The Member Story Project

The Member Story Project celebrates the powerful, personal moments between credit unions and the people they serve. Through heartfelt stories of real-life impact, this initiative highlights the moments when credit unions made a meaningful difference. Whether they offered support during a crisis, helped a dream come true, or simply showed up when it mattered most, these stories speak volumes.

They reflect the essence of the credit union movement: real people helping real people. We hope they inspire you as much as they inspire us.

Do you have a story to share? We’d love to hear it. Submit your story here and be featured on CreditUnions.com.

The Member Story Project is sponsored by Callahan & Associates

Saving A Home When Time Was Running Out

The New Orleans Firemen’s Federal Credit Union

Our members, a husband and wife, had struggled for years with high‑interest credit cards and other financial issues. At the time, they were living with his mother‑in‑law. By the end of 2023, the mother‑in‑law had only made three mortgage payments and was facing foreclosure. In September 2023, the husband was home when he received a […]

Relief After Years Of Caregiving

Champions First Credit Union

A 61-year-old single woman came to the credit union experiencing financial distress after spending years caring for her aging mother. During that time, she accumulated approximately $22,500 in credit card debt, largely to cover caregiving and daily living expenses. As balances grew, she became trapped in a cycle of late payments, incurring $30 to $35 […]

Looking Past The Score

Community Credit Union of Florida

A member, a homeowner in Brevard County, Florida, applied for a personal loan with a credit score of 514, a debt-to-income ratio of 78%, and an annual income of $36,000. Under traditional underwriting standards at most banks and credit unions, this application would typically have resulted in an automatic denial. However, the member had been […]

Less Interest More Breathing Room

Suncoast Credit Union

A member came to us looking for options to get out of debt. He had been going through several difficult life events, including losing his employment, a breakup, and having to move out. He was having a hard time keeping up with rent and food. After covering all of his financial obligations, he was left […]

Heat Restored Before Winter Set In.

Heritage Financial Credit Union

A member lost her husband last year, and without his additional income, her monthly budget became tighter than ever. While she was managing to get by, she was burdened with credit card debt from funeral expenses and prior purchases, along with high month‑to‑month interest. She was able to cover her bills each month, but there […]

Guidance That Turned Rent Into Ownership

Suncoast Credit Union

As immigrants from Haiti, members M and E were renting an apartment that was significantly overpriced. They both had jobs and wanted to own a home, so they came to Suncoast and applied for a mortgage. Unfortunately, they did not qualify due to income limitations and a lack of credit. Neither M nor E had […]

Lending

Origence Ends 2025 with 17% Growth in Fundings; Expands AI-Driven Lending Technology

Origence, the leading lending technology solutions provider for credit unions, closed 2025 with $62 billion in total fundings, up 17% ...
Operations & HR

Xpress Data Inc. hires Kirk Drake as new President

Xpress Data Inc. hires Kirk Drake as new President. Drake brings decades of experience in credit unions and technology strategy ...
Other

Catherine Bryant and Jonah Kaufman of Coastal Wealth Management Recognized as Distinguished Financial Professionals by LPL Financial

Catherine Bryant and Jonah Kaufman, Wealth Advisors at Coastal Wealth Management in Raleigh, have earned a place among LPL Financials’ ...

Credit Unions Gain Edge with New CashBack+ Credit Card Rewards

New York, NY – February 25, 2025 – Prizeout, the leader in advertising and financial technology, today announced the launch ...
Making A Difference

ICUL Launches “Credit Unions in Action” to Showcase Statewide Community Impact

The Illinois Credit Union League has opened our inaugural Credit Unions in Action (CUIA) data collection initiative, and we’re excited ...
Strategic Partnerships

Apple Federal Credit Union Partners with Quavo to Modernize Dispute Operations and Elevate Member Experience

Quavo, Inc. (“Quavo”), the proven AI disputes technology partner and leading strategic advisor for financial institutions, has announced a new ...
Technology

Wings Credit Union Signs with Corelation, Selecting KeyStone to Elevate Its Future

Wings Credit Union has signed with Corelation, confirming their decision to select the KeyStone core to power what is a ...
Lending

FI Connect Expands with Home Improvement Lending Channel, Helping Credit Unions Access New Home Renovation Loan Opportunities

Origence, the leading credit union lending technology company in the U.S., announced that its subsidiary, FI Connect, has expanded its ...
Other

Callahan & Gallup Welcome Two Credit Unions To The Member Engagement And Financial Wellbeing Consortium

