Bill Bynum Recognized for Bringing Financial Services to Underserved People and Places with 2016 Herb Wegner Memorial Award

Foundation Recognizing Bynum with Award for Outstanding Individual Achievement

Madison, Wis. – In recognition of his efforts to provide vital financial services to underprivileged and underserved populations, his advocacy for the credit union movement and his unwavering commitment to the credit union principle of people helping people, the National Credit Union Foundation (the Foundation) is pleased to announce William J. Bynum, Chief Executive Officer of Hope Credit Union, as the recipient of a 2016 Herb Wegner Memorial Award for Outstanding Individual Achievement.

Bynum’s award will be one of four Herb Wegner Memorial Awards presented at a special dinner hosted by the Foundation at the Marriott Marquis Washington on February 22, 2016 in conjunction with the Credit Union National Association’s 2016 Governmental Affairs Conference (GAC). Registration for dinner tickets and sponsorships will be available within the next month on the Foundation website (ncuf.coop).

“We have another hero from Mississippi, Bill Bynum, following on the heels of Clarence Hall Jr.’s inspiring presentation at last year’s dinner,” said John Gregoire, Chair of the Foundation’s Wegner Awards Selection Committee and President of The ProCon Group. “This year, we’ll have opportunity to hear about Bynum’s extensive work bringing financial services to the most economically distressed communities in America in a way that is consistent with the underpinnings and tenets of the credit union movement.”

A National Institution from Humble Beginnings
As President/CEO, Bynum has led Hope Credit Union (HOPE) on an incredible trajectory. In 1995, Bynum founded the organization as Hope Community Credit Union based out of Anderson United Methodist Church in Jackson, Miss. Bynum wanted to provide a better option for members of his community – many of whom were dependent on predatory payday lenders and pawn shops for financial services. Over a 26 year period (from 1988 to 2014), HOPE was the only credit union chartered in the state of Mississippi.

After initially relying on church volunteers to maintain operations, over time, more churches joined HOPE, tripling the credit union membership to over 2,700. In 2001, Bynum made the Enterprise Corporation of the Delta (ECD)—a business loan fund he had organized to create jobs in the Mississippi Delta—the primary sponsor of Hope Credit Union. With the infusion of new capital and stronger infrastructure, HOPE’s membership grew exponentially; today, it is a federally chartered CDFI with over 30,000 members from across the Southern U.S.

The majority of Hope Credit Union’s members come from disadvantaged communities. The Mississippi territory where HOPE was founded contains one quarter of America’s most persistently impoverished counties, where the poverty rate has exceeded 20% for three decades in a row. Eighty-one percent (81%) percent of HOPE’s membership are minorities and 52% come from households earning less than $35,000 per year. Additionally, over 1/3 of HOPE’s members were unbanked when they joined Hope Credit Union. With HOPE, Bynum has given thousands of Americans necessary financial services for the first time in their lives.

“Bill had—and has implemented—a broad, compelling, and daunting vision: not only to bring credit union services to low-income communities in Mississippi, but to develop a regional, multi-state strategy,” says Cliff Rosenthal, Former Assistant Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. “Bill is serious, thoughtful and unswervingly dedicated. Quite simply, I regard him as a hero of the credit union movement.”

Bringing Hope to Those Who Need It
Throughout his career, Bynum has used financial services to create opportunities in communities that desperately need them. In 1989, Bynum joined the North Carolina Rural Economic Development Center, where he managed investments in various community development operations. Through Hope Credit Union, Bynum helped the Winston County Self Help Cooperative—a group of small black farmers—purchase land in bulk for future projects.

Bynum has also used his financial expertise to save endangered businesses. In 1994, upon forming the ECD, Bynum approved a loan to Hughes, Ark.—population 1,500—to keep a cabinet manufacturer in town and save jobs. Today, the manufacturer has paid off their loans and continues to operate in the Arkansas Delta.

More recently, Bynum has lead the expansion of HOPE’s branch network into economically distressed rural communities – all of which were at risk of no longer having a depository to serve local residents. The last four branches opened by HOPE have been in communities of less than 2,000 people where the last active bank branch closed down its operations.

“Mr. Bynum has shown great professionalism in helping the Utica community improve people’s financial lives by preserving local access to financial services,” says Utica Mayor Kenneth Broome. “He should be recognized and greatly appreciated for his continual contributions to HOPE and the entire Utica Community.”

