Wealth is the winning conversation. And with their newly minted charter signed and sealed, prospective WeDevelopment member-owners should expect to engage from this mindset.
What started in 2009 as a commission to improve “economically distressed areas” under then Kansas City Missouri Mayor Mark Funkhouser, is now a reality. Spearheaded by a task force and WeDevelopment Organizer Ajamu Webster, an early discovery to justify the need for an inner-city banking institution was underway. Webster, along with other task force members, began presenting their findings to support the opening of a Community Development Credit Union.
“We were just coming out of the subprime lending crisis … banks began to retreat from the community and the void was filed by payday lending, check cashing and title loan companies,” says Ajamu. “Folks were getting trapped in that cycle and at that point, the support for a credit union became even stronger.”
Working thru the subprime lending crisis along with raising initial capital/financial support of $400,000, WeDevelopment tuned its membership and loan projections with the federal regulatory National Credit Union Administration and increased its capital funding to $1.5 million. The board of directors tapped a seasoned, 30-year banking veteran to lead the burgeoning credit union CEO, Gwen Washington.
When asked what makes a credit union, specifically, this credit union central to the urban core, different? “We’re not bank tellers. We’re financial advisors who want to share with you how we can help. We want to communicate the options we have, and how these options help us help you, and those who walk through the door behind you looking for loans at affordable rates, free checking, and higher savings rates; we operate to promote the well-being of our member-owners…. we truly have your interest at heart.” Says Gwen.
“That’s where credit unions excel. Credit unions are the place you go to rebuild your credit,” says Ajamu, Chair of the Board of WeDevelopment Federal Credit Union.
Investing in the community means having products that serve our members’ essential fiscal needs. WeDevelopment Federal Credit Union’s initial products and services include Personal and Business Savings and Checking Accounts, an online and mobile banking app, along with Auto, Signature, and a Specialized Home Loan product. “Being member-owned, means we have a responsibility to the community to offer products and services that combat predatory lending practices in our field of membership. Our ultimate goal is to educate and along the way, create wealth partners on the East Side. “I say that because we need your dollars to spur economic development and promote financial dreams and opportunities. We look forward to becoming your financial partner,” says Gwen. We call this Social Banking™.”
3123 Prospect | Kansas City, MO | 64128
