Author: Tholin, Kathryn
Summary
This report focused on how starting a community development credit union is hard work. Keeping it going and growing is even harder. Community development credit unions, squeezed by both the financial services and the community development aspects of their work, face enormous pressures, and must overcome formidable barriers in carrying out their dual mission: the provision of financial services and support of community development initiatives. On the financial services side, regulators are not eager to charter new community development credit unions. New regulations have substantially limited the level of deposits a credit union can seek from supportive institutions outside its membership base. This is the story of the founding of one community development credit union–the Austin/West Garfield Federal Credit Union in Chicago. It is not a disinterested account—Woodstock Institute has been involved with the organizing process of this credit union from its earliest stages. This story is being written to inform those interested in understanding the nature of community development credit unions and the problems and issues they face, as well as to guide those who may be considering forming a credit union in their own community.
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Putting It All Together: The Birth of the Austin/West Garfield Federal Credit Union
