​Celebrate the outstanding programs credit unions have created to grow brand awareness during a virtual ceremony. The winning entries will be invited to share the lessons learned and strategies behind their marketing campaigns. All are welcome to join the virtual ceremony.

Thu, Feb 18, 2021 1:00 PM - 4:00 PM
Cost: $39
Register on mncun.org
 
The deadline to submit entries to the Minnesota Credit Union Marketing Awards is this Friday, December 18.​ There is no cost to submit entries for Minnesota Credit Union Network-affiliated credit union and winners will be notified in January 2021.

Visit the MnCUN website for information on categories and judging criteria and to apply online. With questions, contact MnCUN Director of Communications, Julia Miller by email.

The Minnesota Credit Union Network (MnCUN) is proud to announce that NetGiver has won a Minnesota Technology Association 2020 Tekne Award in the Financial Services category. MnCUN is an owner of NetGiver, a CUSO that enables fee-free charitable contributions exclusively for credit union members through a mobile giving platform.

​“It used to be when you wrote a check to a nonprofit for $100, the nonprofit got the full $100. Today however, with credit and debit cards as our primary way of giving, charities now incur fees they never used to when donations were made with cash and check,” said Eric Berg, DNT BLNK's Founder/CEO, and Co-founder of NetGiver. “It is an honor for DNT BLNK and NetGiver to be recognized with a Tekne Award this year.”

For the past 23 years, the Tekne Awards have highlighted the new and exciting ways technology developed by Minnesota companies is impacting our community and the world. Companies competed for Tekne Awards in 16 primary award categories, ranging from Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning to Technology for Good. Descriptions of each category are available at: https://tekneawards.org/award/2020-award-categories.

MnCUN joined the ownership of NetGiver as part of the "people helping people philosophy." Credit union members can donate online and through their mobile app to over 1.3MM 501(c)(3) charities. 100% of the members donations to go the charity with no fees to the charity or the member.

“NetGiver helps credit unions to exemplify the ‘people helping people philosophy’ and demonstrates that credit unions are embracing innovation in technology,” said John Ferstl, Chief Operations Officer of the MnCUN Network Service Corporation.

With the demand on charitable services rising during COVID-19, NetGiver is proud to provide a platform that enables 100% of every donation to reach the charity for which it was intended.

Join one of the upcoming webinars to learn how supporting a member’s giving provides a better member experience:

Wednesday, Dec. 16, 2020, 2:00 PM
Wednesday, Dec. 30, 2020, 2:00 PM
Register now

​The Minnesota Credit Union Network Marketing Awards acknowledges the outstanding programs credit unions have created to grow brand awareness and market to members and nonmembers alike.
 
There is no cost to submit entries for Minnesota Credit Union Network-affiliated credit unions and applications are open through 11:59 p.m. Central Standard Time on Friday, December 18.
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Winners will be notified in January 2021 and invited to share their work during an interactive discussion during a virtual ceremony.

Visit the MnCUN website for information on categories and judging criteria and to apply online. With questions, contact MnCUN Director of Communications, Julia Miller by email.

Learn more about the outstanding programs, new initiatives and well-deserved recognition received by your peers recently. Got news of your own? Send stories, pitches, press releases and published articles to MnCUN Director of Communications Julia Miller.

First Alliance Credit Union Donates $6,500 to Channel One Regional Food Bank
Mayo Employees Federal Credit Union Ranks Top Five in the Nation for Financial Health
2020 Most Admired CEOs: Dan Stoltz, SPIRE Credit Union
St. Cloud Financial Credit Union Sponsors Changemaker Awards
Staci & Hutch's Holiday Wish, Sponsored By AHCU

The National Credit Union Foundation’s Exploring Why™ Workshop is an experiential training that empowers employees of all levels to understand and leverage the Credit Union Difference to drive greater value for your members and organization. The interactive, virtual workshop incorporates lessons from the Foundation’s signature Development Education (DE) Program.

The Minnesota Credit Union Foundation is pleased to bring this programing to Minnesota Credit Unions, and will be offering the workshop at no charge for MnCUN member credit union employees January 20 and 21st from 8:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.

