Invest Locally for Impact

Socially Responsible Investing

Many ethical investors in North Carolina are  Self-Help Credit Union depositors. For them, Self-Help is a way to integrate local, sustainable, community development with socially responsible investing (SRI) principles. Self-Help offers federally insured socially responsible deposit accounts that support high-impact  local community economic development in low-income and low-wealth neighborhoods.  Our deposit interest rates are competitive with other North Carolina-based credit unions and community banks.

Ethical Investing

Your Self-Help Credit Union deposit is an ethical investment that funds social change by going directly into the local community in the form of loans that help economically disadvantaged individuals build ownership and financial security.  A deposit in Self-Help is one of the most high-impact, direct of socially conscience investments you can make. As a community development financial institution (CDFI), Self-Help has an explicit mandate to serve low-income people and communities. So a SRI investment here may be a strong fit for your portfolio of socially responsible funds.

Milestones in Self-Help's History in North Carolina

1980-1983

•    Founded Center for Community Self-Help to provide management assistance to N.C. worker-owned businesses
•    Opened first office, in downtown Durham

1984-1986

•    Established financing affiliates (Self-Help Credit Union and Self-Help Ventures Fund) with $77 raised from a bake sale.  Shifted focus to helping disadvantaged North Carolinians build wealth through home and small business ownership
•    Made first small business and home loans
•    Opened regional office in Charlotte

1987-1990

•    Received first appropriation from the NC General Assembly
•    Opened regional office in Asheville

1991-1994

•    Launched real estate development initiative by renovating historic Asheville building as nonprofit and small business center
•    Opened regional office in Greenville
•    Acquired Greensboro building for nonprofit and small business center; opened Triad regional office

1995-1998

•    Developed Mercy Business Development and Training Center in collaboration with Wilson Community Improvement Association
•    Started Walltown Homeownership Project in Durham; “rehabbed” and sold eighteen homes to low-wealth families by September 1998
•    Launched environmental lending program
•    Began Hispanic immigrant lending initiative in Charlotte
•    Partnered with City of Wilson on Elvie neighborhood homeownership program
•    Created Coalition for Public Trust to ensure that N.C. Blue Cross/Blue Shield conversion creates multi-million dollar health care foundation
•    Established Wilmington office

1999-2002

•    Launched programs for eastern N.C. child care providers and homeowners to recover from Hurricane Floyd flooding
•    Increased home and commercial lending to Latinos to well over $1 million annually.
•    Founded the Center for Responsible Lending, headquartered in Durham, N.C., an affiliated nonprofit research and policy organization dedicated to curbing predatory lending.
•    Opened regional office in Fayetteville.

2003 - 2006

•    Celebrated the 50th renovated home in Walltown neighborhood of Durham.
•    Helped finance the American Tobacco redevelopment project in downtown Durham with Self-Help’s largest commercial loan ever--$40 million.
North Carolina Offices.

Your savings at SHCU are federally insured by the National Credit Union Administration (the equivalent of the FDIC for credit unions) up to the $250,000 limit.