New Orleans Fireman's FCU - Opportunity Knocks

New Orleans has earned a reputation as one of the most resilient cities in America. However, 20 years after the devastation of Hurricane Katrina, economic disparity has worsened in the community. Many residents struggling with financial hardship need access to resources to improve their lives. Fortunately, New Orleans Firemen’s Federal Credit Union is one such vital resource devoted to helping consumers in need.

As a certified Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI), NOFFCU is focused on helping the underserved and underbanked in communities across Louisiana and Mississippi. An ongoing challenge for NOFFCU is to get the word out about its affordable financial products and services so that more people can take advantage of them. NOFFCU took a giant step toward achieving this goal when it was featured in Opportunity Knocks, an award-winning financial empowerment series that airs on PBS.

“By participating in the series, we had a chance to intentionally show what CDFIs and credit unions can do in helping people rewrite their financial narratives,” said Chief Advocacy & Culture Officer James Hunter, MPA, CCM, CCE, who has been with NOFFCU for six years and is a graduate of CUES CEO Institute. “It was amazing to be able to showcase our compassion, our practical form of coaching, and how we elevate the credit union difference.”

Telling Authentic Stories

Premiering in 2022, Opportunity Knocks highlights the mission of not-for-profit credit unions and CDFIs by telling authentic stories about the people they help. To date, there are two seasons of the series, each of which follows six families across 13 episodes as they deal with major financial challenges.

The featured families have varying types of financial stress in their lives, whether it’s the looming threat of bankruptcy or home foreclosure, the burden of high-interest loans or medical bills, or the daily struggle of putting food on the table for their children. The series chronicles their journeys as they work with a personal financial coach in plotting a path forward for relieving their financial difficulties. Along the way, they meet with a CDFI in their community, which proves to be a pivotal moment in helping them regain their financial footing.

NOFFCU is featured in Season 2, offering assistance to Erika Coleman, an aspiring entrepreneur with hopes of owning a mobile makeup and nail salon. A cancer survivor whose father died on the last day of her treatment, Coleman had fallen behind financially due to medical bills, funeral costs, and other unexpected expenses. At the outset of the series, her car had been repossessed, and she was struggling under the weight of high-interest credit card debt. Coleman’s life turned around after visiting one of NOFFCU’s 11 branches. There, she met with Rachel Smith, head of financial inclusion, who described how NOFFCU could refinance her car and credit card debt into one consolidated loan that would save her over $650 per month.

“Erika’s transformation captured what we accomplish with members on a regular daily basis,” Hunter said. “Many times, members come to us because they have no other financial outlet and don’t know where else to turn. At NOFFCU, they can work with someone like Rachel, who is so down to earth and personable. She can identify where they are on their journey and help them work toward their goals.”

A Simple Mission

Founded by New Orleans firefighters in 1934, NOFFCU is the second oldest federally chartered credit union in the United States. With an asset size of $279 million, NOFFCU serves about 26,000 members in 32 parishes throughout Louisiana and most of Mississippi.

“Our mission is simple,” Hunter said. “We serve members with financial products and services that help improve their financial well-being. We were founded by firemen, but we transformed to being a credit union for other first responders in the community as well.”

Consistent with its mission, NOFFCU recently completed a merger with Total Community Action Federal Credit Union, affiliated with Total Community Action, a local nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering individuals and families toward self-sufficiency. TCA provides such essential services as rental and utility assistance, affordable childcare, financial education, and tax assistance via the IRS Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program. With the recent opening of the TCA Financial Empowerment Center, Powered by New Orleans Firemen’s Federal Credit Union, NOFFCU has deepened its commitment to these services.

“This whole pot of gumbo is flavored for the people that we work with in this environment,” Hunter said. “It’s expensive for consumers to be underserved or under-resourced. If we can inject equity and opportunity for these individuals, it will help them transform their narratives and improve their lives.”

