by Carol Schachet

Devastated areas of the Gulf Coast continue to await the infusion of rebuilding funds promised by the federal government. The response remains far behind the need.

According to Blueprint for Gulf Recover: The Katrina Crisis and a Community Agenda for Action, only 30% of the $16.7 billion in Community Development Block Grants earmarked for long-term Gulf Coast rebuilding had been spent as of August 2007. The need for capital in low-income communities and communities of color poses an immediate challenge to rebuilding homes, services and jobs.

Role of Credit Unions in Rebuilding
For the long-term rebuilding of New Orleans by low-income households, community-based financial organizations need capital. Credit unions play a vital role in providing scarce resources to rehabilitate homes and reopen restaurants, day care centers, corner stores, laundromats and other small businesses.

By ensuring that community-based financial institutions in New Orleans and the Gulf have the necessary capital for their work, progressive investors can ensure continued “access to capital” for low-income households in the region while also laying the essential financial groundwork for revitalizing all neighborhoods in New Orleans.

To this end, RESIST has joined with other national progressive public foundations to support and expand the capital resources available to local credit unions. In a campaign championed by Jewish Funds for Justice and the 21st Century Foundation, RESIST purchased CDs in Hope Community Credit Union (www.hopecu.org), which is playing a vital role in the economic recovery of low-income Gulf communities. Collectively investing nearly $1 million, investments from progressive foundations will enable the Hope Credit Union to continue and to expand its important work.

Working Together for Change
This investment strategy comes after years of collaboration among several national progressive public foundations including: Astraea National Lesbian Action Foundation, Changemakers, Funding Exchange, Grassroots International, Jewish Funds for Justice, Ms. Foundation, National Black United Fund, New World Foundation, Peace Development Fund, Proteus Fund, RESIST, Tides Foundation, and Twenty-First Century Foundation.

Collectively, we hope such an infusion of funds will ensure that New Orleans and other areas in the Gulf Coast will be rebuilt—better, faster and with an orientation toward community accountability.

Clearly more needs to be done. As a collaborative, we hope this initial influx of funds will prompt other foundations and socially responsible investors to do likewise, creating greater impact throughout the region.

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Carol Schachet edits the Resist Newsletter. She relied heavily on information provided by the Jewish Funds for Justice for this article.