America's Christian Credit Union

America's Christian Credit Union is a non-profit lender which was founded in 2009, and has assisted adoptive parents in financing over 1,200 adoptions since that time. ACCU defines their mission as the following: "To Reach, Serve and Teach."

Originally, ACCU was founded as the Nazarene Ministers' Credit Union in 1958, with an initial reserve of $135. Their aid was at first limited within California, but the company soon began to progress and open their credit avenues to other religions and groups of people.

Eventually, branching out from a network of exclusively Nazarenes to a network of most Christian religions led to the ACCU needing to extend their services beyond California, and they're now operating on a national level.

ACCU bases most of their philosophies and company policies on biblical teachings, such as the law of the harvest as presented in Galatians 6. Their web page states they have had great success operating under these principles.

Loan Information

ACCU has a specialized loan variety specific to adoption, offering flexible options for adoptive parents. They can be used for domestic or international adoptions, including travel costs for parents and adoptive children.

ACCU's loan options include a basic adoption loan and an adoption equity loan, offering borrowers two alternatives based on their credit and budgeting situations.

Adoption Loans

ACCU offers a basic adoption loan option for applicants with better credit ratings.

Interest is slightly higher on these loans, due to the fact that they fall under the category of "unsecured loans," or loans with no direct collateral that operate based entirely on the applicant's credit score. Because that kind of loan is more risky for lenders, interest is typically higher, with a minimum APR of 8.40%.

Loans can total as much as $50,000, and can thereby be used to consolidate all adoption expenses into one single loan.

While the length of the loan can extend up to 84 months, this will increase the total amount repaid due to interest rates. Depending on how long you want to shoulder the loan and how large of a payment you can consistently handle every month, you can evaluate what length of time will be most appropriate for your financial situation.

Adoption Equity Loans

ACCU's equity loans offer a longer-term, secured loan option to car or home owners, who can use their property as collateral for the loan to get a lower interest rate and potentially lower monthly payments.

The loans can total as much as 80% of a home's total value or 100% of a vehicle's value. Rates and payment plans are comparable to ACCU's typical adoption loans, but with the added security of collateral for lenders and consequently lower rates for borrowers.

Adoption Grant Visas

ACCU hosts a program of Visa cards that automatically donate a portion of purchases to adoption grants for families in need of financial aid to finance their adoption.

The whole point of these cards is to have a convenient way to give aid to adoptive families. The cards have a lowest APR of about 10.90%, and they have no annual fee.

Adoption Grants

The adoption grants ACCU offers are relatively small at $500 across the board. They require all the standard paperwork such as home study certificates and, in their case, ecclesiastical endorsement from a pastor or church leader.

Applicants are asked to send a two-to-three minute video detailing their adoption situation. The application will then be considered by ACCU for approval.