CU FORWARD Day 2026

6e are gearing up for CU FORWARD Day 2025! The annual day of credit unions and partners giving back and spreading kindness will take place on Monday, October 12.

Visit the Resource Page for volunteer opportunities and planning documents. 
​
​For questions, please contact Director of Communications, Julia Miller.

3,500+ Volunteers Across Minnesota Give Back on CU Forward Day

Community Minded? It’s a credit union thing.
 
Credit unions across the state of Minnesota took their day off on October 13th, a traditional bank holiday, to give back to their local communities through volunteering. 2025 CU Forward Day was a resounding success, with over 3,500 credit union employees across the state spending their time supporting their communities.

As not-for-profit financial institutions, Minnesota’s credit unions work every day to improve their members' financial well-being. Service is a core element of the social mission of the credit union movement. This annual event spans every part of the state uniting credit unions and their communities in acts of service and kindness.
 
“A central value of our mission as credit unions is people supporting people” said Minnesota Credit Union Network’s President and CEO Mara Humphrey. “This isn't just a value we practice at our branches day to day, it’s a value all of us practice in life, and that’s what CU Forward Day is about.”
 
Credit union employees supported over 360 community organizations this year’s CU Forward Day through almost 6,000 volunteer hours. Additionally, $50,238 was donated to support local causes. Volunteer events took place across the state, with groups in the Twin Cities metro, Rochester, the Iron Range, and elsewhere. The Minnesota Credit Union Network is already excited for next year’s CU Forward Day, which will provide the opportunity for even more community-rooted service.
Calling All Cooperatives: Get Involved in CU Forward Day

In celebration of Cooperative Month and the International Year of Cooperatives, we’re inviting co-ops across Minnesota to join CU Forward Day— a statewide day of service focused on the cooperative principle of “Concern for Community.”  

Ways to Participate: 
Host a Volunteer Project – Have a need? We’ll connect credit union teams to your service opportunity. 

Join a CU-Led Project – Lend a hand alongside credit union volunteers in your area. 

Organize Your Own – Plan a service activity with your staff or members to show your co-op’s impact. 

Let’s work together! To share your volunteer opportunity or learn more about getting involved, contact: Andrea Molnau. ​

Upcoming Events

Over 300 credit unions in six states participated in coordinated service events on the Federal Holiday in October. In addition to collective volunteering, the annual kindness day initiative raised nearly $550,000 impacting over 2,000 organizations.

Nearly 130,000 credit union employees gave back to organizations, members, and communities by stocking food shelves, helping seniors with yard work, and serving dinner for cancer patients and their caregivers.

​Saint Paul, MN-based Affinity Plus Federal Credit Union hosted its first organization-wide Plus It Forward Day in 2013. A play on “pay it forward,” the Plus It Forward concept grew out of an employee-driven idea of what it meant to be a part of the community and how credit unions could randomly spread kindness. As the concept grew among additional credit unions, the Minnesota Credit Union Network assumed the coordination under the umbrella name “CU Forward Day” starting in 2017, and has continued to hold it annually on the second Monday in October.

​Over a decade later, this Kindness Day Initiative has spread to six states – Illinois, Michigan, Montana, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. In Minnesota, 58 credit unions participated with over 4,000 volunteers spending 18,865 hours on one day giving back.
​In 2013, Saint Paul-based credit union, Affinity Plus Federal Credit Union, hosted their first organization-wide Plus It Forward Day. A play on “pay it forward”, the Plus It Forward concept grew out of an employee-driven idea of what it meant to be a part of the community, to give back and how credit unions could randomly spread kindness.

In a response to the growing cooperative nature of the event, the Minnesota Credit Union Network assumed the coordination of credit union participation, tracking and media efforts going forward under the umbrella name CU Forward Day starting in 2017. 

​​CU FORWARD® represents credit unions of all sizes commitment to give back to their communities in a cooperative effort through promoting:
  • volunteering opportunities,
  • fundraising events, and
  • participating in community service projects.
As not for profit financial institutions, Minnesota’s credit unions work every day to improve their members financial lives. Service is a core element of the social mission of credit unions.