Credit unions and their trade groups are helping Puerto Rico rebuild from the devastation of Hurricane Fiona by following a gameplan set five years earlier, when
Maria left mainland organizations and more rural "cooperativas" struggling with fuel shortages and the lack of power, and this amplified the devastation of Fiona's arrival earlier this month, said Pablo DeFilippi, executive vice president of the Inclusiv Network, an association of credit unions serving economically disenfranchised communities.
"One of the reasons I think [Fiona was more damaging], in just talking to some of our members, is that Hurricane Maria changed the topography [of Puerto Rico] in 2017. … Places where it used to be safe are now more exposed and more prone to flooding and things like that," DeFilippi said.
Credit unions are trying to help, but they face the same power outages and fuel shortages that residents do, but it's crucial that these credit unions stay operational despite the challenges, DeFilippi said.
"Most of them are serving specific communities, so their need to be back on their feet was critical for those communities to gain access to money … We saw banks in Puerto Rico that shut down their branches for months [after Maria], and in some communities those branches are never reopened again," DeFilippi said. "With the credit unions there, they don't have that option as their very existence depends on the survival of that community."
Once the storm hit land, Inclusiv gathered a group of local trade group partners such as the Asociación de Ejecutivos de Cooperativas de Puerto Rico, the Liga de Cooperativas de Puerto Rico (LIGA) and the Public Corporation for the Supervision and Insurance of Cooperatives and began assessing the total impact by surveying credit unions across the country.
Financial institutions that are known for quick responses during natural disasters are seeing an increased frequency in
Inclusiv announced Monday that the
Gigi Hyland, executive director of the Foundation, explained that the grant will allow Inclusiv to oversee the disbursements to more than 120 known individuals who have lost personal belongings, including vehicles and their homes.
"We know credit unions — or cooperativas in Puerto Rico — are critical to the well-being of communities. … In times like this, they are more necessary than ever," Hyland said. "By helping credit union people recover from disaster, CUAid supports credit unions' institutional operations, which in turn supports the ongoing recovery of the members and communities they serve."
For
The years between Maria and Fiona weren't wasted. Aurelio Arroyo, Inclusiv board member and chief executive of Cooperativa Jesús Obrero in Guaynabo, Puerto Rico, explained how he worked to bolster the $108 million-asset financial cooperative's infrastructure through the addition of backup generators, fuel stockpiles and a solar energy system after witnessing the impact of Hurricane Maria.
"We are a local phenomenon. … Since our community foundation, the leadership of each Cooperativa is local [with] the employees and the administration responding to the realities and needs of our communities, both in difficulties and in successes," Arroyo said. "We have the trust of our members because they have seen how we are the helping hand in difficult moments of their lives [and] our reason for being is to persist and not abandon our communities when they need it most."
Since its facilities were unscathed, the cooperativa activated contingency relief measures for members such as suspending collection procedures and surcharges for late payments until Sept. 30, a staff-organized round of donations to the community food bank for children and elderly residents in low-income neighborhoods and a emergency loan product with rapid deployment and reduced conditions.
Some cooperativas are feeling the lingering effects of the recent storm more than others.
Nereida Seda, Inclusiv board member and executive president of Cooperativa de Ahorro y Crédito de Lajas in Lajas, Puerto Rico, explained how widespread fuel shortages and the damage sustained in the south west region of the country forced the closure of the San Germán branch and diminished services at the more than $80 million-asset institution's headquarters.
"The lack of electric service in San Germán has made it impossible to have operations in our facilities [and] this limits us in the attention to our partners and the development of the business. ... In the case of our partners, employees and the community in general, the expenses to face the lack of electricity creates a situation of economic crisis in those with low economic resources," Seda said.
Other organizations such as the New York Credit Union Association and the New York Credit Union Foundation — NYCUA's philanthropic arm — have also begun talks with Inclusiv to determine how aid can be best utilized for those currently displaced.
"The New York Credit Union Association and New York Credit Union Foundation are soliciting credit unions in New York to contribute to CUAid, the disaster relief fund provided through the Foundation … In the case of natural disasters like this, we truly see the cooperative nature of credit unions shine," said Chris Pajak, vice president of member engagement for the NYCUA.
