Good iDiz (v5): Security CU

Last month we realized everyone would appreciate hearing a little more good news, so we’re continuing our pleasant positivity publications with a look at the good people over at Security Credit Union! They’ve got community spirit AND holiday spirit! Security CU literally walks the walk These peppy pedestrians were recognized back in November for their…

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Good iDiz (v3): cPort CU

Last week, we started touting some of the folks we know have deep ties to their local community. This week we’re continuing the trend with another classy community-building credit union: cPort Credit Union! Got some positivity you’d like to share? Help us keep this newsletter going! Let us know about other CUs and organizations helping…

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Good iDiz (v2): WSFCU

Last week we decided to start focusing on positivity. We’re started looking for examples of community building, charity, and things that generally put a smile on our faces. We hope you’ll help us keep it going. This week, we reached out to some folks we know have deep ties to their local communities. They told…

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When you mobilize your members, you can do even more.

How credit unions could help the helpers

What with all this… let’s just call it “stuff” going on in the world right now, credit unions all over are leading the response in a lot of innovative ways. After all, “people helping people” is part of every credit union’s DNA.  Much of what we’ve seen so far are CUs offering flexibility to their…

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find a reason to bring people together.

Bringing people together in a No Front Porch World

Front porches used to be the ideal gathering places. People used to sit outside to cool off, greeting neighbors walking by and inviting them up for a face-to-face chat. It was a great way to bring people together, catch up on community news, and share some iced tea. Then air conditioning killed the front porch.…

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get busy, get creative, and find ways to get things done anyway

Career lessons from the watermelon farm

I had a strange career before getting mixed up with credit unions, including a few years working at a mental hospital and 12 years in a busy rock band. But the one thing that makes people stop and ask questions is my time as a watermelon farmer in southern Indiana. I spent every summer when…

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We need to allow others to learn from our failures.

This isn’t working, and I have no idea why.

Would you ever say “this isn’t working, and I have no idea why” to your boss? Never. To your friends and coworkers? Probably not. After all, most of us are programmed that failure is not an option. Which is crazy. Lots of good ideas with great potential have failed. Even a few of ours: •…

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People would rather join a cause than a club

8 AHA! Moments from Austin | #CUatMAC

Those AHA! moments — quotable lines by interesting and unique speakers — that make a conference worth attending. Add in smiling, friendly marketers, vendors that actually get along, and a city that is known for its live music, a social conscience and being a bit weird, and you might just have the perfect combination for a credit union marketing conference.…

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Every credit union has a unique local flavor

Can you taste the local difference?

Last week, I noticed a cool new package in the freezer at the grocery store. No-nonsense, retro-yet-high-tech, and irresistible next to the generic plastic bags. Priced only a little bit higher than the generic sweet corn from who-knows-where. What it contained was sweet corn. Indiana bicolor sweet corn. I visited the company’s web site (huskfoods.com),…

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It's creative, kitschy, classy, unorthodox, and I loved every grass-roots moment of it.

Dream big for your next community event

ArtPrize is a chaotic, jumbled mess of classic and pop, amateur and professional art surrounded by mobs of people and spread out over (mostly) downtown Grand Rapids, Michigan. It’s creative, kitschy, classy, unorthodox, and I loved every grass-roots moment of it. For 19 days every year, Grand Rapids turns their downtown into an oversized art…

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