A cooperative community park

Isolation in Los Alamos, NM, has prompted an alliance of local cooperatives to provide a gathering space for people craving connection.

Collaboration is an exceptional cooperative advantage. What one credit union cannot do alone, several working together can accomplish.

For example, a planned cooperative community park adjacent to the new head office of Los Alamos Schools Credit Union ($23.7M, Los Alamos, NM) sprung from seeds planted almost a decade ago.

In 2012, the Net Promoter Score derived from the member surveys of Del Norte Credit Union ($849.3M, Los Alamos, NM) showed they believed their credit union’s cooperative structure mattered. “Promoters” there valued service and believed the credit union was locally owned — a cooperative not a bank. DNCU used that finding to differentiate itself. It joined forces with three local co-ops — Little Forest PlayschoolLos Alamos Cooperative Market, and Bathtub Row Brewery Co-op — as well as two credit unions — Zia ($176.3M, Los Alamos, NM) and LASCU — to offer support, invest in their communities, serve their members, and educate the public about the cooperative difference.

 

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