Real Solutions - A National Credit Union Foundation Program

By developing a credit union branch inside a thrift store that is operated by people with disabilities, FinancialEdge Community Credit Union in Bay City, Mich. is hoping to better reach the low-income people who live in the Bay City area. FinancialEdge’s project is supported by grants from the National Credit Union Foundation (NCUF) and the Michigan Credit Union Foundation.

Biz Kid$ returns for a new season – taking a close look at the economy, businesses that give back, and how to make good financial choices. Season 5 launched in January on public television stations around the country. Produced in high-definition, every half-hour episode focuses on a financial theme and profiles inspiring young entrepreneurs and social philanthropists.

From the New Jersey Credit Union League – On Wednesday, February 22nd, the National Federation of Community Development Credit Unions (Federation) hosted a luncheon at the League office for credit unions, interns, and representatives from the disability community to discuss the experiences of Cycle VII of the Building Economic Strength Together (BEST) internship program. This is the last cycle of the program, which was piloted two years ago in New Jersey. The BEST program is a collaborative project that provides internship opportunities for people with disabilities.

Originally posted at CUinsight – Want to make a big impact not only in the lives of your members but your community? One of the many things that set credit unions apart from the competition is their community outreach efforts, particularly with regards to financial education. Whether it be classroom seminars, financial counseling, experiential learning events such as Reality Fairs, and so on, credit unions exist to serve their members and diverse financial education is a key component for membership success.

From CUNA News Now – More than 12,000 free tax preparation sites will be open nationwide this tax season with an army of volunteers to help low- and moderate-income households with their tax preparation, according to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Credit unions will be among them.

From CUNA News Now – The REAL Solutions Enhanced Financial Counseling Certification Program (FiCEP) has been brought back to Illinois for a second year with two modifications to allow as many Illinois credit unions as possible to participate in the program, said the Illinois Credit Union League.

Registration is now open for the Fall 2012 Credit Union Development Education (DE) training class taking place September 6-13 in Madison, Wis. Attendees of the six-day total immersion experience will learn about credit unions’ social responsibility and domestic and international development through interactive education and professional networking.

With the help of Montana Credit Unions for Community Development (MCUCD), credit unions in the state have embarked on a new program that will give their members access to both certified financial counselors and financial coaches.

For the first time, credit unions now have quantitative data to illustrate how the credit union movement is making a difference through financial education and counseling. The National Credit Union Foundation (NCUF) through its REAL Solutions™ program just released a free online report entitled “Credit Unions: Focused on Financial Capability Across the Nation,” which is the result of an almost yearlong data collection effort by NCUF with the help of state credit union leagues

According to an interesting new study, low-income consumers are more likely to order bigger portions of food (such as supersize meals) as a way to boost their status. It makes sense right? Typically people buy bigger homes, bigger cars, bigger TVs, etc. because bigger is perceived as better.

This Op-ed piece originally appeared in the 12/14/11 issue of the Credit Union Times:

It should come as no surprise that financial education is critical and sorely-needed. A survey from The Hartford Financial Services Group found that more than three-quarters of students report that they wish they had more help preparing for their personal finances. Unfortunately, some educators are not providing a financial education course and may be unprepared to teach the subject, according to a report from the Financial Literacy and Education Commission. As a result, many lack the confidence to teach it to students.

In a segment on understanding a line of credit and where they are available, Biz Kid$ recently filmed at Actors Federal Credit Union and Montauk Credit Union in New York, N.Y. The segment was filmed for an episode from Season five of Biz Kid$, which is the Emmy Award winning and credit union funded public television series that teaches kids about money management and entrepreneurship.

The video above was put together by the Mississippi Credit Union Association and will be used to promote their 2012 FiCEP Class and to create a greater awareness for the program. Their enhanced version of the Credit Union Financial Counseling Certification Program (FiCEP) is available to credit union staff thanks to a collaboration between the National Credit Union Foundation’s REAL Solutions® effort, Credit Union National Association’s Center for Professional Development (CUNA CPD), and the league.

In 2011, the National Credit Union Foundation (NCUF) and its REAL Solutions® program conducted a comprehensive national study of credit-union provided member financial education to provide state leagues and the broader credit union movement with information that quantifies the extent to which credit unions advance consumer financial literacy and decision-making. Working with state credit union leagues/associations, NCUF’s goal is to provide data that can be used in public awareness-building and related outreach efforts to demonstrate the power of credit union education and counseling initiatives, and to help credit unions implement additional financial education products, tools and programs for members/consumers.

Experienced Michigan credit union financial counselors share their best practices and financial counseling program details in a guide called Financial Counseling Best Practices that is now available on the Michigan Credit Union League website.