{"id":2049,"date":"2021-07-22T14:15:02","date_gmt":"2021-07-22T14:15:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/?p=2049"},"modified":"2021-07-22T14:21:10","modified_gmt":"2021-07-22T14:21:10","slug":"toledo-urban-fcu-celebrates-a-quarter-century-of-serving-the-community","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/2021\/07\/22\/toledo-urban-fcu-celebrates-a-quarter-century-of-serving-the-community\/","title":{"rendered":"Toledo Urban FCU Celebrates A Quarter Century of Serving the Community"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Suzette Cowell<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Sojourner\u2019s Truth Staff<\/p>\n

One morning in 1996, Suzette Cowell received a phone call from the Friendship Baptist Church. \u201cA brown box had been dropped off and was waiting at the church,\u201d she recalls. \u201cWhen I picked it up, inside was a charter with no instructions. And we had 30 days to set up shop.\u201d<\/p>\n

That charter had been issued by the National Credit Union Administration \u2013 the federal government body which oversees and insures credit unions. Cowell had applied for a charter for the Toledo Urban Federal Credit Union with the urging of the Rev. Duane C. Tisdale, pastor of Friendship, and Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur, both of whom wanted to see a strong black-operated credit union in Toledo.<\/p>\n

For its part, the NCUA had been less than cooperative. \u201cThey said we are people who don\u2019t follow through,\u201d says Cowell.<\/p>\n

She did indeed follow through. Even without the assistance of NCUA.<\/p>\n

\u201cNobody came in from NCUA to set it up, so we did the best we could. No one among us has ever said we had run a credit union. Their giving us a brown box was trying to set us up for failure,\u201d says Cowell.<\/p>\n

Nevertheless, TUFCU opened its doors for business under the watchful eye of the NCUA. \u201cThere were all those audits,\u201d says Cowell. \u201cWe didn\u2019t have a lot of capital and what we did have was going for outside auditors and outside attorneys.\u201d<\/p>\n

So TUFCU went to the community and managed to raise $184,000 between November 30, 1999 and June 25, 2000.<\/p>\n

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Edwin Mabry and Suzette Cowell<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cWe had these three deadlines to meet. The first was December 30 when we needed $15,000, and we did it. The next was March 15 and we needed $30,000. But then someone called The Blade. The story they did gave people the impression that everybody\u2019s going to jail. We were damaged and people got scared. But once they understood what was going on, they stood up.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople started sending money,\u201d she recalls. \u201cThree banks stepped up and made deposits. And with the help of an anonymous donor, we made it. We received a clean bill of health.\u201d<\/p>\n

Entities such as the Navy Federal Credit Union headquartered in Virginia, the largest in the country, stepped up and made a deposit. The Ohio Credit Union League, the former Mid-Am Bank and the former Capital Bank all lent a hand. Eventually Fannie Mae called Cowell to talk about doing business together \u2013 and TUFCU was off and running.<\/p>\n

However, such running was not without stumbles in the first 16 years or so.<\/p>\n

The BauerFinancial Inc, a bank research firm that rates credit unions and banks on a scale of zero to five stars based on the institution\u2019s financial criteria, consistently rated TUFCU as substandard with \u201csignificant challenges\u201d in those first years.<\/p>\n

A one-star rating for a financial institution meant \u201ctroubled;\u201d two stars meant \u201cproblematic;\u201d three stars meant \u201cadequate.\u201d For five consecutive quarters, however, in 2010-2011, TUFCU received no stars at all \u2013 NONE.<\/p>\n

Those ratings were the cost of TUFCU fulfilling its mission \u2013 its mission of helping individuals of low-to-moderate incomes, small businesses and nonprofit agencies.<\/p>\n

However, by the first quarter of 2012, 16 years into its existence and after years of substandard ratings, TUFCU experienced a breakthrough when the institution received a three-star rating from BauerFinancial \u2013 an \u201cadequate\u201d grade. The institution had improved its capital reserves to total assets ratio from 3.92 percent in the first quarter of 2011 to 8.06 percent in the first quarter of 2012.<\/p>\n

Better news came by the fourth quarter of 2012 when BauerFinancial awarded TUFCU another star moving it into the excellent category.<\/p>\n

Still better news was on the way!<\/p>\n

Within two and a half years after the financial ratings turned around, TUFCU had finally achieved the goal of raising enough funds to start construction on its own free-standing building. On May 3, 2015 hundreds of credit union members, neighbors, elected officials and supporters gathered to place shovels in the ground and turn a dream into reality.<\/p>\n

In a ceremony befitting the faith-based credit union, Bishop Brehon Hall opened with a prayer and Board President Frances Smith \u2013 who has been with TUFCU since the beginning \u2013 took the attendees through a tour of the history of the institution \u2013 the shoebox start, the early years of wandering from building to building.<\/p>\n

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Cutting the Ribbon to open new building in December 2015<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Both Bishop Tisdale and Congresswoman Kaptur were present for the celebration, as was Richard LaValley, president of the Toledo Urban Foundation, who had been so instrumental in raising funds for the new facility.<\/p>\n

And on December 20, 2015, the new building at 1441 Dorr Street opened for business. \u201cThis is the beginning of a new day,\u201d said Bishop Edward Cook, pastor of New Life C.O.G.I.C. and one of the founding fathers of the Credit Union, as he opened the dedication ceremony for the new 4,200 square-foot facility that offers member three times the space of the old building along with drive through service and ATMS.<\/p>\n

The first 25 years of the Toledo Urban Federal Credit Union have meant more than simply a 9 to 5 business operation. Annual banquets, neighborhood parades and 16 years of the African American Festival have also been part of the shared experience for Toledoans.<\/p>\n

Suzette Cowell, Frances Smith and Board Member Edwin Mabrey, along with thousands of members \u00a0have every reason to celebrate the success of the neighborhood institution and this weekend\u2019s Festival is the perfect opportunity for such a celebration.<\/p>\n