NOFFCU was able to share its objectives for financial equity by participating in Opportunity Knocks. NOFFCU learned about the series through Michael Beall, Chief Experience Officer at CU Strategic Planning, a CDFI consultancy that has obtained over $1 billion in CDFI awards for credit unions. The creator of Opportunity Knocks is CU Strategic Planning’s founder, Jamie Strayer, who facilitated the sale of the consultancy to Callahan & Associates, a firm that fosters collaboration among credit unions through data and peer sharing.

“CU Strategic Planning reached out to us after the Season 1 iteration of Opportunity Knocks,” Hunter reported. “They mentioned they were getting ready to launch Season 2 and were looking for credit unions in Louisiana that could illustrate how CDFIs can impact a member’s narrative through financial coaching.”

The NOFFCU executive team and board agreed that it would be in the credit union’s best interest to participate. “We pride ourselves on our passion for advocacy and our ability to serve our members by meeting them where they are,” Hunter said. “We do a lot of great work, but we don’t always do a great job in telling our story, and we felt that this would be a way to have someone else tell our story more effectively than we could do on our own.”

Opportunity Knocks tells NOFFCU’s story and that of other CDFIs in the most engaging way possible—by depicting the impact they have on members’ lives. Over the 13 episodes, viewers get to know the families—their hopes, their fears, their challenges, their aspirations—and it’s inspiring to see how working with a CDFI can have such a profound impact. Coleman’s reaction was indicative of other families in the show about their encounters with CDFIs.

“New Orleans Firemen’s Federal Credit Union—I feel like they pretty much saved my life,” Coleman said in an on-camera interview. “I feel like a weight is lifted off me. I can get back on track now. I’m getting my car back, and I’m going to get to build my credit up, so I’m excited about that.”

The effectiveness of the Opportunity Knocks series was validated by the fact that the series received international and national awards across two seasons. Among these honors, the series won an American Reality Television Award for “Best Feel-Good Show,” prevailing over such hit shows as The Voice, Shark Tank, and The Golden Bachelor. When accepting the award, Strayer noted, “I think the American public is ready for a show that makes a difference in people’s lives.” Opportunity Knocks also won Anthem Awards for each of its two seasons as validation of the series’ social and global impact.

Hunter contends that it is the storytelling that has brought such great recognition to the series, and he is pleased that NOFFCU could be part of such an engaging narrative. “Storytelling is powerful and essential,” he said. “We learned that showcasing vulnerability in our members’ stories has helped us make deeper impact in our communities because the stories resonate so strongly with others who realize the people they are watching could easily be them.”

Highlighting Essential Leadership Skills

NOFFCU demonstrated several core leadership skills during its participation in Opportunity Knocks, including a dedication to service leadership and the ability to provide innovative and creative solutions to support its members. The series also showed NOFFCU’s empathy, as illustrated by Smith’s interactions with Coleman. Smith didn’t make Coleman feel guilty because she had made a few unwise purchases. Instead, she expressed understanding of how unexpected life events, such as health issues or the need to support ailing parents, can cause consumers like Coleman to fall behind.

“There are thousands of member stories similar to Erika’s,” Hunter said. “People make mistakes, but that shouldn’t be detrimental to their whole existence. By addressing those mistakes, we can help them do better going forward. Sometimes, you have to have brutally honest conversations about what got them into this position so that they don’t repeat the detrimental behavior.”

As Opportunity Knocks depicts, consumers who are struggling financially often fall prey to predatory lenders and other high-interest loan providers. They often feel embarrassed by their financial difficulties and reluctant to reach out to new financial institutions for fear of adding to their woes. Fortunately, stories like Coleman’s and those of the other families provide hope that there are financial outlets that value people over profits.

“Opportunity Knocks uses the behavioral design of reality television to help viewers overcome their shame and distrust of financial institutions to engage with CDFIs, not-for-profit credit unions, and nonprofits,” Strayer said.

Furthering this objective, the show’s nonprofit project, The Opportunity Initiative, leverages scenes from the series that depict compassionate service like Smith’s in its OPPORTUNITY HUB. Access to the hub is provided to donors of the project, including not-for-profit credit unions, CDFIs, and foundations supporting The Opportunity Initiative.

