Modes’ Post

PCCU recently attended the Inclusiv Credit Unions Conference 50 in New York. At the four-day conference PCCU discussed how credit unions in the UK serve members with ethical savings and affordable loans, shared experience with US colleagues and identify ways to improve the service we provide. The team took the opportunity to visit Brooklyn Cooperative Federal Credit Union and Lower East Side People's Federal Credit Union to discuss the challenges we both face and celebrate the great successes we have had in helping our communities. PCCU CEO Kathryn highlighted how valuable Inclusiv 50 had been "The 2024 Inclusiv conference was an amazing, inspirational experience. The sessions and credit union branch visits highlighted that PCCU face the same challenges as many of the Community Development Credit Unions in the US. To share our practices and experiences with each other strengthens our commitment to serve low and moderate income members of our communities in an inclusive and respectful way. In the same way as PCCU, US credit unions celebrates the great successes they have in helping their communities while adhering to the co-operative principles. " Find out more 👇 #inclusiv50

Conservative activists are challenging various lending initiatives that support historically disadvantaged communities. We spoke with community-lending leaders and experts about the current mood across the sector, and what they're doing to avoid becoming the next target. Read more: https://bit.ly/3KMVdP8 #RacialEquity #CommunityDevelopment #CDFIs 

Credit union membership has grown by 11 million over the past three years. But the average age of members is on the rise.     How can credit unions expand their membership among younger generations? The answer lies in doubling down on their community outreach efforts.    Read our latest post to find out why.    https://lnkd.in/dt5N8UU2 #CreditUnionMembership #GenZBanking #BankingInnovation 

🚨 Verity Credit Union Receives Second Grant from the U.S. Treasury to Serve Marginalized Communities 🚨 We are thrilled to announce that Verity Credit Union has been awarded a $725,000 Financial Assistance #grant from the U.S. Treasury’s Community Development Financial Institution (#CDFI) fund! 🎉 This vital funding empowers us to deepen our mission of providing inclusive, affordable financial services to historically #marginalized communities. What this means: 💡 Expanded support for low-income individuals and small businesses 💡 Increased access to capital and opportunities for wealth-building 💡 Strengthened initiatives like #microbusiness lending to help break the cycle of poverty "This grant helps us show up for those unfairly excluded from accessing capital and mainstream financial services, directly addressing the socio-economic realities of the wealth gap," said Ziquora Banks, MBA, our Chief Impact Strategy Officer. At Verity, we believe that together, we can build stronger, healthier, and more sustainable communities. 💚 Learn more about how we’re making a difference through people-centric decisions at veritycu.com. Verity Source: https://lnkd.in/drtKnEKC #VerityCreditUnion #CDFI #CommunityImpact #FinancialInclusion Credit Union National Association CUInsight.com Tonita Webb, DBA, CCE, CUDE, SPHR Financial Times U.S. Department of the Treasury Federal Reserve Bank of New York The Seattle Times

💙 The Heart of a Credit Union 💙 Credit unions are more than just financial institutions – they’re communities built on trust, support, and shared values. In a world that often prioritises profits, credit unions stand out by putting people first. Here’s what truly makes us unique: 🔹 Member-Owned: Every member has a voice. Credit unions are owned by the members they serve, ensuring decisions are made with their best interests in mind. 🔹 Community-Focused: We’re committed to supporting local communities, helping people build financial security and achieve their goals. 🔹 Inclusive & Accessible: Credit unions welcome everyone, regardless of background or financial status, fostering a spirit of inclusion and cooperation. 🔹 Not-for-Profit: Any surplus is reinvested back into the credit union or returned to members – so it’s all about people, not profit. At EKCU, we’re proud to be part of a movement that believes in building a brighter financial future for everyone. That’s the credit union ethos – and it’s why we’re here. 💪💰 Are you part of a credit union community? What does it mean to you? #creditunion #community #communitycreditunion #eastkilbride #ekcreditunion #ekcu #eastkilbridecreditunion #lanarkshire #southlanarkshire #northlanarkshire #Renfrewshire #eastrenfrewshire #financialinclusion #communityspirit

