Big Ideas for Credit Unions
New home buyers need a budgeting coach
A couple of months ago (wait… really? Two whole months?) I shared my experience at the beginning of the home buying process and the ups and downs of online mortgage tools. Now that I’m past the buying process and into the owning process–which is both way better and way scarier, by the way– I can…
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CU Annual Meetings: Celebration or Obligation?
Here’s why we think credit union Annual Meetings and Annual Reports should get a lot more love and a lot more celebration every year.
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Start Credit Unions to Save Credit Unions
The CU De Novo Collective is a band of volunteers with two closely linked missions: help new credit unions get started, and help smaller credit unions survive and thrive. How did this get started, and how did we get to the point where the CU De Novo Collective Foundation is actually raising capital to start…
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Are you scared yet?
Halloween is just around the corner, so I started thinking about which scary novel to read this season. I thought about re-reading “The Shining” by Stephen King, but wasn’t sure I could keep Jack Nicholson’s face from invading my dreams. So I started thinking about even older classics like “Dracula” by Bram Stoker, or Mary…
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Five ways to make car loans interesting
Let’s face the facts: at most credit unions, car loans are kinda, well, boring. The old cliche is that auto loans are every credit union’s “bread and butter”, which is true. They’re pretty much all exactly the same, aside from “great rates” (which everyone says they have) and “fast approval” (which everyone offers). And that…
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“Meatspace” is a CU superpower
We felt it was very appropriate to revive this article this week, as we are attending the Indiana Credit Union League (ICUL) conference the same day we send you this newsletter. See you there, Indiana Credit Unions! Ever since the COVID-19 pandemic, we’ve seen a trend toward doing, well everything, online. There are a lot…
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Do your members have the access they need?
With how laser-focused we are on credit union marketing and websites, our blog will often touch on topics such as SEO and creating a marketing flow. But today I’m not thinking about topics such as website accessibility, but about actual human access. And by “access” I mean, can people get to where they need to…
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OMG! Managing Your Google Business Profiles
Ever Google for driving directions, or a good burger joint on the way to Aunt Sally’s house? Of course you have. If there’s one thing that’s nearly universal in modern life, it’s the fact that no one has to ask for directions any more, and we pretty much know what to expect when we get…
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OMG! Budget season is coming up!
You’re already juggling loan campaigns, maintaining a website, writing press releases, newsletters and emails, posting social media, designing posters and brochures, updating branch signage, planning your next community event, etc., etc. You know, those everyday expectations that keep you busily bouncing between tasks all day long. Then all of a sudden it’s Budget Season. As…
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How to “do the right thing” without bragging
Credit unions are the perfect example of people banding together to solve a problem, and accomplishing more through cooperation. Since their beginnings in mid-1800s Europe, credit unions have embraced the values of “honesty, openness, social responsibility and caring for others.” Today’s credit unions continue to “give back” to their communities everyday – which is a…
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