Part of a People Culture

As the scenes in the series illustrate, consumers benefit greatly from the knowledgeable staff that is found at CDFIs. At NOFFCU, it was clear that Coleman was in good hands working with Smith, who is a Certified Credit Union Financial Counselor (CCUFC). More than half of the 100-plus employees at NOFFCU have the CCUFC designation, offered through America’s Credit Unions. NOFFCU has invested in the CCUFC certification program for its employees so that they can be more effective in offering members relevant, expert advice.

“It’s part of our effort to create a people culture within our credit union,” Hunter reported. “It enhances the opportunity for our employees to have a sense of pride in what they do. They’re making a difference, not only for our members but also for themselves.”

Working with members requires emotional intelligence, which Hunter described as the ability to recognize what is happening with people, even when it is not readily visible on the surface. “We put the member first in everything we do,” he said. “We understand the struggle, and we also understand that it’s not always what’s in front of you. You may have to peel back the layers to realize what’s going on. This helps us find ways to work with members and find creative solutions for them.”

Such collaboration is the key to helping members learn financial habits that will enable them to bounce back from their financial adversities. “Being from the great state of Louisiana, we are resilient,” Hunter said. “We know the best way to help members is to give them a hand up instead of a handout.”

A Red-Carpet Event

NOFFCU has promoted its involvement in Opportunity Knocks in several ways. To build excitement for the series, the credit union hosted a premiere at a local theater, attended by members, staff, board members, community leaders, and Coleman herself. “We had a red-carpet event that was similar to the Oscars,” Hunter said. “We had popcorn and snacks, so it was just like being at the movies. It was a way to share fellowship and celebrate something that we feel was very successful.”

NOFFCU used Facebook, YouTube, and other social media outlets to further highlight its involvement in the series. The feedback from the community has been positive, even more than a year after the program first aired.

“I call it the gift that keeps on giving,” Hunter said. “It’s something that I think will still be relevant five years from now as people look at this as a reminder of what New Orleans Firemen’s Federal Credit Union can do for them.”

Following its participation in Opportunity Knocks, NOFFCU took advantage of another platform to tell its story. The credit union teamed up with award-winning production company Bond Studio with the support of Beneficial State Foundation, an organization dedicated to advancing financial justice, Bond Studio created a branded documentary highlighting NOFFCU’s mission to serve the underserved and bring financial stability to underbanked communities. The documentary was honored with two Telly Awards in the Social Impact and Banking & Financial Institutions categories.

Both Opportunity Knocks and the documentary helped elevate NOFFCU’s leadership status in financial inclusion. “At conferences across America, individuals are looking at us as an authority on financial inclusion,” Hunter said. “I believe we have an edge because it’s something we really invest in. There aren’t many credit unions that have a whole financial inclusion department like we do. We believe it’s an approach that other credit unions can replicate without a major cost investment.”

Hunter further believes it’s important for credit unions to work together, pooling their resources to advance the causes of financial equity and inclusion. “Credit unions were founded on the principle of cooperation among cooperatives,” he said. “We’re here to help each other achieve the end goal of helping our members. That effort involves everyone.”

A Lifeline for Members

Hunter commended Opportunity Knocks for educating consumers about value of CDFIs and credit unions. “It reignites pride in credit unions and what we do,” he said. “We feel we can wear that as a badge of honor.”

Certainly, the families in Opportunity Knocks found the value in not-for-profit credit unions and CDFIs. Not many of them were even aware that CDFIs existed, but it was their local CDFI that came to their rescue with low-interest loans, mortgage assistance programs, and other products that saved them hundreds or even thousands of dollars per month.

“I think it reminded America that credit unions are members’ lifelines,” Hunter said. “We provide a bridge for those who are trying to get from where they are to where they want to be. Through Opportunity Knocks, we helped bring awareness of what CDFIs and credit unions do. We were able to define what financial help looks like for working families.”

Credit unions interested in accessing The Opportunity Hub should email Jamie Chandler, Chief Program Officer, The Opportunity Initiative, at jamie.chandler@opportunityinitiatives.org.

Based in Missouri, Diane Franklin is a longtime contributor to CU Management.