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ALEXANDRIA, Va. (Aug. 20, 2015) – Consulting services provided by the National Credit Union Administration will help 191 federally insured credit unions improve operations and member services during the second half of 2015.

Offered through NCUA’s Office of Small Credit Union Initiatives, consulting services help participating credit unions develop outreach strategies, implement new products and services, or complete strategic plans, succession plans and marketing calendars. NCUA provides these services at no charge.

“NCUA has a variety of initiatives to help credit unions reinforce their strengths, innovate and improve the quality and variety of affordable financial services,” NCUA Board Chairman Debbie Matz said. “Strategic thinking and planning can head off problems and uncover opportunities that might not otherwise be apparent. I encourage all eligible credit unions interested in improving their operations to consider applying for this service in the future.”

Working with credit unions to determine what improvements they wish to make, NCUA’s experienced development specialists provide the consulting services. Credit unions may self-nominate for the program, or an NCUA or state examiner may make the nomination. Eligibility falls into several categories. A credit union must either have total assets of less than $50 million, have been chartered for fewer than 10 years, have a low-income designation or be a minority depository institution.

Credit unions enrolled in the current six-month semester range in asset size from $91,200 to more than $100 million. Minority depository institutions comprise 18.3 percent of the credit unions in the program, and 57 percent of the credit unions have the low-income designation.

NCUA’s Office of Small Credit Union Initiatives fosters credit union development and the effective delivery of financial services for small credit unions, new credit unions, minority depository institutions and credit unions with a low-income designation. Credit unions may stay informed of grant news by subscribing to FOCUS, the office’s monthly e-newsletter.