CHICAGO–First Northern Credit Union said it has found success in offering free monthly webinars after stay-at-home orders affected its well-attended in-person financial wellness seminars.
“We knew right at the start of the pandemic that we could not turn our back on our members when they needed us most,” said David Tognarelli, director of Business Development for First Northern Credit Union. “In the eight months since implementing our webinars, we have had nearly 900 members attend, and are thrilled with the results and where we can go from here.”
In August, in addition to its monthly financial wellness webinars and seeing a need among members used to “stopping by” a branch for a quick question, the credit union implemented an online Financial Forum.
“This platform allows members the opportunity to ask credit union professionals their basic financial questions in a safe virtual environment, where they click on a link to ‘drop in’ anonymously,” First Northern said. “Based upon the success of the initial forum in August, First Northern continues to offer a Financial Forum on the third Wednesday of each month.
“We look forward to seeing more of our members in person again,” said Tognarelli, “but until we can, we will continue to innovate and offer members the tools they need to remain financially healthy.”
In March, First Northern Credit Union was selected by the City of Evanston as the city’s official financial wellness partner and has led monthly webinars for Evanston residents as well during the pandemic.