HAMILTON, Mont.– For the first time in its 61 years, Ravalli County FCU here is paying a patronage dividend to its members.
The credit union said it paid out $50,000 to its 4,900 members. The board had approved the plan to pay out the dividend at its March 2018 meeting.
The funds were deposited directly into members’ accounts to “reward them for their years of membership and choosing to use the products and services offered by the locally member-owned financial cooperative,” Ravalli County FCU said.
“Ravalli County FCU has had three years of increased net profit and we wanted to share a piece of that with our members. It’s our way to say “Thank you” to our loyal members who saved and borrowed with us the most,” said Darci Parsons, president/CEO of RCFCU. “Giving back to our membership is proving that the value of being part of a cooperative has merit and is what differentiates us from a bank. That’s part of the CU Difference.”
According to Ravalli County FCU, the dividend has been met with much appreciation by members, including by one member who had been having a difficult time financially–her account had been overdrawn, and when staff told her that the patronage dividend would clear up her negative balance and leave her with some extra money for the holidays, she said, “Thank you so much, you’re going to make me cry,” the credit union reported.
RCFCU has approximately $45 million in assets.