Greater Nevada Credit Union (GNCU) has been certified as a Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI). The U.S. Department of Treasury issued the certification to GNCU in January of this year. With $1.6 billion in assets, GNCU is both the largest financial institution and the only CDFI-certified credit union with headquarters in the state of Nevada. To be eligible for certification as a CDFI, financial institutions must adhere to stringent requirements such as offering services for development, remaining accountable to their main target market, and striving to promote development within their communities. CDFIs invest in local communities and the residents who live there by providing critically needed financing often unavailable from conventional financial institutions. “Certification as a CDFI institution is a reflection of Greater Nevada Credit Union’s commitment to our community and for helping people in Nevada Live Greater,” Wally Murray, GNCU President and CEO, said. “Nevada has typically been one of the most underfunded states in terms of CDFI institutions and grant-funded programs to serve those who need it most. We plan to leverage both our passion and our experience to utilize the CDFI Fund to help even more individuals and their families achieve better financial outcomes.” The CDFI designation will allow GNCU to explore innovative new programs for individuals who may not qualify for conventional loans, deposit accounts, and down-payment assistance programs. CDFI organizations can apply for the CDFI Fund’s grant, tax credit, and bond programs that are administered annually. Those funds can be used to build the resources to better serve low-income individuals and communities that lack adequate access to affordable financial products and services. “Greater Nevada Credit Union is already active throughout our region providing affordable products, free financial education, and direct monetary support to organizations that provide a range of economic and community development benefits,” Murray said. “This designation will allow us to look for impactful programs that focus on reaching those disadvantaged and underserved populations who can directly benefit more from accessing our services.” Greater Nevada Credit Union worked with CU Strategic Planning, a Tacoma, Washington-based firm that assists institutions with the CDFI application process. Certified CDFIs are part of a national network promoting economic growth in America’s underserved communities by financing businesses, creating jobs, and rebuilding neighborhoods. To learn more about GNCU including its ongoing impact in northern Nevada, visit gncu.org. Those interested in learning more about CDFI organizations can visit cdfifund.gov.
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Member Driven Technologies (MDT), a CUSO that hosts the Episys® core processing system from Symitar® to provide a private cloud alternative for core processing and IT needs, today announced that Daniel L. Schneider has been elevated to vice president of project, training and professional services. Unifying these three areas shifts the delivery of MDT’s services all under one umbrella, creating tighter integration and more seamless processes. Roles such as project managers, analysts and consultants now have greater access to and transparency into one another’s knowledge base and activities, leading to more strategic delivery and successful client outcomes. “Not only do we host credit unions’ cores and critical IT infrastructure at MDT, but we also conduct sophisticated configuration work to ensure that each credit union’s technology can meet their unique needs,” explained Dan. “By bringing together project management, training and professional services, we’re creating synergies that help ensure implementation and beyond is as smooth and intentional as possible for our clients. I look forward to taking on this new role and helping clients leverage technology in more impactful ways.” In this new expanded role, Dan will oversee training, core conversions, mergers and implementation of new software and services. He will also oversee MDT’s consulting services, which help clients evaluate and optimize business processes and their use of technology. Credit unions can tap into MDT’s deep technical expertise and high-level strategy to help plan and execute their roadmaps. “As the industry continues to embrace trends like digitization and open banking, this organizational shift allows us to better serve and support our credit union clients as they evaluate, implement and leverage new technologies,” said Larry Nichols, CEO of MDT. “Dan has been a valuable member of our team for more than a decade, and I’m confident in his ability to blend and enhance these areas, positioning both our organization and our credit union clients for success.” Nuvision Alaska is offering a scholarship opportunity for graduating high school students. Its Essay Challenge encourages graduating seniors to share their educational and personal goals. Six students will be selected through a competitive process by their essay to receive a $5,000 scholarship toward a college of their choice. “We want students to really give thought to their future, financial planning and their individual path to financial success,” said Nuvision CEO Roger Ballard. “We’re excited to continue this popular scholarship program that helps families early on, as having an understanding of personal finance provides foundational support as young Alaskans prepare for college life.” Students are asked to apply a meaning to financial success and describe personal goals to achieve financial success, including habits to practice and improve financial well-being, in a brief essay no longer than two-pages. The deadline to enter is April 22, 2022 and an application packet is available at Nuvision’s EssayChallenge.com. CUES is expanding its talent development offerings into the