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Points of View: Insight & Perspective

Expertise in Financing to Build Stronger Communities

With our breadth of experience, Self-Help is a solid resource on a wide range of financing and policy issues. We’re happy to share expertise and to help find additional resources on topics such as:

Leadership Profiles

Socially Responsible Investing

Ebony Perkins

Ebony Perkins, Investor and Community Relations Manager

Ebony Perkins is a dedicated, solution-oriented social entrepreneur whose heartbeat is community. She has a demonstrated ability of working with investors and philanthropists to help them make smart and strategic decisions. As Self-Help's Investor & Community Relations Manager, Ebony helps groups and individuals invest funds in a socially responsible financial institution that supports communities of all kinds, especially those underserved by conventional lenders. Before that role, she served as the Donor Relations Manager at Central Carolina Community Foundation where she managed a system to engage and educate over 400 individuals and groups to help them achieve their charitable goals.

Ebony’s commitment to community investing is evident by her service and contributions to Women In Philanthropy, Durham Center for Senior Life, and the University of North Carolina MPA Alumni Board. Ebony was also recognized on the SRI Conference's inaugural 30 Under 30 List.

Ebony holds a Master of Public Administration from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a Bachelor of Science in Marketing from Claflin University as a summa cum laude graduate. She also has an Executive Certificate in Financial Planning from Duke University.

Nuray Ozbay

Nuray Ozbay, Policy and Impact Investment Associate

Nuray Ozbay leads Self Help’s efforts to cultivate mission-supportive depositors and impact investors within and beyond Self-Help’s California footprint. As a global movement and relationship builder, Nuray loves working with change-makers across non-profit, corporate, and public sectors. Her expertise is in intersectional gender equality, global civil society activism, social justice, and ESG investing. Nuray currently serves as a Board Director at the UN Women San Francisco Chapter and a National Expert on Violence Against Women at the European Women’s Lobby, the largest umbrella organization of women’s associations across Europe. Before joining Self-Help, Nuray spent 11 years in the social impact sector as a researcher, consultant, and non-profit leader across Turkey and Europe, working on issues including but not limited to immigration, women’s access to economy, financial literacy & inclusion, entrepreneurship, and care economy.

Kimberly Jones

Kimberly Jones, Investment Associate

 

 

Kimberly's professional career spans both the nonprofit and community development financial services sectors, with expansive senior leadership roles in arts management; business and resource development; community relations; and corporate philanthropy. Currently, she's Self-Help's Investor Relations Manager, where she helps individuals and institutions align their banking and investments with their mission, vision, and values. Kimberly has held leadership positions that advanced the missions of creative organizations and community development financial institutions seeking to make a difference in communities in their footprint. She has been a founding board member of mission driven organizations that supported the growth and development of young artists, creatives, and professionals in the nonprofit sector.

In 2015, Kimberly was selected to be a PLACES Fellow with The Funders Network, where she explored the role of philanthropy through an equity lens in low to moderate income communities. She has served as a grant/award reviewer for organizations that championed organizational excellence, community development, and environmental sustainability. Kimberly has a BA in Political Science from the University of Minnesota-Morris and an MA in Arts, Entertainment, and Media Management from Columbia College Chicago.

Green Economy; Sustainable Society; Investing for the Environment

Melissa Malkin-Weber, Sustainability Director

Melissa has worked across a broad span of hands-on sustainability practices. At Self-Help Credit Union, she integrates the triple bottom line into the organization’s financial products, operations, and buildings portfolio. She led Self-Help to realize over $1.7 million in net present value from initiatives in this sector, including $180,000 energy savings in our own operations. Melissa previously directed the residential energy efficiency and indoor air quality research program at Advanced Energy and worked in industrial pollution prevention at RTI International. She earned her law degree from University of Michigan, and her Master's from UNC’s School of Public Health.

Shondra Tanner, Mortgage Lending

Shondra Owens Tanner brings her extensive experience and commitment to making mortgage loans for low-wealth families to her position as Self-Help's Director of Mortgage Originations, where she oversees all North Carolina home loan origination and new business development.  Shondra's areas of expertise includes buying your first home, mortgage basics (documentation, closing costs, down payments), delinquency and loss mitigation (What is a forbearance and loan modification and what does that do to your credit?)

