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The NCUA announced Tuesday the availability of “urgent need grants” for those low-income credit unions in Georgia and Florida that were damaged by the recent Hurricanes Helene and Milton.
According to the NCUA, low-income credit unions hit by one of the hurricanes are eligible for grant amounts up to $7,500. If a credit union suffered damage from both hurricanes, the urgent need grant amount could go as high as $15,000.
More than 200 people died when Hurricane Helene made landfall in late September and another 17 died when Hurricane Milton struck Florida in early October.
Some of the 308 credit union branches in the 23 Florida counties that were major disaster areas from Helene overlap with the 552 branches in 28 counties in Milton's path. Combined, the storms hit 41 Florida counties with 613 credit union branches, based on NCUA data as of June 30.
“Urgent need grants cover expenses that are not reimbursable under insurance policies. Grant funds can be used to repair or replace credit union office property, equipment, fixtures, or leasehold improvements as well as covering costs of resuming operations, such as reconstructing data or reestablishing network systems,” according to the NCUA’s announcement. “Expenses for Natural Disaster Relief projects may be incurred prior to the award approval date but must be incurred after the date of the natural disaster as designated in the grant application.”
Credit unions applying for the grants must describe the impact the hurricanes had on its operations. The applications must be submitted to the NCUA’s Office of Credit Union Resources and Expansion (CURE) by Jan. 31, 2025.
According to the NCUA, credit unions should receive a notice about the grant within 30 days of the application and should expect to receive the grant funds within two weeks after submitting a reimbursement request.
The NCUA stated that credit unions with questions about the process should contact CURE staff at [email protected] or call (703) 518-6610.
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Michael Ogden
Editor-in-Chief at CU Times. To connect, email at [email protected]. As Editor-in-Chief of CU Times since 2016, Michael Ogden has led the editorial team in all aspects of content strategy and execution, including the creation of the publication’s exclusive and proprietary research database of the credit union industry’s economic landscape. Under Michael’s leadership, CU Times has successfully shifted to an all-digital editorial product with new focuses on the payments, fraud, lending and regulatory beats. Most recently, he introduced a data-focused editorial product for subscribers that breaks down credit union issues into hard data, allowing for a deeper and more factual narrative for readers. In 2024, he launched the "Shared Accounts With CU Times" podcast, which offers a fresh, inside-the-newsroom perspective through interviews with leaders from the credit union industry and the regulatory world. He dives into pressing credit union issues, while revealing the personalities working behind-the-scenes to push the credit union world forward. His background includes years as a radio and TV anchor/reporter and a public relations and digital/social media manager, where he covered the food and music industries, as well as cooperatives and credit unions. Over the years, he has launched numerous exclusive video and podcast series, including a successful series of interactive backstage interviews with musicians at music festivals, showcasing his social media and live streaming production skills.
