​The Minnesota Credit Union Network (MnCUN) is pleased to announce the state-level winners of the 2021 Dora Maxwell, Louise Herring and Desjardins award competitions. These awards are sponsored each year by MnCUN and the Credit Union National Association (CUNA).

​​“The Dora Maxwell, Louise Herring, and Desjardins statewide award winners illustrate how credit unions live the “people helping philosophy” through their everyday operations, community service and education,” MnCUN President & CEO Mark Cummins. “We are proud of the work that they do to improve their members’ financial well-being and communities as a whole.”

The 2021 Minnesota award-winners in the asset categories noted are:

Dora Maxwell Social Responsibility Community Service Award
$50 - 250 million in assets: North Star Credit Union, "People Helping People: Giving Back"
$250 million - $1 billion in assets: Minnco Credit Union, "Minnco Moments"
More than $1 billion in assets: Affinity Plus Federal Credit Union, "Coins for a Cause"

Louise Herring Philosophy-in-Action Member Service Award
$50 - 250 million in assets: Centricity Credit Union, "Distance Learning and Back 2 School Drive"
$250 million - $1 billion assets: SouthPoint Financial Credit Union, "Community Advisory Committee inception"
More than $1 billion in assets: Hiway Credit Union, "Hiway Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee (DEI)"

Desjardins Adult Financial Education Award
$50 - 250 million in assets: Northwoods Credit Union, "Senior Day in Cloquet"
 $250 million - $1 billion in assets: TopLine Federal Credit Union, "Virtual Workshops"
More than $1 billion in assets: SPIRE Credit Union, "SPIRE-Twin Cities Live "Money Makeover"

Desjardins Youth Financial Education Awards
$50 - 250 million in assets: United Educators Credit Union, "Bringing Virtual Financial Literacy to Members"
$250 million - $1 billion in assets: TopLine Federal Credit Union, "Virtual Youth Financial Literacy Workshops"
More than $1 billion in assets: SPIRE Credit Union, "Saving Cash" SPIRE Children's Book

The Dora Maxwell Social Responsibility Community Service Award was created in 1987 and recognizes credit unions for the activities they coordinate that benefit the community or a specific charity. This award promotes social responsibility among credit unions by formally recognizing their achievements outside the credit union.

The Louise Herring Philosophy in Action Member Service Award is given to a credit union for its practical application of the "people helping people” philosophy in internal operations. Created in 1990, this award promotes the credit union philosophy by formally recognizing credit unions that demonstrate in an extraordinary way the application of the movement's principles in serving their members.

The Desjardins Youth and Adult Financial Education Awards formally recognize the leadership of individual credit unions and chapters in their efforts to better educate youth and adults in financial literacy.

More information can be found on the National Awards Page. 

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.
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•  Royal Credit Union Receives $1.8 Million CDFI Rapid Response Grant. Royal Credit Union has been awarded more than $1.8 million from the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) Rapid Response Program.  
• Tackling the Problem of Fraud Targeting Seniors (Mid Minnesota Federal Credit Union): June 15 is World Elder Abuse Awareness Day, which is an international call to action to recognize the threat posed by elder abuse, neglect, and exploitation.
• Topline Credit Union Members And Employees Help Our Neighbors In Need. TopLine Federal Credit Union’s annual Personal Care Drive held during the month of May benefited three local non-profits, Avenues for Youth, Keystone Community Services and Union Gospel Mission Twin Cities. 
• ​City & County Credit Union Hosts Shred Days & Donates 3,000 Pounds of Food.  To help the community safely and securely shred their sensitive documents, City & County Credit Union hosted a Shred Day event at the Maplewood and Minnetonka Branch
• Will Offices In The Twin Cities Ever Return To The Way They Were? (Affinity Plus Federal Credit Union)​. Fourteen months ago, every desk on the third floor of the Affinity Plus Federal Credit Union in St. Paul was occupied.

​As the Minnesota Credit Union Network is recognizing April as Financial Well-being for All month, we are proud to highlight how credit unions are committed to empowering their members and communities with financial education:

​Congratulations to the Minnesota Credit Union Network members who are the recipients of the 2021 CUNA Marketing & Business Development Diamond Awards. The most prestigious annual credit union marketing competition, the Diamond Awards recognize and reward creative excellence and outstanding results.

