MIAMI LAKES, FL (July 15, 2013) -- With more than 75 percent of its Miami Dade County and Puerto Rico-based members classified as low income, JetStream Federal Credit Union ($157 million: 19,000 members; Miami Lakes, FL) knows it’s vital to provide them with the proper products and services to meet their specific needs. Recently awarded with CDFI Certification (June 20, 2013) with help from CDFI certification and grant writing firm CU Strategic Planning, JetStream can now achieve this goal with the additional resources facilitated from the certification – specifically grant opportunities to fund the products and services it needs to provide its low-income members.
“Our goal is simple: Improve our members’ overall financial knowledge, options, and condition,” states JetStream FCU’s President & CEO Jeanne Kucey. “The CDFI certification enables us to better serve our existing membership, the non-banked in our local communities, while also strengthening JetStream’s bottom line ensuring our continued viability as a financial partner.”
According to Kucey, who is also on the NAFCU Board of Directors, one area the credit union is now planning to expand this year is D & E auto lending through a “Wheels to Work” program. JetStream has many members with impressive length of employment records that it is unable to lend to due to their extremely challenged credit history. Grant opportunities available through the CDFI certification process will enable the credit union to expand this type of lending by reducing its loss exposure.
“For a credit union looking to become CDFI certified, I think that it’s an easy decision if the majority of your field of membership is comprised of low income members,” Kucey explains. “As a CEO you are responsible to meet the needs of your membership and maintain the financial integrity of your credit union. The CDFI certification enables you to do both and there is no one that I would rather partner with in this process than CU Strategic Planning.”
CU Strategic Planning, whose leadership in the CDFI field increased the number of credit unions receiving awards to 22 in 2012 by writing half of the winning applications, counted JetStream FCU’s $92,500 Emerging CDFI Award in its record breaking round. This “pre-CDFI” award from last year recognized the credit union is already serving low income and distressed consumers, allowing it to fund a bilingual CDFI Community Outreach Program Manager position to further assist members.
“We are so pleased to see JetStream awarded its well-deserved CDFI certification,” says CU Strategic Planning’s Founder Jamie Chase. “With a majority of its membership classified as low-income, this certification is a significant step for them to have the resources available that will fully serve their membership with the products and services their members truly need to better manage their financial lives.”
About JetStream Federal Credit Union
JetStream Federal Credit Union is a full-service financial cooperative with $157 million in assets, serving over 19,000 members. The 66-year-old credit union has 7 branches located in Miami, Miami Lakes, Doral and Hialeah, Florida and San Juan, Puerto Rico. Membership is open to anyone (and their family members) who lives, works, worships or attends school in sections of Miami-Dade County, Florida, and anyone (and their family members) who lives, works, worships or attends school in Carolina, Trujillo Alto and San Juan, Puerto Rico. All persons (and their family members) who work in any of our select companies and organizations located in Miami-Dade County and the select areas of Puerto Rico may also join. Membership is open to businesses and other legal entities located in Miami-Dade County, Florida and the select areas of Puerto Rico. For additional information, visit our website at www.jetstreamfcu.org.
About CU Strategic Planning
Headquartered in Tacoma, WA, with satellite offices in San Diego and Boston, CU Strategic Planning is the only strategic planning facilitator in the United States with the mission to help credit unions realize their potential through the International Credit Union Operating Principles. It is widely considered the #1 writer of credit union Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) grant applications. No firm serving credit unions writes and wins more CDFI awards than CU Strategic Planning. Its “Miracle Makers” have 100 percent success with CDFI certification. Their signature training program, Community Development Certified Financial Counseling, is a groundbreaking software training and accreditation tool being adopted by award winning CDFI certified credit unions across the country. For more information, visit www.creditunionstrategicplanning.com.