Concern for Community: The Seventh Cooperative Principle
Credit unions pride themselves on their commitment to their communities and demonstrate that concern in many ways. This includes supporting charitable drives in the neighborhood, bankrolling local small businesses, or sponsoring financial literacy efforts aimed at their friends, neighbors, and fellow credit union members.
This commitment can be seen in the social media feeds, email newsletters, and web posts of credit unions all across Canada and the United States. I believe it is a sincere commitment and is one of the greatest strengths of the credit union movement as a whole.
Once again, Synergy Credit Union describes the principle in their presentation on each of these seven principles
What it means to you: Knowing that your day-to-day banking translates into benefits for charities, local businesses and the entire community.
Concern for community is more than just charitable events – it’s attention to the community’s real needs
Because credit unions are intended to be a financial center for their community, the particular commitment they can offer is support for the financial and economic well-being of that community and everyone in it.
The website Canada’s Credit Unions maintains a list of blog posts. Along with the topics I referred to in principle four, this blog describes many of the ways that credit unions work to share concern for their community. Topics recently discussed include expressing support for Canada’s indigenous community, offering assistance on issues of general financial well-being, and addressing the growing cost of housing.
- Canadian Credit Unions Are Leading the Way to Pave a Brighter Financial Future for All
- Truth and Reconciliation: How Credit Unions are Supporting Indigenous Reconciliation
- Four Questions Keeping Canadians Up at Night
- Indigenous Reconciliation and Canada’s Credit Unions
- How Credit Unions are Helping with Housing Affordability
Your credit union’s concern for your community is something to be proud of
Knowing how to wrap up this series of short posts on Credit Union Principles is difficult. I am so proud of the credit union’s willingness to do things just a bit differently so that we can all express our commitment to our community and a better future for all of us.
These principles stand for all that is good about our movement.
- Voluntary and open membership: The First Cooperative Principle
- Democratic member control: The Second Cooperative Principle
- Member economic participation: The Third Cooperative Principle
- Autonomy and independence: The Fourth Cooperative Principle
- Education, training and information: The Fifth Cooperative Principle
- Co-operation between co-operatives: The Sixth Cooperative Principle
- Concern for community: The Seventh Cooperative Principle
It has been a real pleasure to write these posts. It is always a privilege to help credit unions across Canada and the United States educate their members, attract like-minded community members, and act as advocates for positive change in their communities. If you are interested in my services as a freelance member of your communications and marketing team, please contact me at todd@toddracecopywriting.com or right here on my website.
Cooperatively yours, Todd.