Self-Help Perspectives - Issue 4

Self-Help Mission Related Impact

Self-Help recently released its 2008 Impact Statement reporting cumulative community impact over the last 29 years. Since our founding in 1980, Self-Help has invested $5.57 billion in financing to 62,288 families, individuals, and organizations, making us one of the largest community development financial institutions in the country.

The demographics of our community development work remain in line with our mission of creating and protecting ownership and economic opportunity for people of color, women, rural residents and low-wealth families and communities, with loans to:

•    People of color - 46%
•    Women - 42%
•    Distressed areas - 33%
•    Rural areas - 17%
•    Low-income families and individuals - 84%

Learn more and download our latest Impact Statement

Self-Help Federal Credit Union: Growth in California

Self-Help Federal Credit Union (Self-Help Federal) was founded in 2008 to expand Self-Help's mission by increasing access to responsible and affordable financial services in underserved communities, initially in California. Since its inception, Self-Help Federal has grown quickly. Chartered just 8 months ago, we now have 2,755 members and over $22 million in assets, making it one of the fastest growing CDFIs in the country.

Self-Help Federal is a financial institution designed to serve low-income people. Lack of access to appropriate financial services is a huge barrier to a large segment of the population, preventing them from building wealth and security.  Confronting this problem with a sustainable and replicable model will go a long way towards addressing the plight of low-income families and communities.

One of the first actions of Self-Help Federal was merging with People's Community Partnership Federal Credit Union in September of 2008. People's has provided much-needed financial services including checking and savings accounts, debit and credit cards, and consumer loan products in the Oakland flatlands since 2001.  In fact, People's is the only financial institution located in West Oakland, a predominantly African American neighborhood. People's has long shared Self-Help's mission - promoting economic justice and sustainable ownership.

Federally insured deposits in both Self-Help Federal Credit Union and Self-Help Credit Union are an easy, secure and effective way for organizations and individuals to support our mission.

Download an application or call us at 800 966 7353. Make a difference - Invest in Self-Help.

Self-Help Participates in Neighborhood Stabilization Program

Self-Help affiliate Center for Responsible Lending projects 46,600 foreclosures will affect North Carolina homeowners in 2009 alone [learn more] and that homes in neighborhoods surrounding foreclosures nationwide will suffer price declines averaging over $5,900 per home [learn more].

The Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP) provides funding to stabilize the values of residential properties in 23 North Carolina counties where large numbers of people have lost their homes to foreclosure. The program supports efforts to acquire, repair, manage, and resell targeted properties in order to provide stable, affordable homes for low- and moderate-income buyers and tenants.

To minimize the impact of foreclosure on NC families and communities, and to maximize the impact of the NSP in North Carolina, Self-Help hopes to leverage NSP funds into $13 million in financing for quality homes for low-income families. Through the program, we will offer housing providers flexible term loans to purchase foreclosed properties and rehabilitate them for new home buyers.

Download information on Self-Help's NSP Loan Program or contact Lanier Blum for more information.

Featured Borrower: The Freelon Group

  Self-Help borrower The Freelon Group recently won a national competition to help design the new $500 million Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture. With more than 25 years of experience in his field and degrees from North Carolina State University's College of Design and Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Philadelphia native Phil Freelon has carved out a niche for his services in North Carolina and nationwide.

The Durham, North Carolina based firm works mostly in the public sector and focuses on research and education, the advancement of understanding between disparate cultures, and the creative expression of the arts.

Read a Self-Help Borrower Success Story about The Freelon Group.

Read about The Freelon Group and other Self-Help borrowers in the news.

Featured Partner: National Federation of Community Development Credit Unions

Self-Help is long-time a member of the National Federation of Community Development Credit Unions. Established in 1974 by a coalition of credit union leaders dedicated to revitalizing low-income communities, the National Federation of Community Development Credit Unions' mission is to strengthen the credit unions that serve low-income, urban and rural communities -- known as "community development credit unions," or CDCUs.

The National Federation of Community Development Credit Unions advocates for and provides financial, technical, and human resources to CDCUs. The federation helps low- and moderate-income people and communities achieve financial independence through credit unions.

The Information above is from the National Federation of Community Development Credit Unions website. Learn more at www.natfed.org.

Self-Help Receives 2009 Leadership in Sustainable Energy Award

Self-Help was one of four winners of the NC State Energy Office's 2009 Leadership in Sustainable Energy Awards. The awards were announced on April 15 at the State Sustainable Energy Conference luncheon, to an audience of more than 300 business, government, and non-profit leaders in sustainable energy. Self-Help was recognized for financing and developing "Triple Bottom Line" projects supporting social equity, economic, and environmental benefits. 

The low-wealth people and communities Self-Help serves are more likely to live in energy inefficient homes, attend schools with poor indoor air quality, and reside and work in polluted neighborhoods.  In recognition of the disproportionate impact of environmental degradation on disadvantaged communities, Self-Help:

• Builds affordable homes that meet Advanced Energy's SystemVision energy efficiency standards, saving homeowners as much as 50% on their utility bills. 
• Develops infill housing, avoiding the negative impacts of sprawling development.
• Renovates commercial buildings in downtown areas, reusing exiting structures, reducing demolition waste, decreasing the consumption of new building materials, and fostering pedestrian- and transit-friendly communities. 
• Has made $48.2 million in loans to 136 businesses engaged in recycling, environmental technology, alternative fuels, green building, and renewable energy innovation. 

Learn more about Self-Help's Environmental Stewardship Initiative.

Self-Help Seeking New Markets Tax Credit Partners and Projects

Self-Help is looking for strong partners and projects to help us disburse $37 million in New Markets Tax Credits (NMTC) by Fall 2009.  Self-Help is a three time NMTC allocatee, with a nationwide footprint. Self-Help NMTC lending offers performance guarantees, Community Reinvestment Act credit, flexible terms and affordable rates. Loans of $6 million to $15 million are available for a range of community development projects, including charter schools, nonprofit community facilities, downtown revitalization projects, historic building rehabilitation and office buildings and mixed-use developments. Projects must be eligible for New Markets Tax Credits, located in census tract designated as highly distressed, and ready to go.

Contact Amanda Frazier Wong to discuss your project or click here for more information about our New Markets Tax Credit Lending.

Self-Help is a community development lender and real estate developer headquartered in Durham, North Carolina, with offices throughout the state and in Washington, DC, and California. Visit our Locations Map for contact information or email us with your comments.

Self-Help: Creating and protecting ownership and economic opportunity for people of color, women, rural residents, and low-wealth families and communities.