Community Service

CU Magazine Announces CU Hero of the Year

Ron Kase, CEO of Landmark CU, is proudest of helping community members improve their financial lives.

CU Aids Homeless and Hungry

Georgia United CU staff use vacation days for the good of the local community.

Profile: Angela Weekley

Veridian CU’s community inclusion manager aims to tackle her community’s most pressing financial needs.

CU Hero: Last Chance to Vote!

Who will be the 2012 CU Hero of the Year?

Tower FCU Supports Local Children’s Hospital

‘Have a Heart’ campaign raises $30,000.

Columbia CU Makes Life Better Through Learning

CU helps families eliminate debt and build wealth through Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace University.

Maxwell Winners Honor Duty to Serve

CUs display outstanding social responsibility.

Herring Winners Dedicated to Education

CUs go above and beyond for members’ financial health.

Cooperative Financial Leadership in the Lone Star State

CU has helped members achieve financial success for more than 75 years.

Goldmark FCU a Haven for Hounds

CU’s dogged determination helps animals and delights members.

Credit Union Magazine

‘Do One Thing Every Day That Scares You’

‘Reward Excellent Failure, Punish Mediocre Success’

Peters: It’s Good to be the Little Guy

MBL: If Banks Win, CUs Lose

A Bit of Unpleasantness

Lora has some excellent tips for us on articles we should read. Thanks Lora!

Definitely, we agree. It’s not only important to adapt to the market, but also to ensure that the organization as a whole has buy-in of this growth strategy. Without full commitment, you could be doing a disservice to your credit union and your Hispanic community.

Good points all, Joni, and thanks for putting it in plain English. DigitalMailer has been consulting a number of clients and affiliates on social media, and the question always arises: "Well, what if someone says something bad about us?" The answer is, they might be already. Not seeing it doesn't mean it can't hurt you. Make sure that, if you're not offering an engaging social media presence, you're at least able to monitor the possible threats.

Chris Brogan is simply awesome and this interview is spot on. Hearing Brogan speak at America's Credit Union Conference is worth the price of admission. Every credit union can learn from his wisdom. Social media is about building a community and credit unions can do that successfully with their members. But they can't do it with everyone: they should also target their social media efforts to particular niches.

Bill, your comments are on the mark. In order to demonstrate that the CU truly understands the risk inherent in lending, the ability to clearly articulate a meaningful discussion of the lending rationale behind lending decisions is critical. All too often, CUs leave it up to the sales force to determine a "marketing" direction for lending activity and the sellers are only too willing to fill the void create by a lack of a clear defined lending culture and credit environment. In large organizations marketing and lending should work hand in hand in defining what sales and lending goals are. The marketing culture needs to be informed of the dynamics of the lending environment and the credit culture must understand the marketing opportunities and threats. In smaller CUs the senior lender in conjunction with the board must, as you indicate, clearly document the what and why of the credit culture.