8 credit unions and NetGiver are among the winners:

• Altra Federal Credit Union, Onalaska, WI
• City & County Credit Union, Maplewood, MN
• First Alliance Credit Union, Rochester, MN
• Hiway Credit Union, St. Paul, MN
• Members Cooperative Credit Union, Duluth, MN
• MY CREDIT UNION, Bloomington, MN
• NetGiver, Minneapolis, MN
• Royal Credit Union, Eau Claire, WI
• SPIRE Credit Union, Falcon Heights, MN

​Winners were announced following the Marketing & Business Development Council virtual conference and each day during the week of April 12, winners will be honored from a portion of the 35 Diamond Award categories in a fast-paced, virtual environment. More details on Diamond Awards week is available on the CUNA Councils website.

CUNA announced the election results for its new Board of Directors Executive Committee Members, including Pat Pierce, President/CEO, City & County CU, who was named At-Large Executive Committee Member, following the CUNA Annual General Meeting held virtually during the CUNA Governmental Affairs Conference (GAC). The newly elected committee members will serve through the 2022 Annual General Meeting.

As announced in December, Pierce was elected to represent District 4, Class B  (Credit unions with at least 38,000 and not more than 141,000 members in Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri and Wisconsin). As a member of the CUNA Board, Pat will also serve as a Board Member of the National Credit Union Foundation.
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"Congratulations to Pat for his election to the CUNA Executive Committee,” said Mark Cummins, President and CEO of the Minnesota Credit Union Network. "I am pleased that Minnesota will continue to be represented nationally and thank Pat for his leadership."

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.

The InSPIREation Foundation Announces Financial Literacy Grant Opportunities
TruStone Foundation Donates $100,000 to Support Racial Equity and Inclusivity
Affinity Plus Launches New Credit Builder Loan
Filene Announces Credit Union Innovators Selected for i3 Program

CUNA celebrated the 2020 CUNA Award winners in a virtual reception. Two Minnesota credit unions were the recipients of Desjardins Awards for Financial Education, including HomeTown Credit Union and TopLine Federal Credit Union.
The Desjardins Awards honor credit unions, chapters, and leagues for their commitment to both youth and adult financial literacy.

HomeTown Credit Union placed second overall for their Virtual Lunch and Learn Program, which is a social distancing friendly adaption of their financial education. Each session is free of charge and highlight a personal finance topic or expert on a related topic. These live and recorded sessions are shared with our community partners that we provide financial education for, such as schools, non-profit agencies and social-service organizations.

TopLine Federal Credit Union received an Honorable mention for the Youth Category for their YouthCare C.S. Star Program. The training program provides meaningful employment and service-learning opportunities for urban youth, from diverse backgrounds. As a part of the program, TopLine holds a financial literacy workshop for the youth emphasizing goal setting, how to budget, saving and many other relevant financial topics for youth.

“The Desjardins award winners illustrate how credit unions live the “people helping philosophy” through their everyday operations, community service and education,” MnCUN President & CEO Mark Cummins. “We are proud of the work that they do to improve their members’ financial well-being and communities as a whole.”

The awards, which are given in several credit union asset sizes, were selected among state-level winning entries to compete nationally. 

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

CUNA's National Awards Committee announced the 2020 recipients of Desjardins Awards for Financial Education, including HomeTown Credit Union and TopLine Federal Credit Union.

The Desjardins Awards honor credit unions, chapters, and leagues for their commitment to both youth and adult financial literacy.

HomeTown Credit Union placed second overall for their Virtual Lunch and Learn Program, which is a social distancing- friendly adaption of their financial education offerings. Each session is free of charge and highlight a personal finance topic or expert on a related topic. These live and recorded sessions are shared with our community partners that we provide financial education for, such as schools, non-profit agencies and social-service organizations.

TopLine Federal Credit Union received an Honorable mention for the Youth Category for their YouthCare C.S. Star Program. The training program provides meaningful employment and service-learning opportunities for urban youth, from diverse backgrounds. As a part of the program, TopLine holds a financial literacy workshop for the youth emphasizing goal setting, how to budget, saving and many other relevant financial topics for youth.

“The Desjardins award winners illustrate how credit unions live the “people helping philosophy” through their everyday operations, community service and education,” MnCUN President & CEO Mark Cummins. “We are proud of the work that they do to improve their members’ financial well-being and communities as a whole.”
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The awards, which are given in several credit union asset sizes, were selected among state-level winning entries to compete nationally. The Minnesota Credit Union Network and the Dakota Credit Union Association have a reciprocal judging agreement to ensure impartiality.