California Activities

After more than 25 years operating from offices in North Carolina and Washington, DC, Self-Help made an important decision to expand west in 2006.  Our decision to enter California was driven by several important factors.

• We wanted to extend our impact: California represents 12% of the US population.
• Our development work supports and informs our policy research and advocacy: Having decided to open a California office of our affiliate, the Center for Responsible Lending, we wanted to be sure our work remained grounded in these two complementary activities.
• We fight predatory financial services: In 2006 a majority of the nation’s top subprime lenders were based in California and the state possessed double the nation's concentration of alternative financial service providers (check-cashers and payday lenders).
• We pursue innovation and encourage replication: California presents a very innovative environment (in community development as well as business) and we were looking for opportunities to break new ground.  Further, we believe that successful development and policy efforts in California are more likely to create a national ripple effect.
• We believe in partnering:  Much of our greatest impact has come through projects on which we partner with important allies; California enjoys a strong base of community development organizations, and our work is significantly strengthened by our ability to partner with them.

What we’re doing in California

When we launched in California, we consciously decided that we would not simply replicate some of our most successful programs from North Carolina.  Rather, we would seek ways in which we could leverage the considerable track record and resources built by Self-Help since its founding in 1980 to help address some of the most compelling economic development problems facing California.   We are currently focused on three areas.

Building Self-Help Federal Credit Union:  Recognizing the growing role of alternative financial service providers (like check cashers and payday lenders) in California’s low- and moderate-income neighborhoods, many of them marketing overpriced or predatory financial services, we decided to focus our energy on building a statewide network of credit union branches to responsibly serve these communities.  As the financial crisis accelerated, leading to the closures of bank and credit union branches and the failures of entire financial institutions serving hard-working Californians, this need grew even more urgent.   Since chartering Self-Help Federal in mid-2008, we’ve driven our growth largely through four mergers with other credit unions in the SF Bay Area and the Central Valley.  Read more about Self-Help Federal Credit Union in California, our mergers, or how to become a member of our credit union.

Developing an innovative Micro-Branch model:  Given the growing dominance of check cashers and other alternative providers in low-income neighborhoods, we set out to develop a new branch concept that would be more effective at attracting previously unbanked families into a depository institution and the financial mainstream.  On January 8, 2010 we launched our first Micro-Branch in East San Jose, CA. It “meets the customers where they are” by providing check cashing services in a comfortable environment, along with credit union accounts and services.    Learn more about this exciting new branch.

Addressing the Foreclosure Crisis:  Self-Help is working to address the foreclosure crisis in California through several related efforts.  We have developed a Lease-Purchase mortgage product available to nonprofit developers in California and nationwide, who are involved in neighborhood stabilization efforts.  This mortgage allows them to refinance their acquisition/development funding while renting a renovated home to a low-income family and helping them to improve their credit, qualify for a mortgage, and purchase the home.  Self-Help is also participating in a local neighborhood stabilization demonstration project in the East Bay as a partner in the East Bay Community Foundation's Foreclosure Recovery & Asset Building Pilot. Learn more about these efforts to address the foreclosure crisis.