NEW YORK—Inclusiv, in partnership with the Filene Research Institute, Coopera and PolicyWorks, is launching a series of free interactive workshops designed to expand and promote financial inclusion in underserved communities throughout the U.S., the organization said.
The “Accelerate Financial Inclusion in Your Community” series of workshops will focus on giving credit unions and community-oriented financial institutions tools to effectively drive financial inclusion in their communities, Inclusiv said.
The workshop’s principles of driving financial inclusion, reaching and serving untapped and underserved markets such as the Hispanic community, and operationalizing ITIN Lending are based on over 20 years of experience with the Juntos Avanzamos program.
“At Inclusiv, we believe financial inclusion is a fundamental right,” said Pablo DeFilippi, SVP of membership and network engagement at Inclusiv. “The Incubator Workshops are an opportunity for us to demonstrate to credit unions that serving Hispanics and immigrants isn’t just a sustainable business strategy, but a driver of growth and relevance for our industry. We are excited to be part of this collective effort where each of the participant organizations bring their expertise together for the benefit of credit unions across the country”.
By participating in the workshop, financial institutions will take a deep dive into the regulatory aspects of Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN) Lending, explore best practices to implement this program, and develop an operations plan to prepare their organization to better support underserved communities. Participants will leave the workshops with a comprehensive and actionable roadmap to champion financial inclusion in their communities and expand their lending programs to include ITIN holders, Inclusiv said.
Scaling Impactful Programs
“Filene has often said that ‘research alone does not move an industry’ and we are excited to enable financial institutions to implement and scale impactful programs,” said George Hofheimer, EVP and chief research and development officer at Filene. “Filene’s Reaching Minority Households Incubator demonstrated what many credit unions and financial institutions have known for decades; that serving financially vulnerable households is a smart business strategy and moves the needle on financial inclusion. ITIN Lending is one of the many ways credit unions can grow and through this collaboration, Filene is excited to help financial institutions quickly implement research-backed programs through the delivery of practical guidance, tools, and resources in these workshops.”
The workshops will deploy the expertise and experience gathered in the research and practical testing process that led to the publication of the ITIN Lending Guide, a resource that consolidates best practices, tools and expertise from credit unions and other stakeholders that have refined ITIN lending over many years and are committed to serving the underserved.
‘Realize the Opportunity’
"We hope credit unions will take advantage of this workshop and guide to realize the opportunity that exists within their market to expand their lending program," said Victor Corro, CEO of Coopera. "In our work, we have seen that having a comprehensive strategy to understand, reach and serve Hispanic consumers will boost the credit union's bottom line and attract new memberships. We are very excited about the tangible benefits this creates for credit unions."
“Like other aspects of business, credit unions cannot afford to ignore the compliance side of lending,” said Miriam De Dios Woodward, CEO of PolicyWorks, LLC. “Regulators pay special attention to growth in services and lending programs. It is important that staff be properly trained on related compliance considerations to ensure the ongoing safety and soundness of the credit union. PolicyWorks is excited to be a part of the ITIN lending workshops, which combined with the ITIN Lending Implementation Guide serve as great tools to help credit unions learn how expanding their programs to include ITIN lending can work within their compliance structure.”
How to Register
In addition to the ITIN lending program, the workshops will empower financial institutions to offer small business loans to underserved entrepreneurs through a new referral partnership with Accion and Grameen America, Inclusiv said.
Registration is open for all workshops at https://filene.org/2019workshops for the following cities and dates:
- May 2-3, Incubator Workshop in Miami
- June 25-26, Incubator Workshop in Chicago
- July 16-17, Incubator Workshop in New York
- August 20-21, Incubator Workshop in San Francisco
- September 24-25, Incubator Workshop in Austin, Texas