The Credit Union Impact: How RI AnchorHome Helped More Rhode Islanders Achieve Homeownership

For more than 111 years, Navigant Credit Union has served Rhode Island communities guided by the credit union philosophy of “people helping people.”

While we offer many of the same financial services as traditional financial institutions, our mission is fundamentally rooted in local connection, community investment, and helping our neighbors succeed. That local focus matters—its what drives our business and informs how we support our members. One such example is helping our members address housing affordability.

For many first-time homebuyers looking to tackle today’s housing market, the dream of owning a home can feel increasingly out of reach. Rising home prices, elevated interest rates, down payment requirements, and added costs like private mortgage insurance have created barriers that are difficult for working families and young professionals to overcome. In Rhode Island, where housing affordability continues to be a major concern, solving that challenge requires collaboration between community institutions, financial organizations, and state leadership.That’s exactly why the RI AnchorHome program has been so important.

Launched by the Rhode Island Office of the General Treasurer in partnership with participating local financial institutions like Navigant Credit Union, RI AnchorHome is a program designed to expand access to affordable homeownership opportunities for first-time buyers. Navigant Credit Union is proud to have worked alongside Rhode Island General Treasurer James Diossa and his office from the earliest stages of the program’s development, helping shape a model that could deliver meaningful, long-term impact for Rhode Islanders. The results have already been extraordinary.

In less than six months, RI AnchorHome has helped nearly 60 Rhode Island families purchase their first homes, totaling more than $21 million in home financing. Due to the success of the initiative, the state investment commission unanimously approved expanding the program to $80 million in funding for its second phase. But the true value of a program like RI AnchorHome is not measured simply in dollars. It’s the impact felt through the lives changed, families strengthened, and communities built through homeownership.

Turning community investment into opportunity

One of the most innovative aspects of RI AnchorHome is its structure. Rather than directly issuing loans, the program leverages state deposits in partnership with local lenders like Navigant Credit Union. When a qualifying first-time homebuyer is approved for a mortgage through a participating institution, the state deposits matching funds into that same financial institution. This allows lenders to offer more affordable mortgage products while maintaining responsible lending practices. The program includes several features specifically designed to remove barriers for first-time buyers, including:

• 30-year fixed-rate mortgages
• Starting interest rates as low as 3.99%, subject to market conditions
• No private mortgage insurance (PMI)
• Support for down payment and closing cost assistance
• Mandatory homeownership counseling to support long-term financial success

Taken together, these elements create a pathway that is not only more affordable, but more sustainable for buyers entering the market for the first time. That sustainability is critical. Homeownership should not simply be about helping someone purchase a house today—it should be about helping them build financial security in the long-term.

At Navigant, we see firsthand how homeownership can transform financial futures. Owning a home allows families to build equity, establish roots in their communities, and create opportunities for future generations. For many Rhode Islanders, purchasing a first home is one of the most important financial milestones of their lives. Programs like RI AnchorHome help ensure that opportunity remains accessible.

A real Rhode Island story

The impact of RI AnchorHome becomes even more meaningful when viewed through the experiences of the people it has helped. One of the program’s early participants was Cheyanne McLachlan, a nurse and first-generation homebuyer who achieved homeownership through RI AnchorHome with support from Navigant Credit Union.

Cheyanne’s story is powerful because it reflects what so many Rhode Islanders are working toward. As she shared during the announcement for the second round of the program’s funding, she is the first in her family to graduate high school, the first to earn a college degree, and now the first to own a home. For her, homeownership represents far more than a financial transaction. It represents stability, opportunity, and the ability to create generational wealth for her future family. Stories like Cheyanne’s remind us why programs like RI AnchorHome, supported by community-focused institutions like Navigant Credit Union, matter so much.

Behind every mortgage application is a person or family hoping to build a better future. Sometimes all they need is a little additional support, flexibility, or guidance to make that future possible. Credit unions like Navigant Credit Union are uniquely positioned to provide that kind of relationship-driven service because we are deeply connected to the communities we serve.

At Navigant Credit Union, our lending teams understand Rhode Island because we live and work here too. We understand the challenges local families are facing because they are our neighbors, our friends, and our communities. That local perspective helped make RI AnchorHome successful from the beginning. By bringing together state leadership and community-focused financial institutions, the program created a collaborative model centered the real needs of people.

The impact of community and credit union partnerships

The success of RI AnchorHome demonstrates what is possible when public and private sectors work together with a shared purpose. State representatives, participating lenders, and community partners all recognized the same urgent issue: too many Rhode Islanders were struggling to access affordable pathways to homeownership. Instead of treating that challenge as unsolvable, they came together to create an innovative and practical solution.

As someone who has worked in lending for many years, I believe that collaboration is essential to addressing today’s housing challenges. No single institution can solve affordability issues alone. But when state leaders and community organizations align around a common goal, we can create programs that make a real difference. RI AnchorHome is proof of that.

Navigant Credit Union is proud to be part of this initiative and we are equally proud to continue supporting its next phase. More importantly, we are proud of the Rhode Islanders who are now able to pursue homeownership because of it. At its core, this program reflects the very best of what community-focused financial institutions like credit unions strive to achieve: not simply providing financial products, but helping people build stronger futures.

That has been Navigant’s mission for more than a century, and it remains our commitment moving forward.

The information reported in this document, financial and otherwise, should not be construed as either legal or investment advice, nor does it represent the views of ACUMA, its Board of Directors, its staff or its members. The author presents information current at the time of publication and is designed to educate ACUMA members and others interested in the credit union mortgage lending industry.