Next City, March 26, 2024, A Long-Awaited Black-Led Credit Union Finally Gets The Green Light
Chartering a new credit union today is like traversing a long lost trail through the woods, one that used to be well-traveled but is now overgrown, littered with fallen trees and other obstacles no one has had to navigate in many years. Prior to 1970, there were 500 to 600 new credit unions chartered across the country every year. After a steep decline to near zero, the numbers have never recovered. Over the past 10 years, fewer than 30 new credit unions have been chartered across the country.
According to Inclusiv, a network of credit unions that focus on community development, minority credit unions across the country are closing at the rate of one per week, making the new Arise Community Credit Union’s chartering even more urgent if that trend is to ever be reversed. Organizers began raising deposits by going door-to-door, canvassing at bus stops and other places where neighbors on the north side gathered. They eventually amassed over 1,100 deposit pledges totaling more than $3 million — and that became part of their pitch for support from the City of Minneapolis.
