYCfNAC
employs its expertise in the areas of project planning, development
and finance to enlarge the branch network operated by the credit
unions so their services can be extended to other underserved
communities. NYCfNAC packages many sources of grants to fund these
projects. Completed projects include:
- Lower East Side
People's opened its new Branch We celebrated Lower East Side
People's FCU opening their new branch at Avenue C and East 8th
Street in October 2004.
- A new branch in
the Mott Haven section of the South Bronx for Bethex FCU
- A state-of-the-art
branch for Homesteaders FCU in Central Harlem
- New ATMs at
Homesteaders FCU and Bethex FCU.
Resource
Delivery
NYCfNAC seeks to take
advantage of the multitude of resources, primarily pro bono, available
in New York City in the areas of legal services, staff training,
and operations. NYCfNAC also directly provides technical assistance
in terms of developing model policies, fundraising and other issues.
Network
Services
These
services are designed to generate economies of scale by enabling
the credit unions to perform services on a collaborative basis
they could not afford to do independently. The Business
Lending Program is a key example.
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