Building Community Assets: Growing Lower-Income Credit Union Membership through Community and Credit Union Partnerships

Publication Date: June 2008

Publisher: Woodstock Institute (Chicago, Ill.)

Author(s): Marva Williams; Tom Feltner; Sarah Duda

Research Area: Banking and finance; Economics

Keywords: Low-income communities; Credit unions; Community partnerships

Type: Report

Coverage: Illinois

Abstract:

This report details the partnership process and lessons learned from a two-year technical assistance program designed to help community organizations partner with mainstream credit unions with the goal of enrolling new lower-income members or expanding an existing partnership. The case studies describing these partnerships identify four strategic areas through which partnerships can be strengthened and the common barriers to developing a successful partnership can be overcome.