Callahan & Associates, a recognized leader in performance measurement, leadership development, strategic advisory and community development for credit unions, and Gallup, a global analytics and ...
Operations & HR

QuantyPhi Welcomes Max Bade as ALM & CECL Analyst

QuantyPhi, a wholly owned CUSO of Corporate Central, is pleased to welcome Max Bade as ALM & CECL Analyst as ...
Charity Events

LAFCU, Quality Dairy partner for third annual Paczki Palooza to benefit local charities

LANSING, Mich. — LAFCU partnered with Quality Dairy for the third consecutive year as co-sponsor of Pączki Palooza, the popular ...
Making A Difference

EECU Celebrates Fresno Unified Excellence in Education Honorees

FRESNO, Calif. (Feb. 20, 2026) – Educational Employees Credit Union (EECU) proudly sponsored the Fresno Unified School District’s annual Excellence ...
Other

Coastal Credit Union Headquarters Renovation Earns Multiple Honors

Coastal Credit Union’s headquarters renovation has earned top recognition from both the Triangle Business Journal and the Carolinas AGC, underscoring ...
Strategic Partnerships

Woodford State Bank Selects Square 1 Credit Suite by Suntell

Woodford State Bank Selects Square 1 Credit Suite by Suntell February 23, 2026 — Suntell, a leading provider of loan ...
Marketing

Suntell Marks 30 Years Advancing Commercial and Agricultural Lending Technology for Community Financial Institutions

Suntell Marks 30 Years Advancing Commercial and Agricultural Lending Technology for Community Financial Institutions Suntell is celebrating its 30th anniversary, ...
Technology

Peninsula Community Credit Union Selects Alogent’s FASTdocs to Modernize Enterprise Content Management

Peninsula Community Credit Union has selected FASTdocs, Alogent’s enterprise content management (ECM) platform, to modernize its document management environment. Delivered ...
Other

National Association of Latino Credit Union Professionals Honors SchoolsFirst Federal Credit Union President Jose Lara with Legacy Leader Award

Jose Lara, president of SchoolsFirst Federal Credit Union, received the Legacy Leader Award from the National Association of Latino Credit ...
Making A Difference

Family Trust Federal Credit Union recognized for housing-focused financial education efforts

Family Trust Federal Credit Union (Family Trust) has been recognized by the Carolinas Credit Union Foundation with the Desjardins Adult ...
Other

Gulf Winds Welcomes Christopher Tenney as Vice President of Cybersecurity

Gulf Winds Credit Union is excited to announce that Christopher Tenney has joined the senior leadership team as Vice President ...
Personnel Promotions

Humanidei Welcomes Carolyn Reeves as Leadership & Organizational Development Consultant

Ontario, CA, February 17, 2026. Humanidei has announced the addition of Carolyn Reeves as its new Leadership & Organizational Development ...
Making A Difference

Coastal Credit Union and Foundation Earn Four Awards from Carolinas Credit Union Foundation

Coastal Credit Union and the Coastal Credit Union Foundation have earned four awards from the Carolinas Credit Union Foundation’s statewide ...
Other

Family Trust Federal Credit Union Hosts Coffee & Connections Event for Fort Mill Business Community

Family Trust Federal Credit Union (Family Trust) recently welcomed members of the York County Regional Chamber of Commerce to its ...
Making A Difference

$9 Million in Grants Awarded to 23 North Carolina Non-Profits by SECU Foundation

The State Employees’ Credit Union (SECU) Foundation Board of Directors has approved more than $9 million in funding for 23 ...
Lending

Rize Credit Union Adds CU Student Choice’s Student Loan and Refinance Solutions

CU Student Choice announced its student loan and refinance solutions will now be available to the members of Rize Credit ...
Industry Analysis & Trends

Baker Market Update – Week in Review: February 13, 2026

Released every Friday, BMU is a brief and informative newsletter that provides financial institutions a review of the week’s economic ...
Other

Vizo Financial’s 2026 Risk Management Conference to Feature Education on AI Risk, Cyber Threats & Payments Fraud

Vizo Financial Corporate Credit Union is holding its annual Risk Management Conference in Hershey, Pa., on April 22-24, 2026. Held ...
Making A Difference

Meriwest Community Foundation Celebrates Transformative Inaugural Year of Impact

The Meriwest Community Foundation is celebrating an incredible first year of impact. From expanding financial education to supporting underserved youth, ...
Technology

Energy One Federal Credit Union Implements AI-Powered Calculators from Appli

Appli, a provider of AI-powered financial calculators for credit unions and community banks, announced today that Energy One Federal Credit ...
Legal/Regulatory

