SECU wins international financial marketing strategy award for kindness campaign
Gramercy Institute honors SECU for strategic excellence in financial marketing
RALEIGH, NC (April 28, 2022) — SECU, Maryland’s largest state-chartered credit union, was awarded a 2022 Financial Marketing Strategy Award from the Gramercy Institute for its 2021 Kindness Campaign, Kindness Connects, within the Domestic Banking (Retail) category. These awards honor leaders from the world’s banking and credit union marketing industry and recognize the value they bring to their clients and the industry.
This is the second year in a row that the Gramercy Institute honored SECU’s Kindness Campaign, which first launched in October 2020. The Kindness Campaign is an annual month-long initiative aimed at spreading kindness across Maryland, while also raising funds to support the SECU MD Foundation and programs that increase access to education, health and wellness, and community development across the state.
The Kindness Campaign encourages Marylanders to perform random acts of kindness with the goal of inspiring others to do the same, causing a ripple effect across the state. To assist in this effort, SECU created and distributed Kindness Kits, which contained supplies to perform kind acts at home or in the community, to members and the general public at no cost. Through Kindness Connects, SECU aimed to inspire 70,000 acts of kindness in honor of its 70th anniversary, while furthering the mission of both the SECU MD Foundation and the credit union itself.
As a result of the campaign, SECU successfully raised $50,000 and distributed more than 12,000 Kindness Kits throughout local communities, across 7 states, and to members and partners. In total, SECU exceeded the goal by completing more than 96,000 acts of kindness.
“We are thrilled to continue to be recognized by the Gramercy Institute for the SECU Kindness Campaign. We launched the second Kindness Campaign as the COVID-19 pandemic was still impacting communities and left many craving a sense of connection,“ said Becky Smith, EVP and Chief Strategy and Growth Officer at SECU. “This campaign is rooted in the idea that each of us has the ability to empower, support and serve others. So we placed emphasis on rallying our 375 employees around this notion – and provided them with the tools and inspiration needed to go out and do good. We are so thankful to everyone who participated.”
Since its first award event in 2003, the Gramercy Institute continues to honor excellence in financial services marketing and offer a highly-respected slate of award programming to highlight the success of industry leaders, pace-setters and teams. To view the complete list of 2022 Financial Marketing Strategy Award winners, visit https://www.gramercyinstitute.com/2022-strat-award-winners.
About State Employees’ Credit Union (SECU)
A not-for-profit financial cooperative owned by its members, and federally insured by the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA), SECU has been providing employees of the state of North Carolina and their families with consumer financial services for 86 years. SECU is the second largest credit union in the United States with $50 billion in assets. It serves over 2.7 million members through 275 branch offices, over 1,100 ATMs, Member Services Support via phone, www.ncsecu.org, and a Mobile App.
