Credit Union Case Studies
Credit Unions’ Role
in New York’s Economy
Credit unions have less than two percent of
the financial market in New York but directly and indirectly
contribute more than $4 billion to the state’s economy,
according to a study commissioned by the New York Credit Union
League.
According to the study, unveiled in June, credit
unions directly account for 9,000 jobs, $305 million in taxable
wages, and $2.5 billion in gross state product. Add to those
numbers the indirect economic contributions made from firms
that supply products and services to credit unions and the
totals rise to 30,000 jobs, $610 million in taxable wages
and $4.5 billion in gross state product.
“With credit
unions in the marketplace, consumers win, whether they’re
members or not,” said Brian P. O’Connor, the study’s
author and an independent economist with the New Jersey-based
Ridgewood Economic Associates. “More New Yorkers can
afford to invest in homes, cars and other assets that increase
their quality of life—pumping new life into a lagging
economy.” |
More than 85 million consumers are members
of the nation’s 9,750 credit unions. They are democratically
owned and controlled institutions based on a “people helping
people” principle. That principle extends beyond financial
services, however. Credit union employees and members are active
volunteers in their community. They contribute time and money to
charities like the Children’s Miracle Network, Habitat for
Humanity and the National Child Identification Program. As businesses,
credit unions also contribute thousands of jobs to the community
while they improve financial education and promote homeownership.
Here is a sampling of how credit unions assist their communities.
Caring for the Community
Partnership To Serve Hispanics,
Washington, D.C. Three Washington-area credit unions joined forces
to offer better financial services to the area’s large Central
American population. The District Government Employees Federal Credit
Union, Organization of American States Staff Federal Credit Union,
and IDB-IIC Federal Credit Union have formed a service organization
to provide check cashing, money transfer and other services aimed
specifically at Latino immigrants. These efforts were highlighted
in the Washington Post.
Maine Credit Union
League, Westbrook, Maine. The Maine Credit Union League
fights hunger in a big way. An annual fundraising drive collected
$209,000 in 2004 for hunger-oriented community programs.
John Deere Community Credit Union,
Waterloo, Iowa. Diversity is the issue for John Deere Community
Credit Union. It has awarded diversity grants since 1999 and expects
to present $25,000 in grants this year. Applicants are non-profit
organizations that support diversity efforts in the community. Among
last year’s grantees was the James & Meryl Hearst Center
for a Cinco de Mayo Celebration.
New York City Financial Network Action
Consortium, New York, New York. The New York City Financial
Network Action Consortium is a collaboration between four low-income
community development credit unions, formed to help low-income New
Yorkers cope with their tax forms. It also makes sure they receive
all the tax benefits they are entitled to. In only its second year,
the project prepared 1,500 returns and triggered $2.5 million in
Earned Income Tax Credit refunds that otherwise would have gone
unclaimed. The four credit unions are Bethex FederalCredit Union,
Lower East Side People’s Federal Credit Union, Union Settlement
Federal Credit Union and Homesteaders Federal Credit Union.
GTE Federal Credit Union and Suncoast
Schools Credit Union, Tampa, Florida. The two credit unions
pledged a dollar-for-dollar match for a National Credit Union Foundation
grant to provide homeownership opportunities to first-time homebuyers.
The project will foster affordable mortgage lending, homeownership
counseling, small business loans and construction financing for
community development projects.
Washington State Employees Credit Union
and Boeing Employees Credit Union, Olympia, Washington.
A food co-op and the two credit unions joined forces to create Thurston
Union of Low Income People Credit Union, the only credit union in
the state specifically serving low-income members. The credit union
is housed in the food co-op’s eastside store. Washington State
Employees Credit Union pledged $100,000 in deposits, while Boeing
Employees Credit Union provided an ATM, along with financial and
human resources help.
Credit Union West, Phoenix,
Arizona. The credit union teamed with Habitat for Humanity to sponsor
five hours of personal financial planning for eight families that
qualified as Habitat for Humanity homeowners. The training, performed
by a financial education non-profit, covered topics including: setting
goals, creating a personal financial plan, developing a budget,
the need for savings, the responsible use of credit, purchasing
a vehicle and avoiding financial pitfalls. Habitat families pay
for their home through “sweat equity hours” and must
attend classes in home maintenance, home finance, and home ownership.
Horizons, Sidney, Visions and GHS Federal
Credit Unions, Endicott, New York. Four area credit unions
held a job fair at Visions Federal Credit Union offices for 170
employees of the local BSB Bancorp bank who lost their jobs in a
merger with Partners Trust Financial Group of Utica, N.Y. A newspaper
ad announcing the fair read, “Is your bank being sold? Are
jobs going out of town or is your position one of 100s being eliminated?
