How a financial cooperative became a voice for social justice
St. Louis Community Credit Union strives to be a positive force, and it has the impact report to prove it.
In August 2014, St. Louis Community Credit Union ($299.5M, St. Louis, MO) announced plans to open a new branch in economically hard-pressed Ferguson. A week later, the St. Louis suburb exploded after the shooting death of unarmed 18-year-old Michael Brown during an altercation with a local policeman.
Looting and arrests occurred in the days and weeks after the shooting, and legal recriminations continued for months, yet SLCCU kept its commitment to the community and opened the branch that October.
In its first year, SLCCU’s Ferguson branch opened more than 1,230 accounts and conducted nearly 66,000 transactions.
And through its “Ferguson Strong” initiative, the community development credit union has expanded beyond banking to offer financial education, internships, and funding to agencies engaged in improving housing conditions, just for starters, building on its record of similar work throughout its service area.
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