Community Investment Fund

& Charitable Donation Account


Connect

Juli Lewis

Director, Southeastern CU Foundation

(866) 231-0545 x1108

juli.lewis@lscu.coop



Bobbi Grady

Foundation Dev. Coordinator

(205) 437-2128

bobbi.grady@lscu.coop

National Donations at Work

Community Investment Fund (CIF) and Charitable Donation Account dividend dollars are used to support both national and state programs and grants that benefit our credit unions and their members.

See how your dollars are at work in the National Credit Union Foundation’s (NCUF) programs.

State & Local Benefits

The National Credit Union Foundation grants half of its CIF revenue to each investor’s state credit union foundations and leagues.

State foundations and leagues use CIF and CDA revenue to fund the following objectives:

Financial education
Credit union development
Credit union service extensions affordable housing
Community outreach & development
Scholarships
Internships
Disaster relief
Many other charitable projects to benefit credit unions and consumers, consistent with NCUF's mission.

 

How CIF Works

The Community Investment Fund (CIF) is the NCUF and SECUF’s primary funding mechanism for national and state programs benefiting credit unions and their members.

There are four partnership programs:

CIF with Corporate One

Corporate One has partnered with the NCUF to provide a convenient way for credit unions to support the efforts of the NCUF and their own state/regional foundation by also investing in the CIF.

CIF with National Cooperative Bank (NCB)

NCUF has partnered with NCB, the cooperative community’s bank, to offer more product options and an easy application process to expand our impact through the Community Investment Fund (CIF).

CIF with MEMBERS Trust Company (Watch a short webinar.)

MEMBERS Trust Company offers two investment options:

1. CIF Investment Trust – a conservatively managed 703 permissible funds portfolio. The minimum recommended investment is $500,000.
2. CIF CD investment – fully FDIC insured up to $50,000,000. The minimum recommended investment is $250,000. How is it insured up to $50 million? MEMBERS Trust Company is a participant in the CDARS network.

When credit unions make a CD investment with MEMBERS Trust Company, they earn one rate and receive one statement, but their deposit is split among enough participating banks to ensure the full interest and principal is below the $250k FDIC limit. There is sufficient liquidity and participation in the program to offer full FDIC coverage up to $50 million.

Traditional CIF with Corporate Credit Union Network

Contact your corporate to make an investment or a designated corporate such as Corporate One.

How CDA Works

A Charitable Donation Account (“CDA”) investment allows a credit union to make a charitable contribution while allowing the contribution to pay for itself. Over the last 3-5 years, an investment in the CDA would have allowed a credit union to contribute five times more on their charitable donations and earn back five times more than traditional investments.

What is a Charitable Donation Account Investment?

CDA is a hybrid investment which grants a credit union expanded investment powers to fund charitable contributions. To qualify as a CDA, the primary purpose of the investment must be to fund charitable contributions. To meet the primary purpose test, a minimum of 51 percent of the earnings and capital gains must be distributed to at least one designated 501(c)3 at a frequency of no less than five years (annual distributions are preferred). Earnings may be split between multiple chaitable organzations. Gains and interest in excess of the 51 percent are booked as investment income by the credit union.

How are contributions distributed (51 percent of investment return)?

Contributions from the CDA will be shared between charitable organizations as designated by the credit union. The Southeastern Credit Union Foundation encourages credit unions to name the SECUF as your charitable organization of choice to enable the SECUF to continue to offer free resources, grants and innovative programs.

How often are contributions made from the CDA?

Contributions will be made annually.

 

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