Choosing which financial institution to bank with is usually seen as an individual choice — and while it is deeply personal, it doesn’t only impact you. In fact, becoming a member of a credit union can actually benefit your community.
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How joining a credit union can help make a difference in your community
Where you choose to keep your money matters.
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Because credit unions like DCU operate on a not-for-profit, member-owned model, they function differently than traditional banks. One of the biggest differences? Since credit unions are member-owned, they don’t answer to shareholders, meaning they can reinvest their profits into the communities they serve.
Anthony Demangone, Chief Membership and Engagement Officer at America’s Credit Unions, explained that credit unions’ focus on members helps them provide more personalized services. “Relationship banking is the core of credit unions,” he said. “They care deeply about the financial success of their members and work to provide resources to support that.”
Shannah Compton Game, a Certified Financial Planner and host of the Everyone’s Talking Money podcast, had an easy-to-understand analogy for the service you get at credit unions compared to large banks. “For me, going with a credit union is going out to eat at your local restaurant where they know you and they know what you like to eat,” she said. “There’s a very familiar aspect, versus going to a chain restaurant where nobody knows you and nobody knows your order.”
Demangone said those personalized resources at credit unions might include community classes or resources around “life’s big moments,” like buying your first home or saving for retirement. For example, DCU offers a digital financial learning center with a suite of educational resources on everything from refinancing a car loan to securing a mortgage to avoiding financial fraud.
“Across the country, credit unions support local food pantries, scholarship programs, community-investment projects, and so much more.”
Credit unions also champion charitable giving, both at the local level and nationwide. “Across the country, credit unions support local food pantries, scholarship programs, community-investment projects, and so much more,” Demangone said. Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals recently awarded the credit union industry The Founders Award in recognition of the $200 million the industry has donated since 1996, making credit unions the third-largest lifetime donor to the hospital system.
DCU has donated more than $28 million to hundreds of charitable organizations through its DCU for Kids foundation. In 2023, DCU also made donations to 23 food banks, 19 hospitals, 47 community-based organizations, and 45 educational organizations. Employees also mentored students in financial literacy workshops, assembled bouquets for local nursing homes, and packed 71,000 meals for community organizations around Massachusetts and New Hampshire, among other volunteer opportunities. “This philanthropic involvement amplifies the positive impact credit unions have on their communities and aligns with their mission to enhance the well-being of their members and the areas they serve,” John Kornacki, the Director of Asset Liability Management at DCU, said.
Besides making direct contributions to local charities, credit unions also offer bigger-picture, structural benefits to the communities they serve. “Far too often, we see banks turn their backs on communities because they’re not meeting profit expectations,” Demangone said. “Credit unions step in when banks leave because our movement firmly believes that all communities — regardless of socioeconomic status, location, or population — should have access to a reliable, trustworthy financial institution.”
Since credit unions are not-for-profit institutions, every additional deposit only benefits other members. “As you and your family prosper, the credit union is able to reinvest in its membership and the community it serves,” he said. “When you choose a credit union, you are helping your neighbor, all while helping yourself. Your deposit helps fund a car loan for someone local. Someone else’s deposits helped fund your mortgage.”
That personal connection to the larger credit union community can be powerful — and ultimately can help each individual member have a better experience managing their money. That personal relationship with a credit union can be especially helpful for anyone with financial trauma or heightened emotions around money. “Dealing with money is a highly stressful event for all of us,” Game said. “That’s another side of credit unions that we don’t often talk about. The structure of them helps lower the stress load and helps put people at ease around an already very stressful subject.”
Ultimately, while the decision of where to bank is one you make on your own, it can also impact the collective community — and greater financial literacy benefits everyone. “Money is personal,” Demangone said. “Credit unions understand having a special touch and real connections makes their members more comfortable coming to them for financial help.”