DUBUQUE, Iowa—On International Credit Union Day, nearly 64,000 Dupaco Community CU members received a share of more than $3.7 million in bonus patronage dividends for 2021.
The dividend is part of the credit union’s nine-month program called “Thank Use.” The timeframe to earn Thank Use was Jan. 1 through Sept. 30.
According to Dupaco, the average dividend this year was $55. This is the sixth consecutive year a participation dividend has been paid. Since 2016, Dupaco said it has paid more than $20.5 million in Thank Use directly to member-owners.
The Thank Use dividend demonstrates the power of Dupaco’s member-owned, cooperative structure, Dupaco Chief Marketing Officer David Klavitter said.
“Dupaco is more than local. It’s a financial cooperative, owned by people in our community,” said Klavitter. “The more members use their credit union, the more members, the community, and Dupaco benefit.”
How Members were Rewarded
Dupaco explained the Thank Use campaign rewarded members in relation to each member’s active participation in the credit union. Those recognized services included loans, savings, checking, insurance, investments, debit card, credit card, and use of Dupaco fraud prevention tools.
“Each year, a new group goal is identified for members to achieve by working cooperatively together,” the credit union said. “This year’s group goal was all about members participating in their financial cooperative. And, since more than 62,360 members participated in Thank Use, those members helped achieve the group goal and earned an additional $5 dividend.”
Many Young Members Involved
Dupaco reported this year’s payout numbers also include 5,760 of Dupaco’s youngest members, who learned the importance of making regular deposits to their credit union account and earned more than $144,000 through a special category called Boost.
“As a cooperative, our member-owners work together for the betterment of themselves and the cooperative,” said Klavitter. “Education is rooted in our mission and when we achieve tangible results, we share that success with our member-owners.”
Dupaco said an active share draft checking account was required to unlock the payout. Members can view their dividends by logging into Dupaco’s Shine Online or Mobile banking app.
For info: dupaco.com/ThankUse.