Real Solutions - A National Credit Union Foundation Program

The Aspen Institute wants to put people of modest means in touch with credit unions that can help with their financial needs. Its AssetPlatform at www.AssetPlatform.org is a resource for staff at nonprofit organizations to help lower-income families obtain financial education and coaching assistance to build assets. The site includes a credit union locator link to help individuals find a credit union in their area that they are eligible to join.

Last year, the Nebraska Credit Union League released a series of videos illustrating the benefits of credit unions over banks. The videos take a humorous tone, but still underscore what makes credit unions different (and better) than other institutions. The one above, “A Union Resulting in Lower Interest,” seems to be the most popular and is my favorite.

Could your credit union employees benefit from Sensitivity/Diversity Training? We’ve developed a new sensitivity guide to help…

Total U.S. consumer debt decreased by 4.3% from 2008 to 2009. During that same period, total revolving debt dropped by 9.6% and credit card debt sunk 10.5%. Statistics like these always generate interesting reactions. Taken alone, they suggest that Americans may finally be trying to kick their debt habits. Hardly.

LMI families are finding it increasingly difficult to save money. In Does Imagery Matter: Delving into the Mind of Low- to Moderate-Income Savers, the Doorways to Dreams Fund (D2D) and the Filene Research Institute partnered to analyze how marketing images influence LMI families’ likelihood of saving.

Researchers found that choosing emotionally provocative images can make successful connections with low- to moderate-income consumers. This works especially well when targeting specific segments within this market, like single mothers. You’ll find examples of successful emotional images throughout this report.

If you’d like your colleagues to see these images as well, Filene and NCUF are offering you a free download of the report’s electronic version. Just fill in the form at: http://filene.org/free/lowwealth to receive your complimentary PDF.