TACOMA, WA (July 22, 2013) -- To better serve its neighbors with a new Community Empowerment Center (CEC) opening August 9, 2013, Natco Credit Union ($67 million; 12,422 members; Richmond, IN) employed CDFI grant writing firm CU Strategic Planning to leverage its data-gathering, focus group service called ©First Voice. First Voice gained first-hand access to the real needs of the communities credit unions serve – Natco in this case, providing them with the data they need to determine the most effective options for community programs and services that encourage financial stability and prosperity.
Natco held its First Voice Community Impact Assessment event last month to interact and discuss with locals about the external and internal barriers that prevent them from properly managing their finances. More than 60 locals attended, answering questionnaires and engaging in practical dialog that will ultimately foster Natco’s CEC initiative to become a success in helping their neighboring communities flourish. (See video slideshow of event.)
“The First Voice meeting allowed us to learn first-hand the struggles members of our community face on a daily basis. This type of information is invaluable in that it has allowed us to prioritize and create programs based around these needs,” says Natco Credit Union CEO, Cindy Gribben. “The success of the Natco Empowerment Center ultimately depends on how well we understand our community and how we can help provide information and guidance that will help families overcome their challenges. Our mission is ‘to strengthen community through economic empowerment one step at a time.’ We will continually gather community input so that we can create the types of programs that are needed.”
CU Strategic Planning’s First Voice process helps test, revise, and refine assumptions about the need for, and priorities of a credit union’s CEC initiative. First Voice enables credit unions to discover what’s really needed by identifying key community stakeholders and interviewing them to determine a first-hand account of community needs. This type of information can be used to create a Community Impact Assessment report designed for a credit union’s CEC program that can be beneficial for implementation and future funding opportunities such as CDFI grants – of which there is a great demand today.
At Natco, the event managed to garner a healthy collection of consumer data on the varied situations that adversely affect finances – such as unemployment, massive debt, legal issues, lack of education/information, affordable housing, etc. A CEC armed with this information can focus and provide the specific services that can immediately help members of the community.
“First Voice brings it all together – a reality check to tap into,” says CU Strategic Planning President Stacy Augustine. “Through this focus group process, we are able to help credit unions develop CEC initiatives that can provide the financial services people need that can ultimately propel a community’s growth because its residents are becoming more and more financially fit through the credit union’s CEC programs. The credit union wins as well with new audience to join their financial institution that will provide these potential new members with more helpful products and services.”
CU Strategic Planning will help Hawaiian credit unions next month host a First Voice event to discover the precise needs of their communities for future CEC development and CDFI funding opportunities.
About CU Strategic Planning
Headquartered in Tacoma, WA, with satellite offices in San Diego and Boston, CU Strategic Planning is the only strategic planning facilitator in the United States with the mission to help credit unions realize their potential through the International Credit Union Operating Principles. It is widely considered the #1 writer of credit union Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) grant applications. No firm serving credit unions writes and wins more CDFI awards than CU Strategic Planning. Its “Miracle Makers” have 100 percent success with CDFI certification. For more information, visit www.creditunionstrategicplanning.com.