About Us:
The mission of Cooperative Federal is to
• manage the aggregate assets of members in responsible ways,
• rebuild our local economy in ways that foster justice, and
• serve the financial needs of members and those underserved by conventional financial institutions.
Cooperative Federal is a unique combination of a traditional credit union and a non-profit community development organization. Becoming a member of Cooperative Federal is making a choice to build our local community and to advance social justice. Cooperative Federal is owned, operated, and governed by its members. There are no other owners. Our ownership structure is designed to serve member’s needs, not the needs of a handful of big investors or corporate owners.
Field of Membership and How to Join:
If you live, work, worship, or attend school in the City of Syracuse, you can become a member! Not only that, but you can also join if someone in your immediate family or household lives, works, attends church, or attends school in Syracuse. Membership is also open to members and staff of our member organizations. Accounts may be opened by individuals, a few people, organizations, or businesses. Nonprofit organizations may request an account without meeting membership requirements. Member organizations near the North Side:
Open Hand Theater
Syracuse Cultural Workers
Henninger High School
Hawley-Green Bistro Central New York Civil Liberties Union
Preservation Association of CNY
Our History
Cooperative Federal’s founders, mostly “baby boom” generation activists, learned organizing skills through participation in the civil rights movement, the feminist movement, the student and anti-war movements, and other social justice movements of the sixties, seventies and eighties. The credit union was envisioned as a vehicle for meeting community financial needs in urban residential neighborhoods, and for deploying collective savings positively and responsibly. Our founders were specifically concerned with divesting from businesses that supported the Apartheid system of racial oppression in South Africa; providing fair and friendly financial services designed by and for people of modest means; and serving those that conventional banks fail to serve:
• women, who at the time were entering the workforce in record numbers,
• people facing the effects of present or past discrimination (particularly African Americans, native American Indians, and the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender [LGBT]community),
• very small businesses,
• unconventional businesses and organizations such as cooperatives, community groups and nonprofits,
• families with little wealth and low income, and
• part-time workers including many women, artists, musicians, youth, and those coping with underemployment.
In addition, the founders demanded that the credit union be sound, fiscally responsible and accountable. Such a credit union, they hoped, would help build a foundation for a community-based economy and gain a measure of independence from a distant and unresponsive global economy. Today, the credit union has grown to serve thousands of members throughout Syracuse. From our 30 square-foot space under the solar panels at the Syracuse Real Food Co-op, we have grown to 3630 square-feet in our three neighborhood offices. We continue to strive toward our ultimate goals: serving the financial needs of communities and neighbors who are not served by the mainstream economy, rebuilding our community, and improving the lives of members while developing an independent local economy in opposition to the structures of injustice.
This credit union was built from the ground up with a potent combination of member-power, vision drawn from both hope and struggle, and conviction in the face of oppression and distress. We are sustained by the talents, skills, intelligence, sound judgment and heart of members across all parts of our community. With continued stewardship of active members and a policy of strategic expansion, the credit union will serve our community for generations to come.
Our Northside office is located on the first floor of the Assisi Center at 800 North Salina Street, corner of Catawba, and is open Monday through Friday, noon to 6:00 pm. We also have locations at 723 Westcott Street and 401 South Ave. in the Southwest Community Center. |
