Opportunities CU Receives CDFI Grant

BURLINGTON, Vt. – The $38 million Opportunities Credit Union, formerly the Vermont Development Credit Union, is celebrating the over $62,000 technical assistance grant it received from the U.S. Treasury Department’s Community Development Financial Institutions Fund. The grant will allow Opportunities to consult with specialists on banking policies and information technology, along with marketing their deposit programs and additionally training their staff, the credit union said. “We view this recognition as a further show of confidence in the contributions Opportunities makes in Vermont’s communities and with working families,” said Caryl Stewart, Opportunities President. The award follows a $783,000 investment the CDFI Fund made in Opportunities in 2004 to support fair and affordable manufactured home lending, basic transactions services, and computer infrastructure upgrades. As Vermont Development, Opportunities made a name for itself by being a credit union with a policy of never turning down a loan application but of being willing to work with loan applicants to make sure all become qualified. Opportunities was recognized in 2005 with the NCUF’s Herb Wegner Award for Outstanding Organization.