Real Solutions - A National Credit Union Foundation Program

It’s time to be real about social media. Throwing up a Facebook page, jumping into a blog, or blasting updates via Twitter because you heard you’re supposed to will exhaust you and annoy your members. To do it well (or decide if you should do it at all), you need to understanding, strategy, and the right tools to implement…(read more)

Do you know any REAL Solutions credit unions that have delayed confirming their eligibility for NCUA low-income designation or CFDI certification?

Secretary of the Treasury Timothy Geithner announced the Community Development Capital Initiative (CDCI), and our expectation is that it will make hundreds of millions of dollars available to qualifying credit unions…(read more)

Almost every day I’ve seen a new press release, TV spot or blog post on why consumers should (and are) making the switch to credit unions.

It’s both a huge opportunity and responsibility for credit unions, but one thing it’s not: warm fuzzy altruism. It’s important to understand that implementing new products that help low-wealth members is a growth strategy. To succeed in this area, product and service development has to focus on empathy and service coupled with viability and sustainability...(read more)

Credit unions care about kids. We support all kinds of children’s charities, provide financial educational opportunities, support little league, athletic and after school programs. According to the National Center for Children in Poverty fourteen million American children live in families with incomes below the federal poverty level, which is $22,050 a year for a family of four…(read more)

Yesterday I had the pleasure of talking to a representative from the FDIC who sought our advice on how financial instutions can provide access to affordable transaction products. I was able to give her a host of credit union examples as well as share our product toolkits with her. In talking with her I found that FDIC has just completed a “National Survey of Unbanked and Underbanked Households”... (continue reading)