“Establishing the Louise Herring Fund is a tribute to Louise’s enduring legacy and her unwavering commitment to financial democracy and community service,” Denise Wymore said, president and board chair of the foundation. “We are dedicated to carrying forward her vision by empowering new credit unions to serve their communities, especially those that are underserved by traditional financial institutions.”
Louise Herring, often referred to as the “Mother of Credit Unions,” dedicated her life to promoting the principles of cooperative finance and ensuring that credit unions served the financial needs of their communities. She started more than 500 credit unions in Ohio and became the Ohio Credit Union League’s first managing director. In 2022, she was inducted into the America’s Credit Union Museum HerStory Exhibit in Manchester, N.H.
The Louise Herring Fund seeks to provide financial assistance, resources, and expertise to help new credit unions thrive in today’s competitive marketplace.
“There are currently 63 applications for new charters at the NCUA, up from 51 the same time last year,” Wymore said. “By creating new credit unions, we are creating a new narrative in the fight against taxation. There is no better way to show the credit union difference than financial cooperatives pooling their resources to help fund new credit unions.”
This year so far, the NCUA has approved three new credit union charters, two of which received a provisional charter, the Tribe Federal Credit Union in Minneapolis and the Fair Break Federal Credit Union in Memphis, Tenn. Both credit unions need to raise $600,000 each to open their doors.
