COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT
FINANCIAL INSTITUTION

This project is currently in development. As part of our workforce development program, the credit union has partnered with Google to offer Grow with Google Career Certificate Program scholarships. Individuals who live in Inyo, Kern, Los Angeles, Mono, Orange, San Bernardino and Tulare counties in California, Clark County in Nevada and Mohave County in Arizona will be able to apply for the scholarships. Certificates currently available are Cybersecurity, Data Analytics, Digital Marketing & E-commerce, IT Support, Project Management, and UX design.

AltaOne offers lending to individuals in our field of membership who possess an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN). An ITIN is a tax processing number only available for certain nonresident and resident aliens, their spouses, and dependents who cannot get a Social Security Number (SSN).

Click here to review Personal Lending

Click here to review ITIN Home Loans

A partnership of Friends of the Inyo & AltaOne Federal Credit Union

In a recent trend, more and more national parks are going “cashless” and accepting entrance payment and possibly other fees via credit or debit card only. This implies administrative efficiency and significant cost savings for the parks—to the tune of $40,000 per year just for Death Valley National Park, which did away with expenses related to armored car transport for bank deposits, as well as staff time spent counting cash and processing paperwork, when it instituted cashless payment for entrance and camping fees on June 1, 2023. However, cashless payment could create a barrier to access for unbanked community members who lack credit.

AltaOne has partnered with the Friends of the Inyo, Eastern Sierra Tri County Fair, Cerro Coso Community College, the US National Park Service, and others to host Nature, Connectivity & Credit outreach events around Inyo County.

Inyo County covers a large expanse of the Eastern Sierra, including Mt. Whitney and Death Valley National Park. The towns of Bishop and Lone Pine are major tourism hubs for ecotourism.

The Nature, Connectivity & Credit project grew out of Friends of the Inyo’s Latino Conservation Week (LCW) efforts. According to the LatinoConservationWeek.com website, LCW is an initiative of Hispanic Access Foundation “created to support the Latino community getting into the outdoors and participating in activities to protect our natural resources.” During Latino Conservation Week, organizations and agencies hold events throughout the country “to help promote conservation efforts in their community and provide an opportunity for Latinos to show their support for permanently protecting our land, water, and air.” Latino Conservation Week in 2023 ran July 15 – July 23.

The first outreach event was held on July 15, 2023 at the AltaOne Branch in Bishop, California. Due to the success of this event, Nature, Connectivity & Credit has evolved into an ongoing project, including special fair days during the Eastern Sierra Tri County Fair.

Part of AltaOne’s mission is to improve access to financial solutions. As part of this project, AltaOne offers checking accounts with debit cards and credit cards to help disadvantaged, unbanked and underserved communities access the National Park System and participate in ecotourism.

The credit union has partnered with Lotus Bakersfield Corporation (Spanish Radio Group) on their ‘Cuadrilla de la Semana’ (Crew of the Week) program.

Each week, April through October, credit union staff visit different Farmworker crews in the agriculture fields and packing sheds where they work. This enables us to make meaningful connections with Farmworkers where they are at. In turn, we provide information on accounts, loans, financial services available, and hold Sunday office hours at local branches so they may open accounts and apply for loans.

AltaOne sponsors, facilitates and presents business workshops with its partners during the annual Kern County Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Business Conference and Expo each August.

All workshops have an English and Spanish session.

In 2022 workshops were attended by over 300 people. Workshops hosted were:
• Marketing Basics—Presented in conjunction with Lotus Corp Bakersfield/Spanish Radio Group
• Preparing to Apply for a Business Loan—Presented by AltaOne Federal Credit Union
• Business Tax Tips—Presented in conjunction with LPL Financial and CA Tax Express

In 2023 over 400 people attended the workshops. Workshops hosted were:
• Marketing 2.0-Crafting a Digital Presence for Your Business—Presented in conjunction with Adventist Health.
• Find Your Business: A Guide to Loan Success—Presented in conjunction with the Small Business Administration and Access + Capital.
• The Path to Healthy Living: Changes You Need to Know to Ensure the Well-Being of You and Your Family—Presented by Dignity Health.

The credit union partners with Community Action Partnership of Kern (CAPK) on the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Program (VITA). CAPK has many years of experience with VITA and AltaOne assisted with expanding the program into areas that previously did not have access to the program.

In 2023 AltaOne offered income tax filing assistance in California City, Lake Isabella, Ridgecrest, and Tehachapi. 41 returns were completed by 9 AltaOne volunteers.

April 10, 2023
Ridgecrest, CA—AltaOne Federal Credit Union received notice from the US Department of the Treasury’s Community Development Financial Institutions Fund (CDFI Fund) that it has been awarded a $2,478,839 Equitable Recovery Program Grant (ERP Grant). A total of $1.73 billion in grants were awarded by the CDFI Fund to 603 Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) nationwide.

“We want to thank the U.S. Treasury for recognizing the work that AltaOne has done in supporting the residents of Kern, Mono, and Inyo counties”, said AltaOne CEO Stephanie Sievers. “This grant award will increase AltaOne's ability to continue rebuilding and investing in communities that have been impacted by the pandemic, climate change, and those that have been neglected by other mainstream financial institutions.”

