Let’s Share the Social Good Credit Unions Do

by Robbie Thompson, Credit Union Association of the Dakotas

I have always known credit unions raise money for charities, help people and groups in their communities, are involved, give scholarships and support financial literacy. It seems like every time I walk into a credit union (and I’ve been in a lot of credit unions) there are multiple fundraisers going on. The staffs are wearing buttons or shirts for something they are supporting or selling raffle tickets or paper ribbons or pumpkins for a cure. You can count on seeing pictures of scholarship winners or families supported throughout the lobby. And, of course during the holidays this is even more prominent as credit unions gather toys, pass out turkeys, collect coats, and feed families.

This commitment to giving back is truly built into the DNA of credit unions. In part i’m sure it comes out of the principals of cooperatives we were founded but. While there certainly are good business reasons for being involved in such activities, and undoubtedly that plays a role in why credit unions do so much giving back, it is not the primary reason for our commitment to community. In fact, I am sure it is more just who we are and what we do. But we often struggle in telling people about our efforts in these areas.. Were humble and we don’t brag. We often just don’t always feel its right to tell people what we are doing for social good. But it is ok. It’s ok that people know the great things we do to help others and strengthen our communities. It would help our industry if we did more to tell people about our social good efforts. This commitment to giving back is an important part of our credit union story. To help in this effort to spread the story about credit unions social good and community involvement we recently launched a site called CUsocialGood.com.

CUsocialgood.com is intended to capture every story of credit unions volunteering in their communities, giving back, and supporting education and providing financial literacy. It is the first and only national site dedicated exclusively to telling the story in the aggregate of credit unions giving back and their community involvement efforts. In only a little over two months we have been able to capture more than 250 such stories just by using an aggregation tool. But we know this is not even scratching the surface. It’s not unreasonable to assume that more than 100 credit unions across the country every day are involved in fundraising or supporting some community or charitable event. We want to capture all of those stories in one place using CUsocialGood. This will provide one place that consumers can go to to find the stories of the great things credit unions do. Elected officials will be able to see the tremendous value credit unions provide to their communities. Educators can use the site to see what credit unions provide in financial literacy education and scholarships. Charitable organizations can search for credit unions they may be able to partner with. And, credit unions will be able to learn from each other and share great ideas to support their respective communities.

So I urge you submit to CUSocialgood.com your stories of community service, fundraising and giving back. It’s fast, easy and most importantly it matters. It’s Ok to share our great story.