Opportunity Knock$: TV Series on PBS Highlights CDFIs

Opportunity Knock$: TV Series on PBS Highlights CDFIs

The Telly Award-winning Opportunity Knock$ consistently showcases the transformative impact of Community Development Finance Institutions (CDFIs) on families and communities nationwide. The unscripted 'reality' television series follows families from financial hardship to empowerment.

While Season Two is being edited for broadcast in May 2024, a look back at Season One gives insight into why the profound work of CDFIs is featured in the series.

Not-for-profit Financial Partners Credit Union had one of the most dramatic effects on a family featured in the series. The certified CDFI provides services and loans to those financially excluded by other mainstream financial institutions. Through its CDFI certification, the credit union offers specialized products like predatory loan elimination and debt consolidation to families with lower credit scores. These products were instrumental in the Season One story of James and Fiona Emley.

Ana Fuentes, an empathetic and strategic financial counselor at Financial Partners, played a crucial role in the Emleys' journey. As Fiona emotionally recounted the path and pain of accruing $60,000 in high-interest debt while trying to have a baby through IVF treatment, Ana offered a hug. She then went to work empowering James and Fiona to overcome the challenges of predatory loans by escaping them. The family did not know that refinancing the large debt across multiple loans was an option. This intervention led to transformative results: the Emleys saved $1,000 a month. The Emleys report that the stress relief has improved their health. They are now saving to purchase their first home, which they did not think was possible.

Not all CDFIs are credit unions. Financial Partners Credit Union operates with a distinct not-for-profit, cooperative focus. This unique structure places members' well-being at its core, emphasizing consumer ownership over profit margins for wealthy stockholders. The not-for-profit has embedded itself in the community as a provider of services to working-class people, and partners with other non-profits to create economic opportunities.

Through its compelling storytelling, Opportunity Knock$ highlights the indispensable role of CDFIs like Financial Partners Credit Union. These institutions say "yes" when others say "no". They instill hope, remove shame, and work with other nonprofits to create opportunities for all, democratizing finance.

Viewers inspired by the Emleys' success can replicate the result using The Opportunity Finder, the show's online companion software. This powerful tool connects viewers with over 20,000 nonprofits, CDFIs, and not-for-profit credit unions across the nation.

Opportunity Knock$ is funded by grants from The National Council for Financial Opportunities, BALANCE , and Callahan & Associates, Inc.


Watch Opportunity Knock$ on PBS or online.

Learn More about CDFIs.

Register your non-profit, CDFI, or not-for-profit credit union to appear in The Opportunity Finder.


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