nonprofit sector through TalentED, the industry leader announced at its annual Symposium conference. This new offering, pronounced ‘Talent-Ed’, will work with nonprofits to develop the leadership potential of their executive teams, board members, and staff. “At a CUES event a few years back, CUES was approached and asked to hold a special Governance Leadership Institute for a nonprofit organization in Canada. We did so, with great success, and it made us realize two things,” said John Pembroke, CUES President/CEO. “One--nonprofits sorely need access to talent development; and two, CUES already has many of these resources readily available. That was the beginning of the TalentED initiative.” “According to recent studies, talent development is an important differentiator in attracting and retaining top performers in the nonprofit sector, just as it is for credit unions,” said Tony Covington, TalentED’s VP/Business Development. “70% of nonprofit employees value professional development opportunities—yet 43% feel their career development needs aren't being met.” TalentED offers the following to the nonprofit sector:
“Great partnerships—like what we have with our credit union partners, are important. No one can change the world on their own,” said Covington. “We’re excited for credit unions to learn more about TalentED, and discover how TalentED can help them help the nonprofits they are passionate about.” Learn more about TalentED at TalentED.org. Learn more about CUES at cues.org. Intuitive design. Faster analysis. Enhanced reporting. All packaged into a sleek, modern interface. These are just a few of the changes users can expect to see with the launch of Callahan’s newest analytics tool, Peer+, now available in beta to all Callahan clients with access to Peer-to-Peer. Peer+, Callahan’s classic Peer-to-Peer software, reimagined combines performance analysis and market share data into one easy-to-use platform. “By combining performance and market share data, into one platform, we’re excited to make analysis easy and powerful for our users,” said Alix Patterson, chief experience officer at Callahan & Associates. “Our goal is to help the credit union industry make data-backed strategic decisions and share data openly among their organizations.” In Peer+, users can easily compare the performance of credit unions to other cooperatives and banks using NCUA 5300 Call Report, FDIC Call Report, Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) Data, socioeconomic data, census data, and more. Other features of Peer+ include:
“At Callahan, we believe credit unions shouldn’t have to choose between managing today and building a better tomorrow,” said Patterson. “Peer+ is designed to help users take complex data and make it easily digestible while increasing economic opportunity in their communities. Learn more about Peer+ at www.callahan.com/peer. Rivermark Community Credit Union announced that it has been certified as a Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) by the U.S. Department of Treasury. CDFIs are mission driven organizations that focus on serving low-income and underserved communities. Rivermark joins 1,300+ financial institutions nationwide, and just 10 Oregon based credit unions to achieve this certification. As a CDFI, Rivermark will have access to federal grants that can be used to reinvest in the community, further supporting its mission – Building Financial Empowerment Together. “Words can’t express how excited I am for this opportunity to accelerate our already impactful mission-driven work,” said Seth Schaefer, President and CEO of Rivermark. “This certification will allow us to secure grants to build on our strategic pillars, including opportunities to support home ownership and low-cost loans for local veteran, women, and minority owned businesses,” continued Schaefer. Rivermark is also dedicated to ensuring that its members have the tools and education to successfully manage their money. “As we explore grant opportunities, we are particularly interested in opportunities that help reduce financial stress,” said Ryan Halley, Rivermark’s Vice President of Financial Wellness. Caroline Willard, president and CEO of Cornerstone League, has earned the Certified Association Executive (CAE) designation, the highest professional credential in the association industry. To obtain a CAE designation, an applicant must have experience with nonprofit organization management, complete a minimum of 100 hours of specialized professional development, pass a stringent examination in association management, and pledge to uphold a code of ethics. To maintain the certification, individuals must undertake ongoing professional development and activities in association and nonprofit management. “Cornerstone League’s member credit unions depend on their league’s leadership to stay engaged with and current on best practices so we can provide them with the best value for their dues dollars,” said Willard. “Obtaining my CAE certification reinforces my commitment to help advance credit unions’ success.” More than 4,700 association professionals currently hold the CAE credential. The CAE program is accredited by the National Commission for Certifying Agencies (NCCA). Minnesota Credit Union Foundation Announces Capital Drive to Support Black-led De Novo Credit Union2/1/2022 The Association for Black Economic Power (ABEP) is a nonprofit organization created to establish a Black-led credit union to address systemic financial challenges impacting Minneapolis residents, particularly people of color. ABEP is currently raising capital for post-opening operating expenses for Village Financial Credit Union. As the philanthropic arm of the Minnesota Credit Union movement - the Minnesota Credit Union Foundation has established a special fund to receive donations from supporters of Village Financial Credit Union, and is seeking to raise $1 million in capital from the credit union