RANTOUL – Community Plus Federal Credit Union has received a $450,000 federal loan and plans to use it to make auto and "credit-builder" loans in Champaign, Ford and Piatt counties.

The credit union, which has offices in Champaign and Rantoul, qualified for the loan after being certified by the U.S. Treasury Department as a Community Development Financial Institution.

That designation made Community Plus eligible for special federal loans and grants.

Community Plus is only the third credit union in Illinois to qualify for the designation and one of 41 financial institutions statewide with that status.

Most of the $450,000 has been targeted for auto loans that can help low-income people get to and from work, said Community Plus President Mike Daugherty.

The remainder has been targeted for "credit-builder" loans – typically, $500 to $1,000 loans that help people build up their creditworthiness so they can eventually qualify for larger loans.

Daugherty said he's confident the full $450,000 will be loaned out by the end of 2011. Last year, the credit union made 516 loans totaling $4.9 million.

"We had good loan growth through 2010, and that's continuing into 2011," he said.

Daugherty said his credit union's mission is to help serve the financially underserved – people with low to moderate incomes, who are often dependent on Supplemental Security Income or disability checks.

In February 2010, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner unveiled the Community Development Capital Initiative, which made available federal loans and grants to help serve target markets.

The credit union applied to become a Community Development Financial Institution in April 2010, and after being certified, received a $450,000 loan for seven years to be paid back at 2 percent interest.

Community Plus, which has 3,200 members, was established in 1943 in Rantoul. Many of its early members were individuals and families stationed at Chanute Air Force Base. But when the base closed, the village changed.

"Without the additional base population, businesses closed or moved to other communities," the credit union stated in a press release. "The housing market suffered, as sales were slow and prices depressed and rental properties went begging.

"New residents of Rantoul now included low-income families from larger cities, attracted by the depressed housing market and the opportunity to get away from the city," the release said. "In many instances, they brought with them a lack of financial knowledge or ability to manage money."

So Community Plus worked with churches, social service agencies and other organizations to provide financial education and services. It offered:

– A checking account management course, with three-hour sessions on Saturdays to teach people how to keep and balance a checkbook.

– A school financial planning program that helps students create a budget as well as savings and investment plans.

– "EZCash" check-cashing service, which allows people without accounts to cash payroll or government checks for less than what currency exchanges and payday-loan places charge.

– The NEW X 2 checking account program, designed as a "second chance" for people denied checking accounts by other financial institutions. It requires a $50 startup and attendance in the checking account management program.