In addition, step outside your doors on a consistent basis to contribute to your community, either piggybacking on an existing event or creating your own. The key here is that you are displaying a "giving back" philosophy that bodes well for your organization, and connecting with residents and businesses. Words and checks are nice, but it's consistent action that people truly appreciate. Make this action an essential part of your mission statement.

2. Leverage community partnerships. You need to have community partners that show how you can leverage the funds you'll get to better effect. Ideally, these partners are going to be organizations that create a pipeline of loans for your credit union.

3. Determine community need. You have to show a community need and you have to be compelling. When you're writing a grant application, your objective is to make the grant scorer fall in love with your credit union. So, again, do what it takes to not only endear yourself to the grant scorer but more importantly your community. That means stepping outside your doors and getting involved on a consistent basis.

4. Act like a CDFI. Increasingly, the CDFI Fund wants to see your policies and practices. They want to be sure you're a well-run organization before giving you a check for $2 million. This totally makes sense. And these policies should show how you act like a CDFI. An example of acting like a CDFI organization is using risk-based lending to qualify borrowers who wouldn't qualify otherwise, or accounting for character as part of your underwriting.

5. Be compelling. What does this mean? Don't we all want to be compelling? This goal is a segue from the last point in your credit union being totally involved in its community and stepping up consistently in helping its members no matter their financial situation.

Conducting transactions is a financial institution's staple for business, but providing assistance and education to those in need is compelling because it shows commitment. This extra service sets credit unions apart from most financial institutions.

6. Start early. Like most government endeavors, the CDFI grant application process is complicated. If your credit union needs these funds, then this is no time to procrastinate and wait until the last minute.

7. Treat your application like a business plan (because it is) and run it like a project. A $2 million FA application is really a comprehensive business plan, and it's a time consuming process. The U.S. Treasury wants to know that your plan is a feasible plan. So take the time to cross all your application's "t's" and dot all its "i's" for a complete document that leaves no stone unturned.

8. Don't go it alone – use grant funds to create greater staff depth. It's important to remember that you don't have to implement your grant-related world domination plans without help. Your grant can help fund personnel who help you get it done.

9. Recordkeeping requirements. These recordkeeping requirements aren't terribly burdensome for any financial institution that's already doing any kind of regulatory reporting. However, the recordkeeping requirements are important to keep the program going because they show its effectiveness. Generally, the first year they're very light because you haven't had a lot of time to get loans out the door. But the next two years your credit union is expected to report on its lending activity.

Stacy Augustine is president/CEO for CU Strategic Planning. She can be reached at 253-200-0418 ext. 104 or [email protected].