The fourth quarter of each year always brings out the best in people, wouldn't you say? The holiday season brings families, friends and communities closer together. Having spent the last few years working within our industry, it's become obvious to me that the credit union philosophy of “people helping people” means more today than it ever has. Especially during this time of year.
We all know the meaningful and stark contrasts between credit unions and banks – we answer to our members and the community, not to stockholders. However, have you or your organization's decision-makers taken the time to evaluate the actual impact they can make on the communities they serve? We're generally talking about implementing the “triple bottom line” philosophy coined by British business author John Elkington. The strategy adds social responsibility to your organization's income statement in an effort to increase sustainability for all players impacted by your business. Doing so can be a relatively easy process to implement and can often net long lasting positive effects on society, the economy and the environment.
At Diversified Members Credit Union, charity and community outreach are the pillars of our foundation. You too can usher in a triple bottom line philosophy of social responsibility for your organization while creating long-lasting and positive impact for generations to come.
Each year we begin our social responsibility discussions by selecting reputable local foundations with a proven track record of making a difference. These foundations are then allocated specific months of the year based on relevance to the season, and we feature those organizations as the Charity of the Month. During their month, we collect financial donations from our members through lobby collection boxes, conduct a Popcorn Day when all proceeds collected are donated to the charity, and finally, each week we have a day when employees can “dress down” by making a donation in support of the monthly charity.
DMCU's Dorena Dann sells baked goods for Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
There is little financial commitment to implementing something like this for your organization, and considering the small amount of time dedicated to support, it's a pretty simple way to give back to the communities you serve. This is just one simple idea, however. To truly make an impact, you'll need to think outside the box and dig deep for creative strategies. Fortunately, I've taken the time to list a few examples below.
Hold a Bake Sale
In honor of October being Breast Cancer Awareness Month, DMCU conducted a bake sale for our membership. We asked staff to either bake or purchase baked goods to be sold in our lobbies and all proceeds would go to the Susan G. Komen Foundation. Not only did members enjoy the baked goods, we created genuine excitement in our lobbies as our membership supported what we were doing by bringing in friends and family members. At the end of the day, we raised a total of $1,104.06 in baked goods with all of it being donated to the Susan G. Komen Foundation.
Hold a Backpack and School Supplies Drive
Over the summer, we held a drive to collect new backpacks and school supplies to donate to a local woman's shelter. Our theme was “Back-to-School” and we utilized little- to no-cost methods to promote the event. Through the combined efforts of members and our own employees, we were able to donate more than 30 backpacks and numerous school supplies to students in need.
Hold a Non-Perishable Food Drive
In the spirit of Thanksgiving and the holidays, you can always expect a fantastic turnout when it comes to holding a non-perishable food drive for those less fortunate. The setup involved for this task is very easy, as many food banks will assist you by providing any required materials. After asking our members and employees to help donate to Gleaners Food Bank, we ended up collecting more than 3,400 pounds of food and more than $1,000 in cash. The best part of this charitable endeavor was many of our employees volunteered at the food bank warehouse on the weekends – on their own time!
DMCU's Marsha Glass, Jill Kyles, Dennis Mollner II, Nia Hicks and Shari Quinkert show off their total donation for Gleaners Food Bank.
Shelter administrator Curtis Steen France and DMCU employees Shari Quinkert, Jackie Fowler and Sati Smith are pictured here at the credit union's backpack and school supplies drive.
There you have it – a few ideas for how you can make a meaningful impact on your community. Many of you have already implemented a philosophy of charity and community outreach, as it is in our DNA as credit union employees. If not, we hope the examples above help create a template for you to base your strategy around. Here at DMCU, we believe we're setting the standard for these efforts and we know that together, we can empower and enrich our communities.
Happy holidays on behalf of DMCU!
Dennis Mollner II is the marketing specialist for Diversified Members Credit Union. He can be reached at 313-568-5000 Ext. 238 or [email protected].
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