Anytime a credit union gives money back to its members, it's a big deal. But this is what credit unions naturally do.

In this case Mission Federal Credit Union gave $200,000 back to its members through CU Realty's HomeAdvantage program. To get the inside scoop on how they were able to accomplish such an impressive number, we invited CU Realty COO Tina Powers and Mission Federal Credit Union Real Estate Manager Dan Helt on the program.

Here's what we asked them:

• Can you give us a quick summary here on how you gave members back $200,000 with HomeAdvantage?
• What is it about this program that benefits your credit union? (retain 96% of its applications when members use the program)
• Can you tell us a bit more about the numbers? (members earn an average of $2,400 cash-back per transaction)
• How does this program empower employees? Sounds like this is what’s going on at Mission Fed.
• What are Mission Fed’s next goals in this area -- $1,000,000 give back in 2021?

Check it out and let us know your thoughts?

If you want to hear inspiring stories on how credit unions are helping support low-income household, then this interview is for you.

Rebuilding Together President/CEO (Dayton) Amy Radachi and Vice President, Development Chris Perry joined us on the program to share how their organization works with credit unions to help support low-income households nationwide through a myriad of projects.

Amy and Chris used how they worked with Wright-Patt Credit Union as an example of what can be done in this desperately needed area. And turning the tables, Wright-Patt recently helped the Rebuilding Together organization successfully apply for PPP loan to continue its work during the COVID-19 crisis without missing a beat.

Again, really inspirational and motivational discussion with Amy and Chris. Check it out and let us know your thoughts.

As the roller coast process of re-opening/closing/re-opening takes place on a global level, there's still a lot of anxiety going on with the unpredictability of our times right now. Do we go back to the office? Do we get on a plane? Do we wear a mask? Do we keep social distancing? Do we hunker down for another month?

So many questions right now with just as many if not more answers -- depending on your outlook.

To settle us down a bit, we invited business and personal coach Erik Kieser (The Unstuck Coaches) on the show for his expertise in this area. Erik discussed what exactly the anxiety is we are feeling, what people are stressing about heading back to work, how prevalent it is right now, etc.

He also explained how to turn the corner on this anxiety and what steps folks can take once they recognize what's going on.

Super interesting chat with Erik on a very timely and emotional topic that many of us are experiencing right now. Check it out and let us know your thoughts.

And if you want to dive deeper into this topic, check out Erik's book: "What If?: The Art of Crushing Anxiety."

With the housing marketing actually doing Ok during the pandemic -- especially refinances, how can credit unions take advantage of this opportunity to either keep that momentum going or ramp up their efforts in the mortgage arena even more so? After all, who knows what's going to happen the rest of 2020 with the unpredictability of COVID-19?

That said, we had SalesCU's CEO Nick Brown come on the show to provide his proven sales training and consulting for credit unions to keep their mortgage new business efforts at full capacity. In fact, Nick is giving a webinar (July 9) on this very topic -- "Enabling Your Sales Channels-Keeping the Mortgage Pipeline Full” -- hosted by CUES and sponsored by CU Members Mortgage.

In this talk, Nick shares 3 ways to use the credit union sales process to create new business:
Crafting a new mindset for mortgages in the credit union and with your members
Utilizing internal data and 3rd party resources to identify and capture mortgage opportunities
Activating the education and referral power of branch and contact center sales teams

He also talks about how to avoid a drop in mortgage applications and maintain mortgage volumes by utilizing today’s tools and resources when members are not beating down your doors right now.

There's plenty more takeaways in this conversation with Nick, so check it out and let us know your thoughts. And don't forget to register for the July 9 webinar.

Summit Credit Union's annual Project Money competition is about to commence once again for season 12 with four teams vying for a $10,000 cash prize. The team that earns the most points for overall increase in savings, debt reduction and participation in program events wins the cash, while runners-up will receive a $2,500 prize.

Amy Crowe, Summit’s Financial Education Specialist, joined us on the show to share the rules of the competition, why the credit union embarks on such a venture each year, the more than $400,000 saved since the event started more than a decade ago, how COVID-19 will play a role this year, how viewers can play, too, and much more.

Check it out and let us know your thoughts.