DUBUQUE, Iowa—On International Credit Union Day yesterday, more than 63,000 participating Dupaco Community Credit Union members were paid a share of nearly $4.5 million in bonus patronage dividends for 2020.
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.
Dupaco reported the average dividend paid to participants this year was $71. This is the fifth consecutive year a participation dividend has been paid. Since 2016, Dupaco said it has paid directly to member/owners more than $16.8 million in Thank Use.
“Dupaco is more than local. It’s a financial cooperative, owned by people in our community,” said Dupaco Chief Marketing Officer Dave Klavitter. “The more members use their credit union, the more members, the community, and Dupaco benefit.”
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.
New Year, New Group Goal
Dupaco explained that each year, a new group goal is identified for members to achieve by working cooperatively together.
“This year’s group goal was all about starting a savings plan and sticking to it,” Dupaco said. “And, since more than 5,900 members set up an automatic transfer and routed funds to their Dupaco savings account for more than four consecutive months, those members helped achieve the group goal and earned an additional $30 dividend.”
According to Dupaco, this year’s payout numbers also include 4,859 of Dupaco’s youngest members, who learned the importance of making regular deposits to their credit union account and earned more than $121,000 through a special category called Boost.
“As a cooperative, our members 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.”
An active share draft checking account was required to unlock the payout. Members can view their dividends by logging into Dupaco’s Shine Online Banking, Dupaco said.
The $2.2-billion Dupaco Credit Union has more than 133,000 members.