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In days when banks come and go, Zion United Community Credit Union has been a growing financial institution over the past 44 years in Denver. Zion is a faith-based community organization, conveniently located near downtown. Zion is the only African-American owned credit union in the state of Colorado and also the only low income designated credit union in the state.
"More than 50 percent of our members fall within the poverty level," said Sally A.L. Edwards, President and CEO. Zion welcomes members with low incomes, many of whom feel intimidated by larger institutions. Others are taken advantage of by pay-day loan operations that charge exorbitant amounts for small loans. "We make it a habit to try and know each and everyone of our members by their name. Very seldom will you ever hear one of the staff address a member and not know their name," said Edwards. "We pride ourselves in knowing our members."
Sally A. L. Edwards, President and CEO of
Zion United Community Credit Union
Zion United Community Credit Union’s roots go back to 1959 when twelve deacons of Zion Baptist Church, known as the Zion Baptist Brotherhood, came together and decided to form a credit union to help the widows in the church establish credit. Many of them did day work and did not get a check stub, so they had no verifiable income when they would try to go downtown for a loan. In 1960 the credit union became official and opened with 14 members and $75.75 in assets. The credit union was located in the church and only its members, or people who were related to members, could be members of the credit union. The credit union was open Wednesday nights during prayer meeting and Sundays after church. Later, the credit union switched from Wednesday night to Tuesday, so it would not interfere with the prayer meeting. "Tuesday night was good because the main choir practiced on that night," said Edwards.
"Many times people don’t realize how much the credit union can do for them," said Edwards. Prior to 2003 the credit union was known as the Zion Baptist Brotherhood Credit Union. To let the community know everyone was welcome to become a member, the name was changed to Zion United Community Credit Union.
Zion has over twenty-five affiliate members. Zion has two bonds--an affiliate bond and a community bond. "An affiliate bond means anyone belonging to a non-profit organization, their relatives, or anyone who works for them can become a member. The community bond refers to anyone who lives, works, or worships in the Park Hill area can be a member of the credit union along with their relatives," said Edwards. "In other words," explained Selena Dunham of Classique, LLC, the consulting firm for Zion, "virtually the whole state of Colorado can become a member."
| | Day to day operations of Zion are run by Edwards and her four member staff who handle loans, teller transactions, and account management. When Edwards came on board in 1977, Zion’s assets were valued at $19,000. Today, Zion has over $4.3 million in assets and 1397 members. Members can feel safe knowing that Zion’s deposits, up to $100,000, are federally insured by the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA). The NCUA is to credit unions what the Federal Deposit Insurance Coorporation (FDIC) is for other types of depositories.
Zion has helped many churches in the area with the financing of new building and remodeling projects. Solid Rock Baptist Church, located at 28th Avenue and Madison Street, is currently engaged in a building project that is being financed by Zion along with Centennial Lending, based in Longmont, Colorado. Zion partners with financial institutions like Centennial, which enables them to offer more products and increase the amount of their loans. Soon Zion will be partnering with Countrywide Financial, one of the nation's largest independent loan lenders, to offer a variety of loans for new home purchases.
Two programs the credit union is very proud of are their Earnings Now Deposit Loan, and the Credit Builder. The END Loan is an "alternative to pay-day loans," explained Edwards. With an END Loan a member can borrow up to 25 percent of their monthly income, not exceeding $500, at 17 percent interest, which is Zion’s highest rate. The loan must be paid back in two months. According to Edwards, pay-day loans normally have to be paid back in one month and can charge from 300-400 percent interest. The Credit Builder program is designed to help individuals with poor credit build their way up to good credit. Zion will make a loan to a member, but instead of giving the money to the member, the loan is paid directly to the creditor to pay down or pay off a debt. As payments are made toward the loan, Zion reports this information to the credit bureau. If the loan is paid back in a timely manner, Zion will increase the amount of the next loan at a lower rate to continue to pay down the debt. Dunham said this is also a good place for college students to start building credit.
In 1984, the NCUA allowed credit unions to open their memberships to affiliated members. To handle the increase in memberships a manager was hired to work two days a week, four hours a day, and the first computer was purchased. "We had $250,000 in assets, and our examiners thought we were too small to have a computer… you couldn’t start a credit union today without being on a computer," said Edwards.
When Edwards started working at the credit union it was on a part-time volunteer basis as assistant manager. In 1994 when Edwards retired after 34 years of service with the federal government, she became a paid part-time manager. Today, as President and CEO, Edwards has seen the credit union grow and is proud of how far they’ve come. The highest loan to date for Zion has been $3 million dollars. "We have something for everyone!"
Editors Note: Zion United Community Credit Union is located at 6700 East Colfax Avenue, Denver, Colorado, 80220. They can be reached at (303) 333-2910 or email them at zionunitedcredit@qwest.net. |