Features and Commentary

Self-Help Goes Solar


By Staff
  | Sep 10, 2025

bird eye view of one of Self-Help's branches with solar panels on the roof

The benefits of solar panels have long been established — they help you save money and they’re a safer, cleaner source of energy for our communities. Self-Help is dedicated to investing in efficient and sustainable energy because it provides long-term benefits to our business and our communities, which is why we have started the process of adding solar panels to our branches.  

Four of our branches now run on solar-powered energy, with our latest installment at the Wilmington branch in North Carolina. With this most recent installation, we are using this blog post to share why we have installed solar panels, what the benefits are, what the process was like, and how you can also take advantage of the solar tax credits expiring soon. 

Why install solar panels? 

Solar panels are part of Self-Help's larger goal to reduce our carbon footprint. We're carrying out multiple strategies, including adding solar panels to the roofs of our branches. Federal tax credits and recent reductions in the cost of panels and inverters have helped make it even easier to achieve this goal. Wilmington is our fourth branch to host rooftop solar following Stockton and Modesto in California and Old Fort in North Carolina. 

Here are some of the other ways that we’re implementing carbon neutral practices to achieve our goals: 

  • Investments in efficiency for our extensive real estate portfolio, including:
    • Upgrading building lighting to LED
    • Installing efficient HVAC systems
  • Long-term investments in HVAC systems in our large commercial buildings 
  • Installing remote HVAC controls that will help us ensure we are not heating and cooling when buildings are unoccupied 

Solar panels are one piece of a larger plan to make sure we are utilizing cleaner, more efficient sources of energy that keep our communities safer and healthier. 

What are the benefits? 

We expect that solar panels will save our members money over the long term! Self-Help is invested in Wilmington and our other solar-powered branches for the long run. We anticipate that rooftop solar will begin making money for our members in 2039. In the meantime, we have already noticed lower monthly electric bills, and we’re pumping electricity into the grid to benefit our friends and neighbors.   

Rooftop solar is also a powerful symbol of Self-Help’s commitment to our environment and the communities we serve. We can already see that it sparks conversations with our members who drop by the branch, providing a great opportunity to discuss our many great clean energy lending and savings products.   

If you’re interested in learning more about our clean energy loans, talk to your local branch staff or head to our webpage on green loans, including solar, energy saving, and electric vehicle loans. 

What was the process like? 

At Wilmington, the installation was surprisingly quick and painless. Installation took about a week, and the total process took 2-3 weeks to get all the approvals from the local building permit office and utility officials. We were lucky that the process ended up being so fast, and it may take longer depending on the area you’re in. It is estimated that the total length of time for solar panel installation typically averages 2.5 - 4 months. 

The biggest challenge was navigating the commercial direct-pay tax credits as it was a new process for Self-Help and the IRS. Luckily, if you're interested in using tax credits to install solar for your home, the process for applying the residential tax credit is more established and well worth any challenges because the tax credit typically covers up to 30% of the total cost of the project, including installation. Despite any challenges Self-Help faced with our credits, we are grateful to have had the opportunity to take advantage of these savings to help create cleaner communities! 

Solar tax credits are expiring soon! 

At Self-Help, we have already seen the value of installing solar panels at our branches. If you’re considering going solar too, the federal Residential Clean Energy Tax Credit can help you maximize the (already valuable) savings that come with having solar panels. However, due to federal budget changes this tax credit will expire on December 31st, 2025.  

If you’ve been considering adding solar panels and want to take advantage of the federal tax credit, here are some things to keep in mind: 

  • You must have your solar panel system installed by 12/31 to qualify.
  • Solar panel systems take an average of 2.5-4 months to fully install, so you should start the process as soon as possible for the tax credit to apply.
  • The credit equals 30% of the costs, including labor, installation, wiring, etc.
  • The credit is nonrefundable, but excess credit not applied to this year’s taxes can be carried forward to reduce taxes in future years. 

For additional details about this tax credit, visit the IRS website. 

For an overview of all the energy-saving tax credits expiring soon for purchases like electric vehicles and efficient HVAC systems, check out our recent blog post. 

The decision to install solar panels at home is highly personal as you must own your home and there is an upfront cost. Our website contains great information to assist members and potential members considering investments in rooftop solar and other energy efficiency improvements both at home and on the road. If you’re interested in financing your solar panel installation, learn more about our responsible and affordable solar loans and the rest of our green loans. 

At Self-Help, we believe that having access to clean energy sources is a vital component of economic justice as it provides long-term savings and creates healthier and safer environments for communities to thrive. 



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