Your local community credit unions would like to help.”
Committed to Children
Credit unions recognized the negative impact
on the American economy due to the lack of financial education in
our nation’s schools. CUNA established a
partnership with the National Endowment for Financial Education
in support of youth financial education in high schools. Today,
as the direct result of CUNA, league and credit union involvement,
the NEFE program has reached hundreds of thousands of students in
nearly 1,000 high schools. Credit unions also joined forces with
the Jump$tart Coalition for Financial Literacy to fund and operate
financial education programs for America’s children. CUNA’s
National Youth Involvement Board is another link to youth education
resources and ideas that encourage excitement for financial literacy.
Children’s Miracle Network’s
Credit Unions for Kids is the charity of choice for America’s
credit union movement. Through an extensive and diverse nationwide
effort of America’s credit unions, Credit Unions for Kids
raises funds through community activities to benefit 170 Children’s
Miracle Network affiliated children’s hospitals serving 14
million kids. Profits from the annual Credit Union Cherry Blossom
10-Mile Run support children’s hospitals through the Children’s
Miracle Network.
CUNA, leagues and credit unions
are partners with the National Child Identification Program, the
largest child identification effort ever conducted. Since 1997,
more than 14 million ID kits have been distributed. The inkless
fingerprint kits allow parents to take and store a child’s
fingerprints in their own home. The FBI, has called the National
Child Identification Program’s I.D. kits “an unprecedented
addition to our current programs and a wonderful benefit to all
communities throughout the nation.” Credit unions make the
kits available to their 85 million members. The partnership is a
natural extension of the credit union movement’s dedication
to community involvement.
Bank-at-School Programs. A
growing number of credit unions now have branches in schools. Among
them:
Teachers Federal Credit Union
in Farmingville, New York, which is expanding from one to three
area high schools. To date, about 600 students have opened accounts.
Tower Credit Union in Wausau,
Wis., which will open a branch in Wausau West High School this
fall for students and faculty. The branch, an outgrowth of the
school’s long-standing relationship with the credit union,
will be run by students and managed by credit union employees.
State Department Federal Credit Union
in Alexandria, Va., which sponsors a student-run branch in an
elementary school. So far, nearly 350 students at Jefferson-Houston
School for Arts and Academics have opened accounts. Volunteers
from the credit union also teach financial literacy to the school’s
first and second graders.
Desert Schools Federal Credit Union,
Phoenix, Arizona. When a February 2004 fire caused extensive damage
to a local elementary school, Desert Schools Federal Credit Union
donated $2,500 in textbooks, library books and school supplies to
the rebuilding effort.
Syracuse Fire Department Federal Credit
Union has held a kids carnival that attracts approximately
250 youngsters. Attendees ride ponies, play games and learn fire
racuse Fire Department Federal Credit Union, Syracuse, N.Y. For
the past five yeprevention first hand. The event is free but the
credit union collected donations for the burn unit at the local
hospital.
Charlotte Metro Credit Union,
Charlotte, North Carolina. Charlotte Metro Credit Union donated
$13,000 to Victory Junction Gang Camp, a summer camp for handicapped
children. The credit union pledged $10 for the camp for every checking
account opened in the fall of 2003. Funds were also raised with
raffles, bake sales, and other events.
Commonwealth Credit Union,
Frankfort, Kentucky. The credit union does a fundraiser for school
children whose families cannot afford school supplies. It encourages
members to purchase supplies and drop them in bright yellow boxes
set up in its branch lobbies and at Wal-Mart. The items are delivered
to the local board of education for redistribution to those in need.
Pennsylvania State Employees Credit
Union, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. More than 70 employees
of Pennsylvania State Employees Credit Union and their family and
friends helped run a street fair to benefit the Pennsylvania Court
Appointed Special Advocate for Children. The credit union also sponsored
a celebrity 3.5K road race. The two events raised $10,000 for the
charity.
Idahy Federal Credit Union,
Boise, Idaho. Since 1999, the credit union has provided stuffed
teddy bears for Idaho State Police to carry in their cruisers. Troopers
use the bears when they encounter a child in distress. The program
has expanded to include the Ada County Paramedics, and the Boise
and Garden City police.
Star USA Federal Credit Union,
Charleston, West Virginia. Star USA Federal Credit Union hosted
a Project Kid Care Photo ID event to provide parents with personal
safety IDs in case their child ever is missing. The project was
developed nationally by Polaroid Corporation and The National Center
for Missing and Exploited Children.
Professional Federal Credit Union,
Fort Wayne, Indiana. Professional Federal Credit Union made a $24,000
donation to Riley Hospital for Children in Indianapolis. The contribution
was collected during the month-long statewide Credit Union for Kids
campaign.
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