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Home > Financial Press Releases > UNPRECEDENTED $8.25 MILLION "WACHOVIA NEXT AWARDS FOR OPPORTUNITY FINANCE" BOOST TWO COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS (CDFIs)
UNPRECEDENTED $8.25 MILLION "WACHOVIA NEXT AWARDS FOR OPPORTUNITY FINANCE" BOOST TWO COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS (CDFIs)
Investments in CDFIs in North Carolina, Texas Reward Strategies for Creating Economic Opportunities
MIAMI, Fla.///December 13, 2007///Two U.S. financial institutions–Latino Community Credit Union, Durham, N.C., and ACCION Texas, San Antonio, Texas–are sharing $8.25 million in investments as winners of an unprecedented new prize presented by the Opportunity Finance Network (OFN) and funded by The Wachovia Foundation and the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.
The Wachovia NEXT Awards for Opportunity Finance were announced Wednesday evening at the Opportunity Finance Network conference taking place this week at the InterContinental Hotel in Miami. The Wachovia NEXT Awards recognize community development financial institutions (CDFIs), or "opportunity finance institutions," that have exceptional track records and extraordinary potential.
Opportunity finance institutions lend to and invest in small businesses, affordable housing, and community facilities and services such as schools, child care and health care facilities.
The two awardees are:
Latino Community Credit Union (LCCU)
, of Durham, N.C., which will receive a $5.5 million prize to support its rapid expansion. Founded in 2000 in response to violence against Latino residents in North Carolina, LCCU now has more than 50,000 members. It was the first multicultural financial institution in North Carolina to provide all of its services in Spanish and English, without discriminating in pricing. LCCU now also serves African and European populations. LCCU has branches in Durham, Charlotte, Raleigh, Greensboro and Fayetteville and plans to expand to three new markets with the help of the investment provided by this
Wachovia NEXT Award
. LCCU partners with the State Employees Federal Credit Union in an innovative partnership that has made its meteoric growth possible.
ACCION Texas
, a statewide organization based out of San Antonio, Texas, which will receive a $2.75 million prize to extend its microlending reach and to grow its business partnerships outside of Texas. ACCION Texas uses an automated underwriting system and business model to distinguish itself in a challenging financial segment, providing credit to small businesses that do not have access to loans from commercial sources. The organization makes business loans from $500 to $50,000 for working capital, equipment purchase, inventory and other business needs. ACCION Texas has distributed over $58 million in more than 8,100 loans to clients in Texas, helping micro-entrepreneurs strengthen their businesses, stabilize their incomes, create additional employment and contribute to the economic revitalization of their communities. ACCION Texas has 12 offices in ten cities and serves clients in over 80 counties throughout Texas.
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