Louisville Credit Union Receives Community Development Designation

A Louisville credit union has become the first in Kentucky to be designated as a federal Community Development Credit Union.

Park Community Credit Union ($975.2 million in assets, 86,624 members) announced Jan. 30 it had received the designation from the U.S. Treasury Department, which will allow it to receive federal grants to support programs to serve economically disadvantaged, low- to moderate-income communities.

“We’re honored and humbled to be the first CDCU in Kentucky,” Jim Spradlin, the credit union’s president/CEO, said. “For Park, this means we can make transformative investments in our local communities that have been left behind.”

Park Community Credit Union also announced it had formed Nspire Inc., a nonprofit, philanthropic arm for the credit union. Its goal is to foster companies of all sizes that are doing work that will allow local communities to thrive.

“Nspire was developed to carry out the commitment and passion Park Community Credit Union has in making a significant impact on the problems facing our struggling communities,” Keisha Deonarine, the credit union’s executive director of philanthropy and corporate relations, said.

“We at Nspire will provide the financial advocacy and empowerment that our communities need to grow, transcend poverty and generate lasting stability for their families,” she said.

The Treasury Department awarded $223.2 million in grants from its Community Development Financial Institutions Fund in 2019, including $30.2 million to 47 credit unions.

The other 423 grant recipients included eight Kentucky banks and community development organizations receiving $2.7 million:

• Catalytic Development Funding Corp. of Northern Kentucky of Covington, $378,000;
• Community Ventures Corporation, Inc. of Lexington, $714,000;
• Federation of Appalachian Housing Enterprises, Inc. of Berea, $714,000;
• Hyden Citizens Bank of Hyden, $15,000;
• Kentucky Highlands Investment Corporation of London, $714,000;
• Louisville Housing Opportunities and Micro-Enterprise Community Development Loan Fund of Louisville, $125,000;
• Metro Bank of Louisville, $43,733; and
• United Citizens Bank and Trust Company of Campbellsburg, $15,000.