Attendees will leave with a better understanding of:

• The structural and philosophical differences between credit unions and other financial institutions, and how it impacts business operations and decision-making.
• How to communicate your organization’s “why”, their personal “why”, and tell the story of how you drive value for your members.
• Opportunities to take ownership in finding new and better ways to meet the needs of your members and organization

​For engagement and participation, there is a maximum of 60 participants. Registration will be taken on a first come, first serve basis; and limited to 5 attendees from the same credit union. The deadline to register is Friday, January 8, 2021.

For more information and to register visit the event page on our website. 

MnCUN membership renewal packets will be mailed to Minnesota credit unions this week. The MnCUN Board is committed to helping credit unions through these challenging times by limiting dues increases. Dues for 2021 are based on call report data from  March 31, 2020 instead of June 30, 2020. In addition, the dues factor used in the calculation was not increased – but remains at the 2020 level. We continue to work with our member credit unions to ensure you are well positioned to focus on serving your members.
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2021 MnCUN member benefit highlights include:

• Complimentary access to PolicyAid - an online policy resource which contains over 80 sample policies and is updated quarterly to help you keep your policies current.  The Network will also deliver two complimentary compliance training webinars through our partnership with PolicyWorks.
• ​In addition, your dues dollar will offer access to the Credit Union Compliance Management System™. CUMS is an intuitive, scalable compliance solution that includes timely regulation alerts, guided workflows and an advertising review tool, as well as a federal and state law and regulation library, evidence tracking, RISK alerts from CUNA Mutual Group and an easy-to-use dashboard.
• The Minnesota Credit Union Employee Benefit Plan allows credit unions to obtain health care coverage as if they were a single large employer; taking advantage of economies of scale and strengthening negotiating power with larger risk pools.  The Benefits Plan now offers eight plan designs and eight provider networks for more choices and flexibility. New for 2021, all MnCUN member credit unions will have access to discounted rates on ancillary employee benefits including, Basic Life and AD&D, Short and Long-Term Disability, Dental, Vision and others.
• Every two years MnCUN provides CUNA Credit Union Staff Salary Report that includes the most comprehensive industry specific salary analysis available to credit unions. An additional report for small credit unions is also made available.

An investment in the Network is an investment in your credit union. Thank you for your continued support. We look forward to facing 2021 together. Contact Mara Humphrey, MnCUN Chief Advocacy and Engagement Officer with questions.

​In the next few weeks, the Network will be reaching out to credit unions whose permission agreements will expire at the end of 2020 and need to be renewed.
 
Under Federal rules, the Minnesota Credit Union Network must have a signed copy of this document on file in order for your credit union board members, and executive or administrative employees to participate in any CULAC related event. CULAC is CUNA’s federal political action committee that raises funds from individuals and uses those resources to support credit union friendly candidates on the federal level.

​This agreement does not give the Network, or CUNA if the Network delegates its solicitation rights to CUNA, the right or ability to directly send general solicitation mailings to the credit union’s members. Any such general solicitation materials will first be sent to the credit union board, which can then decide whether or not to redistribute them. This agreement does give the Network, or CUNA if the Network delegates its solicitation rights to CUNA, the right to solicit this credit union’s members and executive or administrative personnel for contributions to CULAC through participation in the Capital Club, or other fundraising events including but not limited to drawings held at the Fall Conference, Annual Conference, Chapter meetings and CUNA's Governmental Affairs Conference.
 
Credit union that have expiring permission agreements will be contacted by Network staff via email in the coming weeks. Please reach out to MnCUN Director of Government Affairs Ryan Smith at [email protected] if you have any questions.

Kyle Hauptman was confirmed by the Senate Wednesday for a seat on the NCUA board by a vote of 56-39. Hauptman will serve a term through August 2025 once sworn in.
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Hauptman, a native of Maine, currently serves as an economic advisor to Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.). In his testimony before the Senate Banking Committee July 21, he said his goal at NCUA will be to help credit unions offer the American dream to as many people as possible. Read more at CUNA's website.

NCUA Proposes to Remove Prohibition on Capitalization of Interest
The NCUA issued a proposed rule that would remove the prohibition on credit unions capitalizing interest in connection with loan workouts and modifications.