Tri-County Credit Union, of Ahoskie. North Carolina, serves four low income, predominately African American counties in rural northeastern North Carolina. The Awardee provides financial services to a population with a median income significantly below the median for the state. Tri-County Credit Union emphasizes asset building and small business and mortgage lending. This CDFI"s goals are to increase economic development loans, provide share draft accounts, implement an Individual Development Account program, expand financial counseling, develop a satellite branch, and increase its total shares. In 1996, total lending increased 23 percent to $4.9 million.