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

A Clear Path Out Of High Interest

CoastHills Federal Credit Union

We received a Free Financial Review request from a member who was feeling overwhelmed by high monthly payments and looking for a path forward. We scheduled a one-on-one financial counseling session and took the time to understand her full financial picture and long-term goals, not just the immediate issue. The member’s primary objective was to […]

A Box Truck And A Bigger Vision

Heritage Financial Credit Union

I previously managed small business accounts at another financial institution. In April 2024, one of my former account members reached out to me because he needed a loan to purchase another vehicle for his growing business. The members own a minority‑owned, family‑run business based in Orange County, New York, that provides party rentals of a […]

A Bigger Home And A Brighter Future

REV Federal Credit Union

A devoted single father was raising three children in a cramped rental, doing his best to provide for them on a modest income while the family struggled to find enough space. With a baby sharing his bedroom and the two older children sharing a room, it was time for him to find a larger home. […]

A Roof Over Their Heads And A Community At Their Side

Suncoast Credit Union

Long-time members came into a branch deeply concerned about potentially losing their home. With only three weeks remaining on their homeowners insurance policy, they were required to replace their entire roof in order to renew coverage. After being denied a personal loan elsewhere, they felt overwhelmed and unsure of what to do next. A team […]

A Better Road Ahead

Desco Federal Credit Union

Members came in hoping to find their daughter a reliable but inexpensive vehicle—around $2,500—to get her back and forth to college. They shared that their credit probably wasn’t very good, but they wanted to see if there was anything I could do to help. After submitting the application, I was happy to tell them their […]

Trust That Comes Full Circle

Connections Credit Union

Two years had passed when I received a phone call from a woman interested in an auto loan. As we talked through the details, she shared that her husband had sent her to us because he knew we would be a good fit to help her. As the conversation continued, everything began to come together, […]

Other

SchoolsFirst FCU’s Kristin Crellin Named 2026 CSUF Vision & Visionaries Distinguished Alumna

Kristin Crellin, senior vice president of community and Membership development at SchoolsFirst Federal Credit Union, has been named a 2026 ...
Making A Difference

Coastal Credit Union’s Creighton Blackwell Inducted into African American Credit Union Hall of Fame

Coastal Credit Union’s Chief Community Impact and Public Affairs Officer Creighton Blackwell is among the African American Credit Union 2026 ...
Technology

Hanscom Federal Credit Union Selects Corelation’s KeyStone to Advance Its Members First Mission and Long-Term Innovation

Hanscom Federal Credit Union ($2.1 billion assets; 115,000+ members; Littleton, MA) selected the Corelation KeyStone core, marking an important milestone ...
Strategic Partnerships

Credit Union West Partners with Arkatechture to Advance Enterprise Data & Analytics Capabilities

Credit Union West has partnered with Arkatechture to strengthen their ability to transform data into timely, actionable insights that support ...
New Product Releases

Vizo Financial Launches DefaultSleuth to Help Credit Unions Shift from Reactive Collections to Proactive Risk Prevention

Vizo Financial Corporate Credit Union introduced DefaultSleuth, a behavioral-first risk intelligence platform designed to help credit unions manage default risk ...
Personnel Promotions

For Immediate Release – Natco Credit Union Appoints Tim Frame as President/CEO

Richmond, IN, March 2, 2026. Natco Credit Union announced the appointment of Tim Frame as its next President and Chief ...

Final Weeks To Apply For LAFCU’s 2026 Write To Educate Essay Contest

LANSING, Mich. — Michigan high school seniors have until March 31 to submit entries for LAFCU’s 2026 Write to Educate ...
Personnel Promotions

CRIF Select Welcomes Julie Nielsen as SVP of Account Management to Accelerate Client Growth and Enterprise Value

CRIF Select has appointed Julie Nielsen as Senior Vice President of Account Management to drive client growth and enterprise value ...
Legal/Regulatory

Bipartisan AFFORD Act Will Strengthen CDFI Fund

The bipartisan Advancing Financial Opportunities through Revitalizing and Developing CDFIs (AFFORD) Act was introduced this week by Senators Steve Daines ...
Industry Analysis & Trends

Baker Market Update – Week in Review: February 27, 2026

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

SECU and SECU Foundation Receive Disaster Response Champions Award for Helene Relief Efforts

State Employees’ Credit Union (SECU) and SECU Foundation recently received the inaugural Disaster Response Champions Award from Carolinas Credit Union ...
New Product Releases

St. Cloud Financial Credit Union Launches CU-Digital Asset Vault™ — Positioning the Credit Union as the most Valuable Wallet for Member Digital Wealth

St. Cloud Financial Credit Union (SCFCU) announced the live launch of the CU-Digital Asset Vault™, the first credit union-built digital ...
Marketing

Appli CEO Tim Pranger to Showcase Real-Time Property Value Calculator at CUNA GAC 2026

Appli, the creator of the industry’s first AI-powered smart financial calculator, today announced that Founder and CEO Tim Pranger will ...
Other

Newsweek names Redwood Credit Union one of the Greatest Midsize Workplaces for Women

Newsweek has awarded Redwood Credit Union its highest five-star rating as one of America’s Greatest Midsize Workplaces for Women, an ...
Strategic Partnerships

Ocean State Credit Union Selects Synergent for Core Processing and Integrated Services

WESTBROOK, ME (February 26, 2026) – Synergent® has entered into a ten-year hosted Jack Henry™ Symitar® core processing agreement with ...
New Product Releases

eDOC Innovations Announces Product Enhancements

eDOC announces product updates and enhancements including new integration capabilities with its e-Sign solution, eDOCSignature, optimization of iDOCVault document management ...
Other