NASCUS Supports NCUA Regulatory Modernization While Urging Clarity, Consistency, and Strong Supervisory Foundations

The National Association of State Credit Union Supervisors (NASCUS) submitted three comment letters to the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) ...
Lending

LendKey Surpasses $8 Billion in Loan Originations, Accelerating Growth for Credit Unions and Banks Nationwide

LendKey today announced it has surpassed $8 billion in loan originations, a milestone achieved through its network of more than ...
Lending

Origence Ends 2025 with 17% Growth in Fundings; Expands AI-Driven Lending Technology

Origence, the leading lending technology solutions provider for credit unions, closed 2025 with $62 billion in total fundings, up 17% ...
Operations & HR

Xpress Data Inc. hires Kirk Drake as new President

Xpress Data Inc. hires Kirk Drake as new President. Drake brings decades of experience in credit unions and technology strategy ...
Other

Catherine Bryant and Jonah Kaufman of Coastal Wealth Management Recognized as Distinguished Financial Professionals by LPL Financial

Catherine Bryant and Jonah Kaufman, Wealth Advisors at Coastal Wealth Management in Raleigh, have earned a place among LPL Financials’ ...

Credit Unions Gain Edge with New CashBack+ Credit Card Rewards

New York, NY – February 25, 2025 – Prizeout, the leader in advertising and financial technology, today announced the launch ...
Making A Difference

ICUL Launches “Credit Unions in Action” to Showcase Statewide Community Impact

The Illinois Credit Union League has opened our inaugural Credit Unions in Action (CUIA) data collection initiative, and we’re excited ...
Strategic Partnerships

Apple Federal Credit Union Partners with Quavo to Modernize Dispute Operations and Elevate Member Experience

Quavo, Inc. (“Quavo”), the proven AI disputes technology partner and leading strategic advisor for financial institutions, has announced a new ...
Technology

Wings Credit Union Signs with Corelation, Selecting KeyStone to Elevate Its Future

Wings Credit Union has signed with Corelation, confirming their decision to select the KeyStone core to power what is a ...
Lending

FI Connect Expands with Home Improvement Lending Channel, Helping Credit Unions Access New Home Renovation Loan Opportunities

Origence, the leading credit union lending technology company in the U.S., announced that its subsidiary, FI Connect, has expanded its ...
Other

Callahan & Gallup Welcome Two Credit Unions To The Member Engagement And Financial Wellbeing Consortium

Callahan & Associates, a recognized leader in performance measurement, leadership development, strategic advisory and community development for credit unions, and Gallup, a global analytics and ...
Operations & HR

QuantyPhi Welcomes Max Bade as ALM & CECL Analyst

QuantyPhi, a wholly owned CUSO of Corporate Central, is pleased to welcome Max Bade as ALM & CECL Analyst as ...
Charity Events

LAFCU, Quality Dairy partner for third annual Paczki Palooza to benefit local charities

LANSING, Mich. — LAFCU partnered with Quality Dairy for the third consecutive year as co-sponsor of Pączki Palooza, the popular ...
Making A Difference

EECU Celebrates Fresno Unified Excellence in Education Honorees

FRESNO, Calif. (Feb. 20, 2026) – Educational Employees Credit Union (EECU) proudly sponsored the Fresno Unified School District’s annual Excellence ...
Other

Coastal Credit Union Headquarters Renovation Earns Multiple Honors

Coastal Credit Union’s headquarters renovation has earned top recognition from both the Triangle Business Journal and the Carolinas AGC, underscoring ...
Strategic Partnerships

Woodford State Bank Selects Square 1 Credit Suite by Suntell

Woodford State Bank Selects Square 1 Credit Suite by Suntell February 23, 2026 — Suntell, a leading provider of loan ...
Marketing

Suntell Marks 30 Years Advancing Commercial and Agricultural Lending Technology for Community Financial Institutions

Suntell Marks 30 Years Advancing Commercial and Agricultural Lending Technology for Community Financial Institutions Suntell is celebrating its 30th anniversary, ...
Technology

Peninsula Community Credit Union Selects Alogent’s FASTdocs to Modernize Enterprise Content Management

Peninsula Community Credit Union has selected FASTdocs, Alogent’s enterprise content management (ECM) platform, to modernize its document management environment. Delivered ...
Other

National Association of Latino Credit Union Professionals Honors SchoolsFirst Federal Credit Union President Jose Lara with Legacy Leader Award

Jose Lara, president of SchoolsFirst Federal Credit Union, received the Legacy Leader Award from the National Association of Latino Credit ...
Making A Difference