Rising to the Challenge During Hurricane Katrina
When Hurricane Katrina devastated the Gulf Coast in 2005, Bynum marshalled the full force of Hope Credit Union to help those affected. Knowing that historically neglected low-income communities would be disproportionately affected by the disaster, Bynum directed HOPE’s assets towards relief and recovery for these citizens.

Hope Credit Union partnered with a local foundation and utility company to fund 2,500 accounts with recovery grants to help people stay afloat until FEMA monies had arrived. They also helped 2,600 people get access to necessary resources, including tarps, clothes, cleaning supplies and relocation assistance.

Recognizing that the disaster would create opportunities for predatory contractor fraud and scams, Bynum helped create My Home My Coast, a financial counseling program for low and moderate-income Mississippians to rebuild their homes. By skillfully utilizing every resource available, the program provided nearly 10,000 people with vital financial counseling and generated over $600 million to rebuild homes.

Beyond merely providing money and supplies, Bynum also took strides to ensure that the policy response to Katrina would be fair and equitable. When Mississippi’s housing response plan was being drafted, the proposal initially only granted $50,000 to individuals without flood insurance or property insurance. Bynum and his team conducted in-depth analysis on this proposal, determining that the amount was not nearly sufficient and that higher grant awards were entirely affordable. By vigorously advocating for an increase, Bynum and Hope Credit Union were able to convince the state of Mississippi to double the grant amount.

“My first encounter with Hope Credit Union was in 2005, when I was living in New Orleans and lost my home in Hurricane Katrina. The task of putting my life together was hard, but HOPE offered an interest free loan of $5,000 for survivors,” says Sheila Randle, advisory board member of Hope Credit Union in Utica, Miss. “I think this kind of commitment to our community clearly demonstrates Bill’s compassion for other people.”

A True Advocate for the Credit Union Movement
Bynum has worked tirelessly to keep the credit union movement alive in areas where financial institutions are challenged. While at the North Carolina Rural Economic Development Center, Bynum provided investments to minority community credit unions. Bynum has also kept credit unions in Little Rock, Ark.; Louisville, Miss.; and Memphis, Tenn. from collapsing by merging with them.

Through various associations with credit union organizations, Bynum and Hope Credit Union do their part to support the interests of their fellow credit unions. Bynum is a member of the National Federation of Community Development Credit Unions, the Mississippi Credit Union Association and, in turn, the Credit Union National Association.

During the Great Recession, Bynum worked to ensure that credit unions would be protected and supported in their recovery efforts. He served as the chair of the Treasury Department’s Community Development Advisory Board (CDAB), and fought to increase the participation of credit union CDFIs in the federal response to the economic crisis. Bynum was able to include CDFI credit unions in the Community Development Capital Initiative, which gave them access to funds from the Temporary Asset Relief Program (TARP).

“In one of our first meetings, Bill stressed that the financial crisis and its potential impact on CDFI institutions and assets called for swift action, and offered his services” says Donna Gambrell, former director of the CDFI Fund. “I can testify unequivocally that the work to which Bill Bynum has dedicated himself has had a positive impact on the CDFI industry, CDFI credit unions and low-income and minority communities across this nation.”

Note to editors: this is the second of four 2016 Wegner Award winner profiles.

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About the Herb Wegner Memorial Awards:
The awards are named in honor of the late Credit Union National Association CEO Herb Wegner, whose tireless dedication, innovative ideas and deeds truly revolutionized the ways that credit unions serve their communities. The awards that bear Wegner’s name recognize his spirit of “innovative, creative, risk-taking” leadership. View past award recipients here.

About the National Credit Union Foundation (ncuf.coop):
The National Credit Union Foundation (the Foundation) is the charitable arm of the U.S. credit union movement and works as a catalyst to improve people’s financial lives through credit unions. Through Foundation grants and programs, credit unions provide widespread financial education, create greater access to affordable financial services, and empower more consumers to save, build assets, and own homes. Donations to the Foundation enable credit unions to help their members reach life-changing goals and achieve financial freedom.

The National Credit Union Foundation is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt charitable organization. The Foundation continues to earn the Better Business Bureau seal of approval as an “Accredited Charity” for meeting all 20 BBB Wise Giving Alliance Standards for national charities.