MCUF Awards Grants, Bolsters Credit Union Social Impact

Every year, the Michigan Credit Union Foundation (MCUF) awards more than $100,000 in grants for Community Reinvestment and Financial Education Activities. At their July meeting, the MCUF Board of Trustees approved nine new Community Reinvestment Grants, bringing the total for the year to 24 grants and nearly $110,000.

These grants consist of:

• 16 Community Reinvestment Grants totaling $90,817 to credit union chapters for programs
• Initiatives $8,270 for 8 grants plus support for 30 Financial Reality Fairs so far this year
• $10,600 for the Michigan Credit Union’s High School Personal Finance Challenge which reached more than 900 students from 23 schools across the state this past spring

MCUF grants assist credit unions and their chapters in developing or implementing community reinvestment or financial education initiatives and partnerships, especially those assisting underbanked, low-income or underserved areas.

Some recent examples of successful MCUF grant awards include:

• Catholic Vantage Financial Credit Union’s Hispanic financial education program
• Team One Credit Union adding skilled trade training centers to two schools in low-income areas in order to fill a need for qualified skilled workers and increase future earning ability for many students
• OMNI Credit Union’s collaboration with Goodwill Industries to expand their Car Connection program for low-income workers
• Community First Credit Union starting the first High School Millionaires Club in Michigan
• CASE Credit Union’s development of Money Matters, a new middle school version of a financial reality fair

Click here to see all of the inspiring 2017 Community Reinvestment grant and MCUF funding initiatives.

Funded by cooperative donations, these programs and activities increase the impact and awareness of the credit union difference in Michigan, helping all credit unions thrive. Learn more about MCUF, donate or apply for programs at MCUF.MCUL.org.