Family Trust Federal Credit Union recognized for housing-focused financial education efforts

Family Trust Federal Credit Union (Family Trust) has been recognized by the Carolinas Credit Union Foundation with the Desjardins Adult ...
Other

Gulf Winds Welcomes Christopher Tenney as Vice President of Cybersecurity

Gulf Winds Credit Union is excited to announce that Christopher Tenney has joined the senior leadership team as Vice President ...
Personnel Promotions

Humanidei Welcomes Carolyn Reeves as Leadership & Organizational Development Consultant

Ontario, CA, February 17, 2026. Humanidei has announced the addition of Carolyn Reeves as its new Leadership & Organizational Development ...
Making A Difference

Coastal Credit Union and Foundation Earn Four Awards from Carolinas Credit Union Foundation

Coastal Credit Union and the Coastal Credit Union Foundation have earned four awards from the Carolinas Credit Union Foundation’s statewide ...
Other

Family Trust Federal Credit Union Hosts Coffee & Connections Event for Fort Mill Business Community

Family Trust Federal Credit Union (Family Trust) recently welcomed members of the York County Regional Chamber of Commerce to its ...
Making A Difference

$9 Million in Grants Awarded to 23 North Carolina Non-Profits by SECU Foundation

The State Employees’ Credit Union (SECU) Foundation Board of Directors has approved more than $9 million in funding for 23 ...
Lending

Rize Credit Union Adds CU Student Choice’s Student Loan and Refinance Solutions

CU Student Choice announced its student loan and refinance solutions will now be available to the members of Rize Credit ...
Industry Analysis & Trends

Baker Market Update – Week in Review: February 13, 2026

Released every Friday, BMU is a brief and informative newsletter that provides financial institutions a review of the week’s economic ...
Other

Vizo Financial’s 2026 Risk Management Conference to Feature Education on AI Risk, Cyber Threats & Payments Fraud

Vizo Financial Corporate Credit Union is holding its annual Risk Management Conference in Hershey, Pa., on April 22-24, 2026. Held ...
Making A Difference

Meriwest Community Foundation Celebrates Transformative Inaugural Year of Impact

The Meriwest Community Foundation is celebrating an incredible first year of impact. From expanding financial education to supporting underserved youth, ...
Technology

Energy One Federal Credit Union Implements AI-Powered Calculators from Appli

Appli, a provider of AI-powered financial calculators for credit unions and community banks, announced today that Energy One Federal Credit ...
Legal/Regulatory

NASCUS Supports NCUA Regulatory Modernization While Urging Clarity, Consistency, and Strong Supervisory Foundations

The National Association of State Credit Union Supervisors (NASCUS) submitted three comment letters to the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) ...
Lending

LendKey Surpasses $8 Billion in Loan Originations, Accelerating Growth for Credit Unions and Banks Nationwide

LendKey today announced it has surpassed $8 billion in loan originations, a milestone achieved through its network of more than ...

Tower Federal Credit Union and the Baltimore Orioles Announce New Bird Bath Sponsorship at Camden Yards

[Laurel, Maryland – April 15, 2026] The fan-favorite Bird Bath at Oriole Park at Camden Yards is set to make an even bigger splash this ...

Tower Federal Credit Union Hosts Free Shred Day To Fight Fraud & Prevent Identity Theft

[April 14, 2026 – Laurel, MD] Tower Federal Credit Union hosted a free Shred Day on April 11, 2026, at its Laurel, Maryland branch, giving ...

Synergent and Partner Bayer Heritage Federal Credit Union Recognized with Two Diamond Awards from America’s Credit Unions

WESTBTROOK, ME (April 14, 2026) – Synergent is pleased to announce it has received two Diamond Awards from America’s Credit Unions for an innovative auto ...

CU*SOUTH Board Member Jimmy Smith Inducted into Credit Union House Hall of Leaders

CU*SOUTH, a 100% credit union-owned credit union service organization (CUSO) that provides essential products and solutions for credit unions, is proud to celebrate the induction ...

Corelation Surpasses 300 Total Clients as 12 Credit Unions Select the KeyStone Core in First Quarter 2026

Demonstrating continued confidence from credit unions nationwide, Corelation, Inc., proudly announces that 12 credit unions (cumulative total of $9.4 billion in assets; 501,784 members) selected ...

Student Choice Launches Employer Choice to Boost the Financial Resilience of Working Americans

With financial stress on the rise for many Americans, CU Student Choice Partners, LLC (Student Choice) is branching beyond its student lending roots with Employer ...
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