New Credit Union in Pennsylvania Marks 'Transformational Moment'

NCUA Board Chair Todd Harper was on hand Tuesday to open the first branch of one of the nation’s newest credit unions in downtown Lancaster, Pa., about 80 miles west of Philadelphia.

The NCUA granted Community First Fund Federal Credit Union ($3.1 million in assets, 60 members) its charter last June.

Community First Fund, an independent non-profit community loan fund, sponsored the credit union to create financial equity and economic mobility for individuals and families, especially African Americans, Latinos, immigrants and women, according to a news release from the fund.

Daniel Betancourt, president/CEO of both the fund and the credit union, said the credit union will strive to improve personal financial stability and provide opportunities for members to obtain quality, affordable housing.

“We’ve been serving Lancaster for 30 years by providing access to credit to entrepreneurs who want to make a positive change in the community,” Betancourt said. “With the credit union, our mission is to provide a pathway to financial stability for families. We’re excited to expand our service in the community and celebrate this milestone.”

In December 2020, the fund announced it planned to launch the low-income designated credit union using part of a $10 million gift from MacKenzie Scott, a philanthropist who was married to former Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos for 25 years before their divorce in 2019. At the time, Forbes magazine estimated her wealth at $59 billion. She has pledged to give away most of her wealth while alive.

The fund based its plan to launch the credit union on national research that showed:

• 27% of U.S. households are unbanked or underbanked;
• Nearly 50% of African American and 46% of Latino households are unbanked or underbanked; and
• Nearly 50% of all Americans live paycheck to paycheck and could not come up with $2,000 for a financial emergency.

To better understand the local need and demand for a credit union, the fund partnered with Franklin and Marshall College’s Center for Opinion Research and surveyed Lancaster County residents. The survey showed a need to strengthen the financial mobility of families and that the creation of a financial center would help foster financial equity and economic prosperity.

Community First Fund FCU was chartered by the NCUA in June 2021 and is one of a handful of credit unions that have launched nationally since 2017.

“This is wealth-building institution,” Harper said. “Established by the community and for the community, it is at the very heart of our nation’s credit union system that was built on the principle of people helping people.”

Community First Fund has received funding from private donors, local foundations such as the Calvin and Janet High Foundation, Lancaster County Community Foundation, the High Foundation and Ferree Foundation, and national bank partners such as Santander Bank and M&T Bank.

Santander Bank was the first bank partner to commit significant financial funding to launch the credit union with a $500,000 contribution paid over five years.

M&T Bank, a long-standing partner of Community First Fund, was the latest bank funder to contribute toward operating support. The bank has committed to provide $1 million over the next five years to the credit union.

Tom Koppmann, M&T Bank’s regional president for southeastern Pennsylvania, said the credit union’s opening is part of an effort to expand access to banking and other financial services to communities in the area that have been underbanked for years.

“It’s a transformational moment that could help lift the entire community,” Koppmann said.