ICU Day has been celebrated on the third Thursday of October since 1948 and is designed to create awareness and celebrate the ways credit unions improve the lives of their members around the world. What makes credit unions unique? ➡ Equal Ownership – Credit unions are democratically controlled and member-owned and member-operated. Each member has equal ownership and one vote regardless of how much money he or she has in savings. ➡ Not for Profit – Credit unions are not-for-profit financial cooperatives that provide a safe, convenient place for members to save money and access loans and other financial services at reasonable rates. ➡ Social Purpose: People Helping People – Credit unions exist to serve their members, not to make a profit. Every member counts, including those of modest means. This “people-first” philosophy impels credit unions and their employees to get involved in their community and support worthwhile causes. ➡ Volunteer Leadership – Each credit union is governed by a volunteer board of directors elected by and from the credit union’s membership. ➡ Financial Education for Members – Credit unions place particular importance on educational opportunities for their members and the public to help everyone become better-educated consumers of financial services. ➡ Trust – Lately credit unions have received positive press for being trustworthy and resilient institutions during a tumultuous time. Credit union members worldwide can be proud of these accomplishments and rest assured that their money is safe at the credit union. #icuday2024 #osfcu #whereyoubelong #communitymatters #peoplehelpingpeople #oneworld

Are race-based lawsuits impacting community lenders? Shelterforce explores this pressing issue with insights from industry leaders, including our CEO Betty Francisco. Betty shares, "We want to make sure if something changes, we are following the law. What we are seeing is organizations over-correcting because of fear." Learn more about the current challenges and the strategies organizations are considering to avoid becoming the next target. Dive deeper into this crucial conversation with Sandra Larson here:  https://lnkd.in/gx42XxJw #CDFIs #Equity #CommunityLending #RacialJustice #BostonImpactInitiative

Investing in justice goes beyond the transaction. It's about building relationships, redistributing power, and tackling systemic inequities. Dive into our latest blog post in the series on operationalizing racial equity in lending. Learn how Community Vision CA, in partnership with the California Tribal Fund (First Nations Development Institute), developed the Reparative Land Fee Program to forge pathways to economic equity and justice. Explore actionable steps all #CDFIs can take in our REIA Toolkit, part of the Career Meets Purpose initiative. https://lnkd.in/e-zGP_Pb #JusticeInLending #OFNToolkit

On this #420, we need to demand #Justice. Nothing less. That means #Reparations. #Reparations are needed because the #WarOnDrugs was a race war. Because the former slaves were ‘freed’ but given no means to support themselves. They were ‘free’ to starve or to work for starvation ‘wages’ for their former masters. It’s needed because the expansion of the American West was a land grab entitled to white people almost exclusively. It’s needed because African Americans were sent to die in WWII but, due to various policies (most notably #RedLineDistricts), they were kept from enjoying the economic prosperity of the post war economy, forced to watch as their white neighbors got to accumulate a level of #wealth that was denied them. It’s required because, despite white propensity for drug abuse being on par with black, African Americans go to jail in outrageously higher rates than whites do. It’s needed because the #13thAmendment freed the slaves while opening the backdoor to their renewed enslavement. It’s needed because this country, built by slaves, continuously finds newer, if more subtle, ways to screw them. If reparations are not on the table then justice is only a word. Devoid of any real meaning. Incrementalism on this issue is not ‘starting now’. It started in 1864. How much longer are we expected to make the country suffer? We are brothers. We are sisters. We are family. Currently we are a dysfunctional family (to put it incredibly generously). But that is only true if we continue to let it be that way. Justice demands equality of opportunity. That cannot happen if the deck, stacked for generations in one direction, is not corrected AND compensated for. We need not simply ‘cut individuals checks’, although that is one, albeit crude, way of going about it. Free college tuitions. Tax free/interest free small business loans. Land grants. I could go on. And, if done at the federal level, taxes won’t even be an issue due to Article 1, Section 8 of the Constitution. It’s the right thing to do. It’s affordable to do. It’s just. It would allow this country to heal. It won’t any other way. And the suffering has gone on long enough. I’m tired of it. I’m sure you all are too. So let’s fight to end it. ...and don’t think for a minute that this doesn’t include the #FirstNations of this continent, as well. If you thought we owed anything to the sons and daughters of former slaves, well, let me tell you another story.... ....another time. #LoveWins but only if it’s chosen.

If we were to move #philanthropy to all direct cash (ie everything just becomes about cash payments to those who have basic needs that just aren’t being met by government, jobs, education opportunities etc) how quickly would we see results … Versus… Paying “intermediaries” or implementers. What would be missing? - skill transfer? - capacity building? - other infrastructure needs? Maybe we just over complicate it. The GiveDirectly model claims you can send money directly to people in “poverty”. Is that any less colonial? Impacts are relatively the same. Curious what you all think. Cash vs Capacity.