One CEO’s wild idea to give back to the community has blown up in a big way.
Dave Larson, CEO at Affinity Plus Federal Credit Union ($4.5B, St. Paul, MN), launched the credit union’s Plus It Forward Day in 2013 to provide staff a paid day off to volunteer and give back to the communities Affinity Plus serves. Area credit unions joined Affinity Plus in the ensuing years, and eventually Affinity Plus passed it on to the Minnesota Credit Union Network, which rebranded the event as CU Forward Day.
“Twelve years [after its launch] we’re still managing the program and still encouraging credit unions to participate,” says Andrea Molnau, director of public engagement and strategic initiatives at the Minnesota Credit Union Network.
Power, Amplified
In addition to its Minnesota efforts, MNCUN has packaged the program and made it available to other states, with Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Maine, and others now carrying the mantel. The Minnesota league’s toolkit includes information on the day itself, how to promote it to credit unions, how to organize around it, what data to collect, sample media materials, and more. Each state takes its own approach — with some using different branding — but MNCUN encourages all participants to track the same metrics:
- Number of volunteer participants.
- Total amount of money donated.
- Total hours worked.
- The number of or list of organizations impacted by the event.
“The magic of the day is the fact that all of these credit unions are coming together and sharing kindness in one day,” Molnau says. “Credit unions are doing community-involvement work throughout the year. Bringing it all together like this shows that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. It amplifies the impact of the day for a visualization of the credit union difference.”
The sizable impact that comes from dozens of credit unions working in tandem — even if they all work on different projects — demonstrates how the industry can amplify its power to make a difference. That difference isn’t just evident within the communities, however. It’s evident in the very volunteers that work to make the day a success.
It feels good to put some good in the world; that’s part of the attraction of the day.
“We get so much feedback from our credit unions that their employees love this day,” Molnau says. “Giving back feels good, and employees start planning for the next year the day after it happens. There’s this energy of the day that people hear about, they see it, and they talk about it. It feels good to put some good in the world; that’s part of the attraction of the day.”
Molnau adds that making the event as easy as possible but also customizable has had a huge impact in helping the event gain traction.
Flexibility In Impact
Illinois launched CU Kind Day in 2019, and more than 80 credit unions and partners participated in 2024. The event has directed more than $500,000 into Illinois communities since its inception.
“It’s a concept that is impossible not to love,” says Staci Hering, ICUL’s director of culture and engagement. “Community work is foundational to the credit union movement. All of our credit unions were doing it, but this gives them the space to show, collaboratively, what the movement looks like when it comes together and how it prioritizes helping people.”
Like in Minnesota, ICUL sponsors its event every year on Columbus Day and Indigenous Peoples’ Day. It also ensures the event is customizable so individual cooperatives can plan events that resonate with those they serve. That has been key to getting buy-in from credit unions of all sizes and in a variety of locations. After all, how a credit union in Chicago incorporates what it holds near and dear might be different from how a credit union in Southern Illinois makes an impact in its community, Hering says.
“The beauty behind CU Kind Day is it allows a lot of flexibility to make an impact where it matters most in their community,” Hering says. “They don’t have to color in the lines of what the league puts together.”
That doesn’t mean the league is totally hands-off. It does provide lists of organizations in need as well as past examples of credit union activities. It also engages member institutions in league-organized givebacks, including a hands-on service project. Some examples from past years include working in food banks, creating dog toys to donate to animal shelters, and creating care packages for Ukrainian refugee children. For 2025, participants will be packing child literacy kits.
In addition to in-person givebacks, ICUL offers a virtual fundraiser in support of Credit Unions 4 Kids and Children’s Miracle Network hospitals. It also offers a branded online shop of CU Kind Day items for purchase and donates 100% of those funds to CMN hospitals, Hering says.
Giving Back Collaboratively
While CU Kind Day and many similar events are coordinated with state leagues, some credit unions in other places are banding together on their own. One major example of this is Arizona Credit Union Week. This is the event’s third year, and 18 different cooperatives in the state are expected to participate this year.
One of those is Vantage West Credit Union ($3.2B, Tucson, AZ), coming back for its second year with the event. Vantage West’s branches were expected to be closed Monday in observance of Indigenous People’s Day, and an all-staff event was planned recognizing the holiday along with a celebration of the credit union’s 70th anniversary.
After that, the giving back kicks into high gear.
On Tuesday, Vantage West and others will participate in Pay It Forward Day, focused on small businesses that contribute to the local economy.
“We could’ve just found local businesses in the community, but it was really about celebrating our [small business] membership, as well,” says Rosanna Ramirez, PR and market development manager at Vantage West. “We’ll go out and do things like complimentary services, so if someone’s getting a haircut at a barber, we’ll pick up the tab. If you get a cup of coffee, we’ll pick up your cup of joe.”
Next comes the AZCU Day of Service, when credit union employees will come together for community service volunteer projects throughout the state.
Ramirez notes that part of what makes the event special is that all participating credit unions are working as one. “We’re all wearing the same shirt – we’re not advertising our own locations,” she says.
“It’s more like we’re here [collaboratively] and doing this work together.”
The remainder of the week will include International Credit Union Day celebrations and a focus on financial education for students.
The ripple effect of giving back has caught in on Arizona just as it has in Minnesota, Illinois, and elsewhere – not just with staff, but with the community at large.
“There’s hype around it; people want to be part of Credit Union Week,” says Ramirez. “They want to do these activities because it’s so significant.”
No Such Thing As Failure
Given widespread economic uncertainty and consumer anxiety, there could be increased need for this sort of giveback in 2025 — but Illinois’s Hering says 2020 was a dry run, of sorts.
“The beauty of this day is that it allows people to be responsive to what’s happening in their communities on a moment-by-moment basis,” she says. “We don’t make people lock in their plans two months ahead of time. We want them to keep their finger on the pulse of what is needed so they can respond in a way that makes the most impact.”
Hering says as of last week she was still gathering all participating credit unions’ plans; but she hasn’t yet looked for trends. Some of the good work that happens across the day was occurring before the advent of CU Kind Day, of course, but it didn’t have the same level of coordinated cooperation and intent, she says.
Both Hering and Molnau credit these events for reinvigorating staff at all levels. Simplicity and flexibility in the day’s design, too, has helped it catch on and become self-perpetuating, Molnau says.
For her part, Hering says the most important element is simply to participate.
“It’s hard to make a mistake with it,” she says. “If your intentions are to do something good, you’re not going to fail.”