GRAY, Tenn.–Appalachian Community FCU has been awarded $916,905 from the Community Development Financial Institutions Fund to boost its lending programs for underserved consumers with credit challenges.
CEO Ron Scott told the Johnson City Press the credit union has vigorously pursued a “mission-driven focus” since becoming a Community Development Financial Institution in 2013.
Without ACFCU, Scott told the publication “27% of unbanked or underbanked people” in the company’s three-state service area “have little choice but to turn to predatory lenders. This award will help us reach even more of the consumers who lack options in the mainstream financial sector.”
Jeff Keeling, vice president of communications for ACFCU, told the Johnson City Press the funding will be used to help start and expand small businesses and to help families buy homes, vehicles and other life necessities. Keeling added the impact of the CDFI award will be increased by credit union’s focus on improving financial stability through partnerships with nonprofit community organizations that provide financial coaching.
Keeling said a centerpiece of the credit union’s CDFI funding application was a plan to expand its 80/20 program that allows qualified families to access home loan downpayments through a second mortgage, according to the Johnson City Press. The 80/20 programs augment ACFCU’s $2.1 million Project Reinvest, a two-year downpayment assistance program that is helping 200 families with $10,500 in down payment assistance, Keeling told the publication.