This is the second and last installment of the funding set aside as part of the “Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act” to be deployed by the CDFI Fund to expand the capacity of CDFIs to help revitalize communities most impacted. Proceeds from the ERP Grant will be used to expand lending, grant making, and investment activities in underserved, low-to moderate-income communities and to borrowers with unmet capital and financial service needs. AltaOne serves many areas that have limited or no availability to financial services.

Funds for the ERP Grant were authorized by congress in the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 to respond to the economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Grant awards were announced by Vice President Kamala Harris and Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Wally Adeyemo.

AltaOne received its Certified CDFI status in May 2022 and was assigned an Investment Area and Low Income Target Population in Inyo, Kern, Los Angeles, Mono, Orange, San Bernardino, and Tulare counties in California; Clark County, Nevada; and Mohave County, Arizona.

RIDGECREST, CA – January 16, 2024 – AltaOne Federal Credit Union has been selected for a $200,000 grant award from the California Investment & Innovation Program (Cal IIP). This grant will bolster AltaOne's efforts in providing essential financial services and support to communities across California.

Cal IIP is an initiative led by the California State Treasurer's Office, that focuses on empowering community development financial institutions (CDFIs) like AltaOne. This program aims to facilitate equitable economic recovery and development in underserved communities.

AltaOne Federal Credit Union, meeting the stringent criteria set by Cal IIP, including federal CDFI certification and a strong presence in California, is well-positioned to utilize this grant effectively. The funds are earmarked for enhancing working capital and increasing total net assets, which will enable AltaOne to expand its services. These services range from affordable housing projects to supporting businesses and facilities that contribute to community revitalization and stability.

"This grant award is an acknowledgment of our commitment to serving the financial needs of Californians, especially in low-income and underserved areas," said Stephanie Sievers, CEO of AltaOne Federal Credit Union. "With these funds, we are able to further our mission in making a tangible difference in the lives of our members and the broader community."

AltaOne Federal Credit Union plans to channel the grant towards various initiatives, including expanding affordable housing options and supporting small businesses.

Community Development Financial Institutions-or CDFIs-are mission-driven financial institutions that provide financial services to meet the needs of economically disadvantaged individuals within underserved communities.

CDFIs invest in local communities and the residents who live there by providing critically needed financing often unavailable from mainstream financial institutions.

CDFIs are certified by the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Community Development Financial Institutions Fund–known as the CDFI Fund. To become a certified CDFI, the financial institution must: have a primary mission of promoting community development; provide financial products and services; serve one or more defined low-income target markets; maintain accountability to the community it serves; and be a legal non-governmental entity.

All CDFIs share a common mission of serving low-income communities. CDFIs are commonly loan funds, credit unions, community banks, or venture capital funds.

Certified CDFIs are part of a national network promoting economic growth in America’s underserved communities by financing businesses, creating jobs, and rebuilding neighborhoods.

As a CDFI, AltaOne puts the community first and values local economic growth.

The CDFI Fund does not give loans directly to individuals, businesses, or projects. Instead, the CDFI Fund helps to capitalize CDFIs that, in turn, provide financing to their local communities.

Once certified, CDFIs can apply for the CDFI Fund’s grant, tax credit, and bond programs that are administered annually. After a multi-phased and rigorous competitive review process, only the most highly qualified CDFIs are selected to receive funding through the various programs.

Through the CDFI Fund’s programs, CDFIs can build their organizational capacity to better serve low-income individuals and communities that lack adequate access to affordable financial products and services.

In the communities we serve, AltaOne provides individuals and businesses with mortgage & home equity loans*, vehicle loans*, personal loans*, credit cards*, business loans* and services, checking accounts and debit cards to promote local growth and economic development.

As a CDFI, AltaOne is dedicated to serving the residents and businesses that historically lack access to financial services to encourage our community to participate in the mainstream economy.

Since its inception, the CDFI Fund has awarded billions of dollars to community development organizations, allocations for New Markets Tax Credits, and for the CDFI Bond Guarantee Program. These programs have been used to revitalize communities across America.

CDFIs utilize resources from the CDFI Fund to provide financial products and services to low-income individuals and underserved communities. These resources go towards creating jobs, building infrastructure, developing commercial and residential real estate, and financing homeowners.

CDFIs help start and expand businesses and create jobs, and they help families buy or renovate homes. CDFIs finance needed facilities and organizations that provide vital services to their communities. CDFIs provide affordable financial services as an alternative to payday lenders and other predatory loan products.

Specifically, CDFIs finance affordable housing, small businesses, schools, community facilities, healthcare centers, grocery stores, and many other types of investments that spark growth in communities across America.

Using creative and innovative financing products, AltaOne can provide loans and financial services to communities where resources are scarce.

CDFIs are a perfect example of innovative public-private partnerships developed to leverage taxpayer dollars for greater impact in communities across America.

CDFIs are community-based and know their local markets well, which enables them to make informed decisions on which opportunities to finance for the greatest community impact.

CDFIs use limited taxpayer dollars appropriated by the U.S. Congress and awarded by the CDFI Fund to leverage even more capital and credit from the private sector, multiplying the impact many times over. Many of the CDFI Fund’s programs require CDFIs to match their awards dollar for dollar with funding from non-federal sources.

CDFIs create an even greater impact by re-lending capital once a loan is repaid, keeping their awards working in their communities, and strengthening local economic growth.