WASHINGTON–Credit unions talk about improving members’ financial wellness—but where is the data to back up those claims?
That question and the related challenge of pulling those numbers together is at the heart of a new initiative being rolled out by the National Credit Union Foundation—with $2 million in funding so far—that is designed to provide some quantifiable evidence.
In remarks to CUNA’s GAC here, National CU Foundation Executive Director Gigi Hyland quoted former CUNA Mutual President Charlie Eikel, who once said, “Human service is really the only reason for credit unions.”
“At the Foundation we deeply believe and practice that every day,” said Hyland. “Because human service starts with empathy and really understanding where a person is in his or her financial life and meeting them exactly where they are right now. Human service looks like taking all the really complex threads of people’s financial lives and weaving them into a path of serenity and confidence of financial well-being.”
Five Examples
Hyland cited five examples of credit union organizations she said exemplify human service:
- Members CU in Connecticut, where all staff are trained as financial coaches and counselors
- PSCU, which looked inward and realized that financial health of employees is the starting point.
- SchoolsFirst FCU, which has been working with Gallup to identify members’ financial aspirations and then serving them has been infused through the organization, with progress also being measured.
- Co-op Financial Services, which has created a THINK master class around financial wellness.
- University FCU in Texas, which measures itself on the social impact of itself on the community.
“Credit unions have 130 million members, and 166 million people in the U.S. are financially unhealthy,” said Hyland. “We have a lot of good work to do together.”
What’s Next
After two years of collaboration with CUNA that have involved “many, many, many” meetings and more to think about how credit unions can move the needle and own “financial well-being for all.”
“We know we do this work, but quantifying it is challenging. How do we think post-pandemic about how are cooperative culture is different? How do we leverage that with staff we’ve had to hire remotely and who have never been exposed to the culture of credit unions?” Hyland asked.
Three Primary Activities
Hyland said the Foundation and CUNA will be working on three primary activities over the next few years.
“We need a repository for all the work we’ve done so you can see what your peers are doing and you can share that information,” explained Hyland. “We need to build a repository rich in tools, best practices, and case studies.”
Number two, said Hyland, is the idea of culture and ensuring employees are upskilled to meet members where they are in their financial lives. That includes having employees gaining the “confidence and know-how to help people navigate the challenges of a complex financial system.”
Number three is what Hyland called “cracking the data piece,” where the goal is to “quantify and show demonstrably the needle we move as credit unions on people’s financial lives.”
“No one can do this alone. I can’t do this alone,” said Hyland. “I need you. Together we have to do this as a system.”
New FinHealth Fund
As CUToday.info reported earlier, the National Credit Union Foundation has introduced a new FinHealth Fund. Five organizations—BCU in Chicago, Redwood CU in California, Local Government FCU in North Carolina, Coastal Credit Union in North Carolina and CUNA Mutual Group—have pledged $2 million to the fund. The goal is to raise $10 million over the next five years.
“It’s not an endowment, it’s a committed amount of resources,” said Hyland. “Human service for all is us. This is in our DNA. Nobody can take that away. I would love in five years to stand on this stage and say credit unions reduce the number of financially unhealthy people by ‘this’ number.”
The NCUF said organizations interested in supporting the fund can contribute online.
Give Us Less Than 1 Minute & We’ll Give You Good News!
The ongoing popularity of CUToday.info’s daily Fresh Today newsletter has led to a need to move to a new server in order to provide improved service to our readers. In order to continue to receive the daily email, you must register by March 7. To register, just click here. The daily Fresh Today news headlines email remains FREE! The new service is being launched as part of a partnership with ResponseGenius.