New Orleans Firemen’s Expands FOM into Underserved Areas, With Help From CUCollaborate

METAIRIE, La.–New Orleans Firemen’s FCU (NOFFCU) has been approved by NCUA to addfive underserved areas comprising a total of 518 census tracts to its field of membership (FOM).

NOFFCU, a multiple common bond credit union and certified CDFI, has been looking to expand service beyond its now-former FOM of close to 26,000 members and 300 businesses in both Louisiana and Mississippi.

“We serve two states with some of the least prosperous residents in the nation due to high rates of poverty, income inequality, subprime credit and lack of mainstream financial services,” said President and CEO Judy De Lucca. “Expanding our FOM will allow us to now be able to offer more services to more members and further empower the communities we serve.”

New Orleans Firemen’s worked with CUCollaborate on the FOM expansion application.

The company noted that under a multiple common bond charter, an institution has the option of adding well-defined local communities and/or rural districts to an FOM, provided they qualify as “underserved.” To do so, an area must meet certain standards of economic distress, have proven unmet financial needs and be underserved by other depository institutions, said CUCollaborate, which specializes in field of membership consulting services

Meeting the Standards

In this case, the company said it worked alongside NOFFCU to prove the areas to be added indeed met all these standards, along with the institution’s ability and commitment to serving potential new members immediately.

“The credit union has a healthy financial position and demonstrated success serving underserved members in the current field of membership through all delivery channels,” De Lucca. “This is why we firmly believe in our ability to serve the proposed area, as well as maintain or raise our standards as we grow.”

The field of membership expansion for NOFFCU will add three underserved local communities covering portions of the New Orleans–Metairie–Hammond CSA, along with two adjoining rural districts. The combined area, with an estimated population of over 1.72 million, has the potential to increase NOFFCU’s field of membership “exponentially,” said CUCollaborate Founder and CEO Sam Brownell.

‘Entirely New Scale’

“We are thrilled to have been a part of New Orleans Firemen’s FCU’s expansion,” said Brownell. “Most importantly, the credit union has now substantially increased its potential field of membership, which will allow it to keep offering its excellent services, only now on an entirely new scale. This progress is key for any institution looking to grow and again we are grateful they trusted us to be a part of the process.”

For info: www.cucollaborate.com