Total Community Credit Union Taking Initiative to Assist Members

When a member came into Total Community Credit Union at the end of this past May and was visibly upset, employees at the credit union were there to listen. The member told the tellers that she and her daughter had just been kicked out of the house they had been living in and would have to spend the night in her car as they had no place to live.

The tellers at Total Community Credit Union decided to act. They took up a collection among themselves and used funds they had been collecting for jean days. A teller with more time available that day went home and collected food for the member and her daughter. Then, the teller took the money the staff contributed and rented a room at a local motel for three days for the member, stocked it with food and bought the member a gas card and a phone card.

During those three days, one of the member’s fellow employees found a place the member could stay after the time at the motel. Today the member came in and told the employees at Total Community Credit Union that she had saved three week’s pay and found an apartment. Credit unions operate on the philosophy of people helping people and that philosophy was demonstrated by Total Community Credit Union. They went above and beyond the ‘typical’ service provided by a financial institution and exemplify why credit unions are different.

The Community Reinvestment Initiative (CRI) works to promote the credit union difference. If you have a story or program at your credit union that exemplifies the credit union difference, please share it by visiting the following link: http://www.mcul.org/Share_your_Community_Involvement_Story_2439.html.

In celebration of our 60th anniversary, Community Financial Credit Union launched its first ever “Summer of Sharing” campaign on June 13, 2011.

For the past 60 years, the credit union has been enhancing the lives of our members and our communities, devoting both time and money to the communities where we do business. In honor of our 60th anniversary, we want to give others the chance to help as well.

The public is invited to visit www.SummerOfSharing.org and nominate a local charity, community or school group that could benefit from a $1,060 donation. They are asked to share their story of “What GOOD could you do with $1,060?” On June 10th Community Financial started awarding $1,060 each day, Monday – Friday. We will keep awarding until Labor Day for a total of 60 days.

We know tough economic times can impact groups who rely on donations to keep programs running. Community Financial has remained a strong financial choice for our members, and the Summer of Sharing is our way of saying thank you to our communities for their faith in us.

To date, we have helped the Detroit Area Diaper Bank, several school programs, First Step, Crossroads Industries and Beaver Lake Park, to name a few. We continue to receive amazing nominations everyday and it is getting harder and harder to choose!

"Save to Win" Grand Prize Winner Honored at NuUnion (Monitor: February 8, 2010)
Eighty-six year-old Billie Smith from Lake, MI, a member of Lansing-based NuUnion CU, was presented with the first $100,000 grand prize for the "Save to Win" program on Feb. 4. She is


Tim Flacke of Doorways to Dreams (left) speaks to "Save to Win" winner Billie Smith, along with NuUnion CU's VP of Marketing Chris Day.
one of 11,666 members at eight Michigan credit unions who saved $8.56 million in the first year of the savings raffle. Each $25 deposit in a special savings account entered the saver in drawings for monthly prizes as well as the grand prize.

The well-attended check presentation was held at NuUnion CU's main branch in downtown Lansing and featured representatives from most parties involved with the "Save to Win" program, including the Doorways to Dreams Fund (D2D), the Filene Research Institute, the MCUL, and other credit unions that participated in the pilot program.

Smith was awarded the grand prize before several speakers addressed attendees and the many members of local news media.

"Eighteen months ago this was an idea," said Doorways to Dreams Executive Director Tim Flacke. "Now, in addition to a great story about our grand prize winner, more than 11,500 people have opened accounts and saved money. This is the worst recession in a generation, in a state that has been as hard hit as any, and there are $8.5 million in deposits that have resulted from this product."

Also sharing their enthusiasm for the program were CEOs Hank Hubbard and Karen Church of Communicating Arts CU and ELGA CU, respectively, who explained the success "Save to Win" has had at their credit unions and expressed excitement about their continued participation. Mark Meyer, CEO of the Filene Research Institute, issued


Smith receives the grand prize check from NuUnion CU CEO Steve Winninger.
congratulations to the winner before CU Growth Solutions Vice President Lee Ann Mares spoke on behalf of the MCUL and affiliates.

"We are going to continue to spearhead this product across Michigan and get as many credit unions in our state to participate as possible, because we believe it supports the credit union mantra of People Helping People and learning about saving and good financial habits," Mares said. "Most reward programs we see are built around spending, not around saving, so that's why this program is so unique and we were happy to get behind it. You will see 'Save to Win' be a much bigger program this coming year."

Designed to appeal to credit union members who are not in the habit of saving, the program has helped many families who had been spending money on lottery tickets instead. A survey taken during the 2009 program found that 59 percent of participants had spent money on the lottery over the previous six months and that less than half saved money regularly before opening their Save to Win accounts.

"Save to Win," which has been featured in the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, and on Fox Business, was developed by Harvard Business School Professor Peter Tufano and managed by the D2D. The Filene Research Institute and D2D selected Michigan and MCUL-affiliate CUcorp for the 2009 pilot program because of a unique state law that allows for credit unions to organize savings raffles. Eight credit unions participated in the 2009 program, including, Central Macomb CU, Christian Financial CU, Communicating Arts CU, E&A CU, ELGA CU, Frankenmuth CU, NuUnion CU, Option 1 CU.

Over the past six years, Credit Union ONE has contributed more than $500,000 in programs promoting youth education and scholarships to students throughout the state of Michigan. In 2009, a total of $70,000 in scholarships was awarded to twelve graduating high school seniors. The awardees were comprised of Credit Union ONE members that attend high schools within the local community, and students selected from the honors program at our university partner, Oakland University. “We are proud to have such outstanding young members within our community, and we wish them well as they embark on their intellectual journey,” said Gary Moody, Credit Union ONE President/CEO. (Michigan Monitor, 10/26/09)