Immigrants play a crucial role in our nation’s economy and are poised to dramatically change its demographics in the near future. Today, over 45 million foreign‐born immigrants call the US their home and represent 13% of the total U.S. population. They also represent a large part of the 10 million households that the FDIC estimates are currently unbanked. This results in missed opportunity for asset building for individuals and families, as well as challenges in building collective wealth among significant portions of our communities. Immigrant service providers and credit unions are partnering across the country to address this gap of participation in the US financial system, providing an unprecedented opportunity to help immigrants establish stability and become banked.

Registration and more information

Goals:

• Learn about the demographics and immigration patterns affecting the Northwest region;
• Understand how credit unions, nonprofit organizations, government agencies, philanthropy and others serve immigrants;
• Discuss ways to leverage each other’s’ core competencies to create effective partnerships that addresses the needs of immigrants;
• Discuss the potential to ramp up and provide legal and financial assistance to citizenship, DACA, and potentially DAPA applicants.

Presenters:

• Abdi Jama, Program Coordinator, Immigration Legal Services, Catholic Community Services of Kings County
• Alvaro Macias, Community Development Coordinator, Ascentra Credit Union
• Pam Owens, VP Programs, National Federation of Community Development Credit Unions
• Sarah Sumadi, Program Manager, OneAmerica
• Alejandra Seluja, CU Breakthrough Consultant
• Cuc Vu, Director, Office of Immigrant and Refugee Affairs, City of Seattle

Sponsored by the National Federation of Community Development Credit Unions, Grantmakers Concerned with Immigrants and Refugees and Philanthropy Northwest.

For questions, please contact Camellia Rodriguez-SackByrne, GCIR, 707.483.2198, camellia@gcir.org