community. “Establishing the only Black-led, cooperative credit union in Minnesota is an opportunity to effect positive change, empower growth and economic stability while directly addressing the core cause of systemic poverty on a variety of levels,” said Debra Hurston, Executive Director of the Association for Black Economic Power. “The original organizers were very passionate about having a community led credit union that would directly respond to the community wealth gap. Also, having the credit union owned and operated by the community provides a huge source of pride and independence for the members.” “Credit union history and principles are rooted in serving the underserved and cooperation among cooperatives,” said Mark Cummins, President of the Minnesota Credit Union Network and the Minnesota Credit Union Foundation. “Coming together to support this effort is one way we can put our DEI commitments into action. It’s simply the right thing to do.” As of the June 2021 reporting period, there are 264 Black American credit unions across the nation, managing 7.5 billion in assets for 762,000 members. Village Financial Credit Union would be the only Black American credit union in Minnesota. “The Board of Directors of AACUC and I are delighted that the credit union community is coming together to ensure that this credit union is launched and successful. The Commitment to Change: Credit Unions Unite Against Racism® Initiative is truly reflected in this collaborative effort,” said Renée Sattiewhite, President/CEO of the African-American Credit Union Coalition (AACUC). “This project is a great example of using the credit union difference to advance historically underserved communities that continue to face challenges in a recovering economy,” said Credit Union National Association President/CEO Jim Nussle. “Not-for-profit financial cooperatives exist to improve their members’ financial well-being, and we’re proud to support this effort to increase financial inclusion in the Minneapolis area.” Capital donations, Deposit Pledges and Individual Contributions are currently being sought to support this effort. “Contributions secured in now will be highly catalytic for ABEP and Village Financial, as they provide important grounding for the State charter application and NCUA application; evidence of traction as additional financial support from other sources are sought; and operational sustainability during the first three years of opening,” continued Cummins. To learn more, visit mncun.org/villagefinancial or contact Minnesota Credit Union Foundation President Mark Cummins or Executive Director Andrea Molnau. KELLY MENDENHALL AND JOY PORTER PROMOTED TO SENIOR VICE PRESIDENTS AT CO-OP FINANCIAL SERVICES2/1/2022 CO-OP Financial Services has promoted Kelly Mendenhall and Joy Porter to Senior Vice President, reflecting their own high performance in the Product and People (Human Resources) functions, respectively, and the continuing rapid growth of the company. “In the past five years, CO-OP has launched more than 150 new products,” said Todd Clark, President/CEO. “This has certainly meant a monumental effort by our Product team, and also by Human Resources, to find and keep the talent we need to maintain this level of performance. The work of Kelly and Joy has helped us meet our goals and fuel the innovation needed for the future.” Kelly Mendenhall is promoted to SVP, Innovation, Product Office, reporting to Bruce Dragt, Chief Product Officer. Mendenhall joined CO-OP in April 2017 with the merger of CO-OP and TMG, having joined that organization exactly one year earlier. Mendenhall is responsible for the PDLC (Product Development Life Cycle) process, and the process for defining the CO-OP roadmap. He is also responsible for innovation activities like “Innovation Day” and providing a clear direction so that innovation processes result in products that better serve the company’s credit union clients and their members. Joy Porter is promoted to SVP, Total Rewards and People Operations, reporting to Cheryl Middleton Jones, Chief People Officer. Porter joined CO-OP in April 2019, and during her tenure has led the effort to improve the company’s compensation and benefits offerings. Additionally, she has implemented new work/life programs such as updated maternal, parental, family care and adoption leave programs. Porter is also responsible for HR Operations and the HRIS system, moving to one functional and self-service platform for all HR functions across the business. During 2021, CO-OP invested $50 million in its product roadmap to ensure clients remain competitive. New products include Digital Card Issuance, expansion of the CO-OP Springboard card servicing application and the introduction of CO-OP Resolution Center, the company’s proprietary new disputes and chargebacks processing platform, designed with credit union input. In addition, CO-OP launched COOPER Fraud Score, a machine learning tool to detect, prevent and mitigate fraud. Also in 2021, CO-OP was one of only three organizations in the credit union industry to be recognized as one of “2021 Achievers 50 Most Engaged Workplaces” by Achievers, a provider of employee voice and recognition solutions. CO-OP’s commitment to four core values – work as partners, communicate openly and honestly, demonstrate excellence, champion change – contributed to the recognition. Additionally, CO-OP’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Council launched a series of Engagement Resource Groups, including Women in Technology, Pride Alliance and Black Financial Technology Professionals. More information about CO-OP Financial Services can be found by visiting www.coop.org. |
Author: Mike LawsonMarried to a most gorgeous and wonderful wife, raising 5 kiddos (including twins!), enjoy helping others tell their stories, and love surfing SoCal waves. Keep it simple. Archives
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