Vizo Financial’s March 2026 Education Calendar

At Vizo Financial we are committed to providing quality education to credit unions and their staff, which is why we ...
Other

Meriwest Credit Union Wins Top Honor as Best Credit Union in Silicon Valley 2026

We’re excited to share that Meriwest has been voted as the Best Credit Union in Silicon Valley in 2026 by ...
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

SchoolsFirst FCU’s Kristin Crellin Named 2026 CSUF Vision & Visionaries Distinguished Alumna

Kristin Crellin, senior vice president of community and Membership development at SchoolsFirst Federal Credit Union, has been named a 2026 ...
Making A Difference

Coastal Credit Union’s Creighton Blackwell Inducted into African American Credit Union Hall of Fame

Coastal Credit Union’s Chief Community Impact and Public Affairs Officer Creighton Blackwell is among the African American Credit Union 2026 ...
Technology

Hanscom Federal Credit Union Selects Corelation’s KeyStone to Advance Its Members First Mission and Long-Term Innovation

Hanscom Federal Credit Union ($2.1 billion assets; 115,000+ members; Littleton, MA) selected the Corelation KeyStone core, marking an important milestone ...
Strategic Partnerships

Credit Union West Partners with Arkatechture to Advance Enterprise Data & Analytics Capabilities

Credit Union West has partnered with Arkatechture to strengthen their ability to transform data into timely, actionable insights that support ...
New Product Releases

Vizo Financial Launches DefaultSleuth to Help Credit Unions Shift from Reactive Collections to Proactive Risk Prevention

Vizo Financial Corporate Credit Union introduced DefaultSleuth, a behavioral-first risk intelligence platform designed to help credit unions manage default risk ...
Personnel Promotions

For Immediate Release – Natco Credit Union Appoints Tim Frame as President/CEO

Richmond, IN, March 2, 2026. Natco Credit Union announced the appointment of Tim Frame as its next President and Chief ...

Final Weeks To Apply For LAFCU’s 2026 Write To Educate Essay Contest

LANSING, Mich. — Michigan high school seniors have until March 31 to submit entries for LAFCU’s 2026 Write to Educate ...
Personnel Promotions

CRIF Select Welcomes Julie Nielsen as SVP of Account Management to Accelerate Client Growth and Enterprise Value

CRIF Select has appointed Julie Nielsen as Senior Vice President of Account Management to drive client growth and enterprise value ...
Legal/Regulatory

Bipartisan AFFORD Act Will Strengthen CDFI Fund

The bipartisan Advancing Financial Opportunities through Revitalizing and Developing CDFIs (AFFORD) Act was introduced this week by Senators Steve Daines ...
Industry Analysis & Trends

Baker Market Update – Week in Review: February 27, 2026

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

SECU and SECU Foundation Receive Disaster Response Champions Award for Helene Relief Efforts

State Employees’ Credit Union (SECU) and SECU Foundation recently received the inaugural Disaster Response Champions Award from Carolinas Credit Union ...
New Product Releases

St. Cloud Financial Credit Union Launches CU-Digital Asset Vault™ — Positioning the Credit Union as the most Valuable Wallet for Member Digital Wealth

St. Cloud Financial Credit Union (SCFCU) announced the live launch of the CU-Digital Asset Vault™, the first credit union-built digital ...
Marketing

Appli CEO Tim Pranger to Showcase Real-Time Property Value Calculator at CUNA GAC 2026

Appli, the creator of the industry’s first AI-powered smart financial calculator, today announced that Founder and CEO Tim Pranger will ...
Other

Newsweek names Redwood Credit Union one of the Greatest Midsize Workplaces for Women

Newsweek has awarded Redwood Credit Union its highest five-star rating as one of America’s Greatest Midsize Workplaces for Women, an ...
Strategic Partnerships

Ocean State Credit Union Selects Synergent for Core Processing and Integrated Services

WESTBROOK, ME (February 26, 2026) – Synergent® has entered into a ten-year hosted Jack Henry™ Symitar® core processing agreement with ...
New Product Releases

eDOC Innovations Announces Product Enhancements

eDOC announces product updates and enhancements including new integration capabilities with its e-Sign solution, eDOCSignature, optimization of iDOCVault document management ...
Other

Vizo Financial’s March 2026 Education Calendar

At Vizo Financial we are committed to providing quality education to credit unions and their staff, which is why we ...
Other

Meriwest Credit Union Wins Top Honor as Best Credit Union in Silicon Valley 2026

We’re excited to share that Meriwest has been voted as the Best Credit Union in Silicon Valley in 2026 by ...
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 ...

Redwood Credit Union celebrates local entrepreneurs during Small Business Month

During Small Business Month, Redwood Credit Union (RCU)—a full-service Northern California and Bay Area credit union providing personal and business banking services—celebrates the local businesses ...

Baker Market Update – Week in Review: May 08, 2026

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

Hometown Bank Selects Square 1 Credit Suite by Suntell

Hometown Bank has selected the Square 1 Credit Suite by Suntell as its commercial loan management solution, reinforcing its commitment to operational efficiency, strong risk ...

Indiana Members Credit Union Announces 10th Anniversary Cancer Awareness Card Beneficiary

Indiana Members Credit Union is proud to celebrate the 10th anniversary of its Cancer Awareness Debit Card by naming Pink Ribbon Connection as the 2026–2027 ...

Fort Worth Community Credit Union Announces Name Change to Worth Credit Union

Fort Worth, Texas — May 1, 2026 — Fort Worth Community Credit Union is proud to announce that it will o8icially change its name to ...

Coastal Credit Union Hosts Financial Education Field Trip for Title I Students at Coastal Music Park

Coastal Credit Union welcomed more than 60 students and volunteers to the Coastal Credit Union Music Park on Wednesday, May 6 for a hands-on financial ...
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