- project leader
- Alpha D
- location
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928 Intervale Ave(bronx)
- latest update rss
- No updates yet.
the project
Mariama is married and a mother of two, and a proud resident of the Bronx. They live in a two-bedroom apartment, where she contributes 50% of her income. She works as a hairdresser on 125th Street in Harlem. Mariama pays $150 per week to rent a chair. Due to the gentrification, her rent will double next month. Every month she sends money home to her parents in Senegal, to support the family via Western Union where she is charged 8% of the total amount she sends, plus a lower exchange rate at the other end. Mariama is unbanked and uncomfortable sharing an account with her husband. She stashes the cash in the home.
Pan-African Federal Credit Union (“Pan-African FCU”) will be a 501©1 low-income designated credit union: a community development financial institution dedicated to serving the African immigrant population and contributing to the economic revitalization of the Bronx. It will provide access to financial services and economic opportunity to the disenfranchised/marginalized to participate in the economic, acquire assets and build wealth. While Pan-African FCU was designed primarily with the African diaspora in mind, it will serve all who live, work, study, worship or volunteer in our designated area.
Our mission is to promote the financial health of its members by providing access to fair, affordable financial services. In addition, the credit union will provide the opportunity for members of the community to participate in the ownership of local resources. The effectiveness of this model has been demonstrated by the exemplary Latino Community Credit Union in North Carolina.
The goal of this project is to build power in African immigrant communities by strengthening and expanding economic development and integration initiatives for African immigrants in NYC.
Pan-African FCU will not only safeguard our members from subprime services, usurious interest rates, and high fees, a community financial institution would help anchor neighborhood economic revitalization.
The primary goal for this project is to acquire our charter by April 2018 and begin operations in 2019, with a prospective membership of at least 200 people and 10-15 businesses. We must procure a minimum of $300,000 in pledges for the initial start-up costs, a requisite from NCUA.
the steps
- Launch campaign on 10/05/2017
- Start calling network on 10/20/2017
- Begin sending emails on 10/15/2017
- Publicise campain on social media by October 15th
- Organize launching event on November 20th at Alpha's home.
- Team members' organizing house parties, culminating a huge park barbecue and celebration in January.
why we're doing it
Our aim is to facilitate the integration of immigrants in New York to American life by providing positive constructive programs for strengthening communities and promoting the ownership of local resources.
Access to affordable capital and credit is vital for financial security and economic development for families and entire communities. Lack thereof puts individuals and communities at risk of poverty and perpetual indebtedness to institutions that use predatory practices (Payday lenders; Check-Cashers; Pawn-Shops, Money Gram.) The African immigrant community is one of the fastest growing immigrant groups in the country. The African immigrant population has grown from 574,000 to 2 million between 2000 and 2015 (Pew Research, 2017). It is reported that in New York, from 2000 to 2011, the African-born population increased by 39% from 92,000 to 128,000; a large segment remains uncounted due to misapprehensions about US Census participation and lack of legal status. This underserved population faces language and cultural barriers lives primarily in distressed communities, and, experiences extreme economic hardships.
The largest concentration of African immigrants in the United States is in the Bronx, the poorest and most unbanked county in New York State. With the median income of $34,284, households are 21.8% unbanked and 30.5% underbanked. Our field of membership proposal was approved by NCUA. We will be catering to a very densely populated area of the Bronx, comprising seven community districts (1-6 and 9) with an estimated population of 744,000, whose residents are 96% low or moderate income and 98% Non-White. It is estimated that African immigrants spend about $16 billion in fees annually, sending $60 billion to their families back home – an average cost of 15% more than any other region in the world.
budget
| TOTAL RAISED = | $6,976.00 |
| ioby Platform Fee | $35.00 |
| ioby Donation Processing Fee (3%) | $209.28 |
| TOTAL TO DISBURSE= | $6,731.72 |
updates
Sorry, but this project doesn't have any updates yet.
photos
This is where photos will go once we build flickr integrationdonors
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Tracey B.
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Matthew K Chambers
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EJ
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Anonymous
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Anonymous
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Taa G.
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Nancy B.
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Jennifer Allen
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Jennifer Allen
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Jennifer Allen
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Anonymous
