NEW YORK–The National Federation of Community Development Credit Unions has released "Pathways to Stability," a video featuring the Federation's Pathways to Financial Empowerment, a new financial counseling model it said is supported by robust technology to track member and community impact.
The video, part of MetLife Foundation's Multipliers of Prosperity project, shares the remarkable stories of two members at Freedom First FCU in Roanoke, Va., demonstrating how the combination of financial counseling and credit union products allows Freedom First to “dramatically improve the financial lives of its members.”
Designed to support and measure the impact of financial counseling, the Federation said it and Neighborhood Trust Financial Partners launched Pathways in 2015. In the program's first year, just over 60% of clients improved their credit and 40% took up a new product at the credit union, the Federation reported. Ten community development credit unions (CDCUs), including Freedom First, are now on the Pathways technology platform, and have served more than 1,700 credit union members across the country, the Federation added.
"With the support of funders like the MetLife Foundation, we are able to help credit unions develop innovative programs and services. Pathways for Financial Empowerment is a method of delivering financial counseling and coaching that allows each credit union to track and analyze data to tailor counseling that best addresses the needs they're seeing in their communities," said Cathie Mahon, Federation CEO and president.
In July, the Federation said it will formally launch recruitment for the next round of Pathways to Financial Empowerment credit union participants.