The organizing committee of the 2010 National Interagency Community Reinvestment Conference invites nominations for the 2010 Community Reinvestment Awards. The Community Reinvestment Awards recognize and honor the work of financial institutions that are advancing innovative solutions to the challenges facing lower-income communities.

The year’s awards will focus on innovations in financial products and financial education. The recent subprime crisis, as well as the continued proliferation of alternative financial products such as check cashing and payday lending, suggests that more needs to be done to expand access to responsible financial products and effective financial education. Ensuring that people are equipped with the skills, knowledge and appropriate products to make informed decisions that contribute to their financial well-being is a key component of an inclusive economic recovery. 

Financial institutions are invited to submit nominations that detail their innovation—be it a product, financial education program, or a service—for the award. Nonprofits, community development finance institutions, local government agencies and community development corporations may also submit entries for nomination on behalf of their partnering financial insitution(s) or collaborative.A panel of nine judges will evaluate and vote on the submissions. Three awards will be given: 1) Innovation in Financial Education Delivery, 2) Collaborative Approaches to Expanding Access to Financial Services, 3) Product Innovation.

Nominations will be judged on three criteria:

• Innovation: How is the initiative new or different? How does it meet the needs of lower-income and underserved consumers?
• Effective use of partnerships: How does the initiative collaborate across a group of stakeholders?
• Impact: What has been the impact of this initiative on lower-income families and/or communities?

To submit a nomination, please send an email with a description of the project (750 words or less) answering the questions above tocra.awards@sf.frb.org by January 11, 2010. Please also provide your detailed contact information on the submission.

Recipients of the award will be recognized at a special awards luncheon at the 2010 National Community Reinvestment Conference, to be held in New Orleans, Louisiana, March 14-17, 2010. Winning financial institutions will receive three (3) free conference registrations which they can use for their staff or to sponsor representatives from partnering nonprofits.

For questions about the awards or the nomination process, please email cra.awards@sf.frb.org.

For more information about the conference, visit http://www.frbsf.org/community/conference2010.html.

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