NCUA Opening $2 Million Grant Round June 1

Agency Schedules May 11 Webinar on Grant Application Process

ALEXANDRIA, Va. (April 26, 2016) – Low-income credit unions seeking support to grow, train staff and improve security should consider applying for Community Development Revolving Loan Fund assistance grants from the National Credit Union Administration, Board Chairman Debbie Matz said today.

“These grants are important investments in credit unions, their members and their communities,” Matz said. “I encourage all low-income credit unions to learn more about the grant program and consider applying. There is assistance available to help you offer new products and services, train your staff, hire interns or strengthen your cyber security.”

NCUA will accept grant applications between June 1 and June 30. Interested credit unions may submit one application for all initiatives using NCUA’s CyberGrants program. Each credit union may apply for more than one initiative; however, grant awards are subject to the availability of funds.

The four eligible initiatives and maximum grant awards are:

• Capacity and growth: Credit unions considering new lending programs, deposit products or other growth strategies to increase members’ financial service opportunities may apply for up to $15,000 in assistance.
• Cyber security: Up to $7,000 will be available for each eligible credit union to enhance cyber security and protect member information.
• Staff training: Grants of up to $3,000 will be available for selected credit unions to pay for training related to credit union operations, including compliance, lending and collections.
• Student internships: Up to $4,000 will be available to each credit union to hire students enrolled in high school or college.

A full list of eligible grant projects and NCUA’s evaluation criteria can be found online here.

May 11 Webinar will Cover Grant Process

NCUA will offer a 90-minute webinar, “NCUA 2016 Grant & Loan Opportunities,” to help credit unions learn more about the grant process.

The webinar will be held Wednesday, May 11, beginning at 2 p.m. Eastern. Online registration is available [link no longer available]. Participants will use this same link to log into the webinar. Registrants should allow pop-ups from this website. There is no charge.

Dominic Carullo, economic development specialist with NCUA’s Office of Small Credit Union Initiatives, will joined by a panel of OSCUI staffers: Geetha Valiyil, OSCUI comptroller; Susan Carter, financial analyst, and Ikenna Nwankpa, grant administrator. 

The webinar will cover the grant application process and the four eligible grant initiatives as well as urgent-needs grants and loans that are available year-round. A 30-minute question-and-answer session will follow.

Participants may submit questions in advance at WebinarQuestions@ncua.gov. The subject line of the email should read, “NCUA 2016 Grant Webinar.” Participants with technical questions about accessing the webinar may email audience.support@on24.com. This webinar will be closed captioned and then archived online here approximately three weeks following the live event.

NCUA’s Office of Small Credit Union Initiatives administers the Community Development Revolving Loan Fund grants. The office also fosters credit union development and the effective delivery of financial services for small credit unions, new credit unions, minority depository institutions and credit unions with a low-income designation.