FEDERAL WAY, Wash. – The Washington Credit Union Foundation recently inked a deal with a local minority organization to provide free financial education and access to financial services to minority and women business owners in the state. The partnership between WCUF and the Washington State Office of Minority and Women Business Enterprises (OMWBE) builds upon an existing agreement with the Economic Power Project, which covers several states and receives $500,000 from the Treasury through the National Credit Union Foundation. EPP provides free financial education and access to financial services to the underserved, Hispanic and low-income persons in seven Western states. "Our progressive relationship with the Washington Credit Union Foundation can be attributed to the organization's pioneering leadership as the administrator of the Economic Power Project for all of the participating Western states," OMWBE Director Carolyn Crowson said. "The project is ahead of its time and our agency supports its success in this state." RoxAnne Kruger-Monahan, senior vice president of the Washington Credit Union League who oversees the WCUF endeavors, commented, "The partnership adds an important new component to our existing consumer outreach project. This partnership empowers the Foundation to connect Washington credit unions interested in serving underserved minority and women small business owners with the very people that need their services and financial education the most." As part of the agreement, the EPP will expand beyond the Hispanic population to reach out to Russian, Vietnamese and Cambodian immigrant populations in Washington. Initially, the project will focus on Tacoma, Seattle, Spokane, Wenatchee and Yakima Valley.