My grandmother, Edith, played a significant role in shaping my firm belief in the power of storytelling. Her lessons on everything from the addictive nature of caffeine to the power of dessert to make daily life more joyful, to the potential realized through higher education, to imprinting memories of family members I never met, all came alive through her stories.
Edith’s commitment to sweets and desserts was integrated into my early years. When I was at her house, she would frequently share M&M’s with my cousins and me. She kept the sweets in a cupboard in the corner of her kitchen. She never rationed treats, and it always felt like a luxury, as we didn’t keep candy in my house. I would slowly sort the colorful candies and eat them in groupings to make the tasty chocolate last just a bit longer.
When she passed away and we were cleaning up her home, I remember going to look in the M&M cupboard. Behind the M&M bag were stacks and stacks of two-pack Saltine crackers. Having grown up during the Great Depression, her family often worried about having enough food. Anytime we were at a diner or restaurant with soup that came with crackers, she’d collect the Saltine two-packs and bring them home. If those M&Ms ever ran out and resources were constricted, she’d have a starting place for those she loved with Saltines. Edith’s storytelling wasn’t just entertainment—it grew connection, bolstered resilience, and spread love. That same magic is what our movement needs now.
Credit unions have an opportunity to tap into their inner Edith and make 2026 the year of the story. Stories help us with our children in the early days of their lives, and they also shape the way we see and remember the world throughout adulthood. That makes them powerful partners in driving business, too, by breaking through the noise and forging emotional connections.
The reason stories work in our personal lives and can amplify our business outcomes is grounded in science, which confirms what our hearts already know: stories literally sync our brains and emotions. According to the NeuroLeadership Institute’s “The Neuroscience of Storytelling,” “When we see or hear a story, the neurons in our brain fire in the same patterns as the speaker’s, a process known as ‘neural coupling.’ You also hear it referred to as ‘mirroring.’ According to highly-cited work by Greg J. Stephens, Lauren J. Silbert, and Uri Hasson, these processes occur across many different areas of the brain, and can induce a shared contextual model of the situation. The motor and sensory cortices, as well as the frontal cortex are all engaged during story creation and processing. These networks are nurtured and solidified by feelings of anticipation of the story’s resolution, involving the input of your brain’s form of candy, dopamine.
Mindy Grossman’s “Why Storytelling is the Key to Success in the Disruption Era” highlights the necessity to shape stories and lead with stories, both based on human need and the lightning-fast era we find ourselves inhabiting: “In a world of rising costs and infinite choices, emotional connection is the ultimate differentiator. Consumers don’t just buy products—they buy meaning. In fact, 73% of consumers are more likely to purchase from a brand they feel personally connected to. As consumers grow more elusive and discerning, how do we ensure our stories truly connect and resonate with them?”
According to Cornerstone Advisors, “2025 Digital Banking Performance Metrics” by Gujral and Shevlin, “Cornerstone has been tracking new checking and payment account openings in the U.S. for the past few years, and the trends are not good news for midsize FIs. Community banks and credit unions combined only captured 9% of new accounts opened in 2024.” The credit union percentage has steadily declined from a high of 10% in 2022 to 6% in 2023 and only 5% in 2024. The percentage of new checking accounts opened by digital banks and fintechs was 40% in 2022, 47% in 2023, and 44% in 2024.
The Financial Brand’s “Why Do Consumers Love Fintechs Like Chime and SoFi?” highlights why the new checking account trends for digital banks and fintechs are so positive. They’ve thoughtfully integrated empathy, customization, and digital options: “Consumers do not enjoy managing their finances, especially during times of stress. Fintech firms have illustrated that many daunting financial chores like budgeting, investing, saving and even borrowing can be simplified. Beyond simplification and personalization, consumers want solutions that will empower them to proactively make better decisions themselves.” Credit unions have the data, the trust, and the listening power to step into this place, and we must start with the story and continue all the way through the engaged experience that functions seamlessly. If consumers are unaware of our existence, we will never be able to impact lives as our founders intended.
