MnCUN Sponsors Juneteenth Forum on Financial Empowerment & Inclusion

The Fluence Forum was held last Saturday and aired on WCCO Radio. Moderated by Sheletta Brundidge, the Forum participant discussed the current state of economic inclusion and shared personal finance strategies that lead to financial empowerment. Guests included Anisha Murphy from the Community Reinvestment Fund and Debra Hurston from the Association for Black Economic Power and the following representatives from Minnesota’s Credit Unions: Jay Hall, SVP of Branch Operations, Ideal Credit Union and Grace Nakiboneka, Head Teller, Hiway Credit Union. 

In the first segment, Jay Hall emphasized the credit union "people helping people philosophy" and discussed the importance of financial literacy as the basis of financial empowerment. "It's not about how much money you have, its how you use that money, " Hall said.

For the second segment, Grace Nakiboneka said that the first step to financial freedom is getting an account and that credit unions find ways to serve people. "At Hiway, we're stepping away from saying ‘no’, and [instead] saying ‘not right now’. We’re going to give you the steps you need so that you can come back, or even go to another credit union, and get that account," said Nakiboneka.