Real Solutions - A National Credit Union Foundation Program

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

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.

We’ve just released the first 1-page case study from the National Credit Union Foundation’s (NCUF)forthcoming national report from NCUF showing how the credit union movement is making a difference through financial education and counseling. This case study on Schoolsfirst Federal Credit Union is from the section of the report on classroom presentations.

KS, IL & DE Pages Show how CU’s Financial Education Efforts are Making a Difference in their State

Three state pages were released from the National Credit Union Foundation (NCUF) and will be part of a forthcoming national report from NCUF showing how the credit union movement is making a difference through financial education and counseling. The Delaware, Illinois, and Kansas pages were put together from data collected by NCUF for its 2011 Credit Union Member Education Inventory.

NCUF REAL Solutions Program Director Lois Kitsch was recently interviewed by Mike Lawson from CUBroadcast. She talked about REAL Solutions, her experiences when working at the World Council of Credit Unions, and much more.

Credit Unions Still Have Time to Complete the Survey Credit unions are making a difference through financial education. For example in 2010, 200 credit unions reached 182,000 students through classroom presentations and over a million people were provided financial counseling or advice. This is from preliminary data collected by the National Credit Union Foundation (NCUF), which has been collecting data for its 2011 Credit Union Member Education Inventory.

Credit union organizations can now apply for new Financial Education Grants from the National Credit Union Foundation (NCUF) through June 30. NCUF’s annual grant program was formerly known as “Innovation Grants,” but has been updated this year to realign with the Foundation’s new focus on financial education.

The National Credit Union Foundation (NCUF) is collecting data for its 2011 Credit Union Member Education Inventory. Sponsored by state credit union leagues and NCUF’s REAL Solutions program, the data and information gathered from credit unions will enable the credit union movement to demonstrate the power of financial education and counseling on the lives of members and communities across the country.

The National Credit Union Foundation (NCUF) is now collecting data for its 2011 Credit Union Member Education Inventory. Sponsored by state credit union leagues and NCUF’s REAL Solutions program, the data and information gathered from credit unions will enable the credit union movement to demonstrate the power of financial education and counseling on the lives of members and communities across the country.

More than 20 individuals from Illinois credit unions are participating in the REAL Solutions Enhanced Financial Counseling Certification Program (FiCEP), as a result of support from the Illinois Credit Union (ICU) Foundation.

An 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 Arkansas, Illinois, Mississippi, and Virginia credit union leagues.

It’s official! Our summer 2010 REAL Solutions Field Coach & League Liaison meeting is set for August 25th-26th in beautiful Old Town Albuquerque, New Mexico. To ensure you don’t miss one minute of the amazing sessions we have planned, please plan to arrive prior to the working lunch on August 25th at 12 Noon and depart anytime Friday, August 27th, 2010.

We asked our field coaches to tell us about an interesting REAL Solutions project they’re working on. Here’s what they told us:

Mark Lynch is working with the Massachusetts League and two credit unions in that state to build a partnership with their Brazilian community. Specifically, he says...