“It sounds so easy, but truly, what are your members struggling with? Hunger? Employment? Education? Look at your members and your mission, then come up with three to four focused areas of giving for the year,” Hyland said.

Maybe that means launching a financial education program to help reduce overdrafts and late loan payments within your membership. Or, if your community was hit by a natural disaster, a rebuilding effort could be in order. The key is identifying a gap in a community you serve and addressing it.

One credit union that appears to be hitting a home run in the game of charitable giving is the $3.5 billion, Endicott, N.Y.-based Visions Federal Credit Union. Last December, CU Times posted a video – one of the most-viewed on our site – of Visions FCU President/CEO Tyrone Muse posing as a local Giant Food Store bagger and surprising patrons by covering their grocery bill; this led to a print feature of the stunt in January.

I checked in with the people at Visions to find out what they had up their sleeves this year, and it turns out the credit union has already been giving back to its community through random acts of kindness all year in honor of its 50th anniversary. The campaign, #ThanksVisions, has included a baseball game ticket giveaway, free goodies at locally-owned cupcake and coffee shops, and a Ticketmaster gift card hand-out at a local amphitheater. Visions staffers also handed out car wash tickets to members who pulled up to their drive-thru window in dirty vehicles, and greeted members at their cars in branch parking lots with umbrellas (which the members got to keep) on rainy days.

This holiday season, the credit union hopes to give back by covering residents' gift purchases in local stores, and Muse may be morphing into a teacher's assistant for a day at a local high school where Visions recently opened a branch, according to Mandy DeHate, Visions' AVP of marketing.

“When we talked about what to do for our anniversary, it came down to members and the communities we're in, because without them we have nothing,” DeHate said. “And we helped everyone – it didn't matter if they had no clue who Visions was.”

Other than allowing staffers to wear Visions T-shirts at giveaway events, the #ThanksVisions campaign has not promoted the credit union's brand, products or services in any way. However, it has built business organically. DeHate said at several events, some participants were so impressed by Visions' giving spirit that they decided to become members, and the campaign even raised awareness about the credit union movement as a whole.

“[The campaign] promotes the overall message that credit unions help people,” DeHate noted. “Maybe they won't remember it was Visions, but they'll remember it was a credit union and that they got a free car wash or ice cream.”

DeHate added, “It's about getting to know your local nonprofits. Don't just give them a check and walk away – ask them what they need. As you get to know them, you'll find out what the needs are in their community.”

Giving back not only helps your credit union, members and community, it's also a great way to elevate your mood when you're feeling down. So make it your mission this year. And while you're at it, don't be shy about showing holiday spirit, if that's your thing. Go all out with your cubicle or office decorations (with permission from your facilities department, of course). Throw an office party and make everyone wear an ugly sweater and light-up antlers. We won't judge. A little corniness may be just what you need to close out a rough year.