Palmetto Citizens FCU Earns CDFI Certification
The credit union will gain access to federal grants and tax credits to help serve the underserved.
Palmetto Citizens Federal Credit Union, headquartered in Columbia, S.C., joined a growing list of financial service providers becoming certified as a Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI).
The $1.3 billion Palmetto Citizens announced its new CDFI certification Friday that will allow the credit union, which serves more than 80,000 members in the central part of the state, to get access to federal money, grants and tax credits to focus its efforts to expand its services to low-income and underserved communities.
Palmetto Citizens CEO Robert Dozier, Jr. said, “We’re excited to earn this designation on behalf of the communities we serve and the people who live and work there. The loan, grant and investment opportunities available to us as a CDFI will allow us to increase the impactful mission-driven work we’re already doing of bringing low-cost financial solutions to areas in the Midlands most in need.”
For Dozier, the CDFI certification came less than three months after taking over the leadership position following longtime CEO Nick Wodogaza’s retirement at the end of January.
According to a statement from Palmetto Citizens, the credit union plans to focus the CDFI funds “to areas most in need of financial assistance to benefit their residents and small businesses, as well as help generate economic growth within these communities.”
Dozier added, “As we look for ways to continue to make a positive impact throughout the Midlands, being among the financial institutions with the CDFI designation will go a long way in helping us truly make a difference in peoples’ lives, which is what Palmetto Citizens is all about.”
Just last week, the U.S. Department of the Treasury announced $600 million in CDFI Fund grant money was awarded to more than 200 credit unions around the country.