CU Strategic Planning helping over a quarter of CDFI credit unions recertify
Credit unions can finally begin celebrating their Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) Fund recertifications, which have been in process for two and a half years.
CU Strategic Planning has received notification that a dozen of the credit unions it has been working with on recertification have received approval following the rigorous new process that’s been years in the making. The firm has prepared and submitted applications for more than a quarter of recertifying CDFI credit unions.
“CDFI certification validates the work credit unions do to serve underserved communities, but the impact itself happens every day in the form of increased economic opportunity for their members and communities,” CU Strategic Planning President Stacy Augustine said. “We’re pleased to see our credit unions complete the recertification process and continue carrying their mission forward.”
CU Strategic Planning Chief Experience Officer Mike Beall added, “The CDFI Fund has been working through a backlog of approximately 1,000 recertification applications this year.”
The recertification deadline was originally set as late 2024 but later extended to rolling deadlines throughout 2025. Processing has been slowed by reduced agency staffing, the government shutdowns and broader policy-based administrative delays.
Certified credit unions gain access to capital through the CDFI Fund Financial and Technical Assistance awards, along with other more targeted award programs and access to certain state-level grant programs that help offset the operational and financial costs of running a credit union in a historically neglected area. Last year, Filene Research Institute found that CDFI-certified credit unions enjoy higher asset, loan and membership growth, as well as a stronger ROA and ROE without increasing delinquencies or charge-offs.
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