The data tells a story, and it opens a door to action. My grandma Edith went through the Great Depression, and she learned from it to prepare for the future. Here are five ways credit unions can lean into storytelling and reignite our movement’s relevance:
1. Build the foundation. Reinforce the foundation. Harness the foundation.
Today, too many people still do not know who credit unions are. We’ve joked about this problem for years. However, moving up the funnel to consideration and eventually loyalty is not possible unless we begin with awareness. While some might worry that our story is not interesting enough, consider the dreams made brighter and the dark moments made lighter by a strong financial best friend. The trajectory of Dove outlined in “Real Beauty, Real Images: A Case Study of Dove’s #KeepBeautyReal in the Age of AI” highlights what’s possible. Dove evolved from offering basic cosmetic benefits in 1957 to becoming a trusted partner for women in confidence and self-esteem in 2025. Just like Dove, credit unions have incredible stories, and we must repeatedly elevate these stories until case studies are written about the transformation credit unions made in their brand positioning.
2. Develop your top five themes
When discussing credit unions and member stories, we often begin with the basics of service and experience. These are awesome, and we must do more. One way to start activating stronger stories and collecting them regularly is to identify themes that will resonate with your community and the broader public. While your credit union may have unique themes focused on your local market, one reason our collective storytelling can be so powerful is that many themes are shared for most credit unions, including topics like affordable housing impacts, disaster support in dark times, money stress, financial deserts, the connection of overall wellbeing and economic wellbeing, and money dysmorphia. Consider the themes that you find to be most compelling and start collecting them. Challenge yourself and the team to consider whether each story resonates with people outside the credit union.
3. Invest in storytelling as a competency
Credit unions have an opportunity to invest in and elevate storytelling as a competency. Earned media and public relations require knowledge, skills, and talent just as other organizational functions do. Find expertise, whether through hiring internally or bridging talent through outsourcing, and listen. Earned media and public relations experts may offer tough feedback about what makes a great story, what doesn’t, and how to pitch to the media. Those insights will make us better. Couple those insights with maintaining a consistent focus and growing budget over time, ensuring the organization sees a lasting commitment to storytelling.
4. Demand compelling boldness
As credit union leaders, we are often risk-averse by nature. We tread carefully, and that can lead us to dampen some of the more captivating narratives that could engage Americans’ hearts and minds. Within each theme, challenge the team to share the boldest stories possible. You may not use all of them, yet inviting the team to think without limitations will lift the lid on creativity and may lead to new stories emerging that might have remained untold without the release of constraints.
5. Commit to activated collaboration
While each of our organizations has a unique approach and story, the themes we bring to life are largely shared. We can leverage the collective power of our movement to put collaboration into action across these themes. That’s precisely why Backbone started as a coalition of 11 and now celebrates 26 participating organizations (and growing).
A story about how our Community Financial Credit Union team responded to a disastrous ice storm in Northern Michigan is powerful. Unfortunately, as one credit union, it may receive limited coverage as we share it. However, when we combine that story with the story of Redwood Credit Union and SchoolsFirst Federal Credit Union showing up in a human-first way as wildfires impacted California, and how FourLeaf Federal Credit Union exhibited heart for New Yorkers during a hurricane, and how Credit Union 1 leapt in during a recent typhoon, you build a deep and rich story of how credit unions put community first by providing financial resources, ongoing support, and standing with people to rebuild together. It’s so much more powerful than a picture with a big check. These shared themes and vivid narratives elevate a robust and vibrant story that showcases individual credit unions while also demonstrating the power of our cooperative spirit.
Just like Edith’s M&M’s and Saltines, our stories are our reserve—they keep us connected and resilient. Let’s open that cupboard in 2026 and share them boldly. Our stories are only as powerful as our investment in them—and our commitment to share them with relentless purpose. Throughout this year, I challenged our movement to make 2025 the year of the credit union. For 2026, I have a new challenge as we strive for relevance, growth, and impact: Let’s make 2026 the year of the story. Just like Edith’s cupboard, our movement is already full of richness and fortitude—we just need to open the door and share what’s inside.
How will your credit union act to ensure that we are no longer the best-kept secret?
