Did you know that more than one million Iowans belong to a credit union? That means one out of three Iowans is a proud credit union member! So, you may be asking yourself, “What is a credit union, anyway?” Well, a credit union is a nonprofit financial cooperative whose members can borrow from pooled deposits at low interest rates. We don’t have stockholders who make decisions; we leave that up to you, our member.
Here are a few credit union fun facts…
- Credit unions are not-for-profit financial institutions
- Owned by members
- Excess earnings are returned to their members in the form of more affordable products and services
- Credit unions are run by a volunteer board of directors (members can run for board positions)
- Our members have a vote
According to the Iowa Credit Union League in the year ending September 2013, Iowa credit unions saved members more than $89.4 million in lower fees and higher savings rates compared to what they would have paid at a bank.
Did I mention that not only do credit unions save members money, but they also love to give back to their communities? That’s why we’re challenging the community to save $1 million in loan interest and fees by refinancing their existing loans from other financial institutions. When we reach our goal of saving the community $1 million, we’ll donate a total of $10,000 to four local charities!
If you’re looking to save money, click here to see how you can become a Collins Community CU member, too!
*Statistics provided by the Iowa Credit Union League.
