Focus for Ithaca co-ops on community, creating positive change/Where Local Cash is Kept

Since the 1970s, Alternatives Federal Credit Union has been a breeding grounds for local cash flow. Alternatives was started in the 1970s by a group of small business owners who couldn't get financial support from the already-established banking system. Believing in the strength and value of local businesses, they created a Community Development Credit Union to cater specifically to low-income communities.

The mission at Alternatives, said CEO Tristram Coffin, is to "build wealth and create economic support for under-served groups, assisting and empowering some of the most vulnerable people in our community to be able to achieve their dreams." Currently boasting a membership of 9,600 local and national individuals, AFCU is "specifically tailored to meet the needs of underserved groups," said Coffin, offering loans of as much as $25,000 to women and minority-owned businesses and "educational programs to help people migrate along a path toward economic self-sufficiency."

In achieving this mission, Alternatives works with several other community groups. Nine Tompkins County schools, for example, currently participate in the Student Credit Union, which gives young people under the age of 19 the opportunity to manage their own money. Starting as early as elementary school, students can open accounts for a minimal fee and begin to save money and receive a financial education.