Filene Launches New Center of Excellence and Announces Topic for Upcoming Research Center

Kim Lear

Filene’s Center for The Next Generation of Member Growth officially launched July 1st, with a kick-off presentation from Fellow Kim Lear during Filene’s Spark! 2024 event in Boston this month.
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The continued aging of the average credit union member has been a challenge in the industry for decades, and now less than 20% of Americans under the age of 40 use a credit union. For credit union's that are focused on profitable future growth, they need to prioritize strategies that will help them to enhance their relevancy among younger consumers. The goal of the Center for The Next Generation of Member Growth is to identify strategies, including internal and external practices, to attract, engage and retain the next generation of credit union members.

The Next Generation of Member Growth
Kicking-off this exciting 3-year journey led by Fellow Kim Lear in collaboration with an advisory council of credit union leaders, the Center for The Next Generation of Member Growth will begin exploring the needs, motivations, and behaviors of younger generations to help shape insight around three key areas: products, member experience and marketing. These valuable insights will focus on answering the following key questions: 

• What is the right set of products to meet the needs of younger generations and have them feel that a credit union is the right financial institution for them? And equally as important, what are the right names for those products to reflect how younger people are using financial services today?
• How do we create compelling, frictionless member experiences that will drive adoption and loyalty? What are the most important points in the member lifecycle to get right with younger generations?
• What are the right places, voices, and messages to reach younger generations? How do you leverage social media and create an impactful influencer strategy?

Generous support for the Center for the Next Generation of Member Growth is provided by Affinity Federal Credit Union, Bethpage Federal Credit Union, Christian Financial Credit Union, Cornerstone League, Financial Plus Credit Union, Fiserv, Kitsap Credit Union, Maps Credit Union, Michigan Credit Union League, SRM (Strategic Resource Management) and Teachers Federal Credit Union. 

“Member growth is critical for our industry, especially for our smaller credit unions who often report loss of membership,” stated Michigan Credit Union League CEO, Patty Corkery. “Our team is thrilled to be on this ride with the amazing Filene team, and with Research Fellow Kim Lear, to develop strategies and tactics to support our credit unions in Michigan and around the country.”

Caroline Willard, President/CEO of the Cornerstone League stated, “We are committed to helping credit unions grow, so we want to invest in this partnership with Filene Research Institute and the Michigan Credit Union League. We feel that it’s important for us to give back to the movement by funding this important research.”
 
Filene’s Upcoming Research Center: Design for Digital
Earlier this month, at Spark! 2024, Filene made the announcement of the topic for their next Center of Excellence, set to launch in early 2025. Jessica Gamache, Filene's Head of Research announced to the attendees that the next topic of focus is Design for Digital. This new research center isn't just about upgrading your technology stack, it is about retooling credit unions for digital success. This means creating a culture of nimbleness and flexibility that can continue to evolve with consumers' changing expectations. The key focus areas that this new research center will explore includes:

• Helping credit union leaders to increase their awareness of the path and destination as they embark on their digital transformation journey
• Understanding how heavily an organization balances member experiences vs. operational efficiency defines the four common paths to transformation and can also give insight into the potential pitfalls of the chosen path
• Stalled, and even failed, transformations are common across industries and leaders need to be realistic from the outset of the multi-year journey they are embarking on to maintain momentum, especially during the slower periods
• Explosions, or disruptive changes during transformation journeys are critical to achieving a successful transformation.

Generous support for the Center for Design for Digital is provided by Affinity FCU, Digital FCU, Maps Credit Union, Teachers FCU, Together Credit Union and UFCU. Credit unions and system partners interested in joining this list and getting involved in the work of this Center can contact Filene for information.

“UFCU is thrilled to have the opportunity to meaningfully shape the credit union movement for generations to come through our sponsorship of the new Filene Research Institute Design for Digital Center of Excellence,” stated Michael Crowl, CEO of UFCU. “We look forward to collaboratively working with Filene, the new Fellow, and co-sponsors in the coming months and years ahead. Let’s make history!”

Filene members and strategic partners will have a chance to engage with the Center for The Next Generation of Member Growth’s Fellow Kim Lear at Filene’s big.bright.minds. 2024 on Nov. 19-21 in San Diego, CA.

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