Letting Members Choose: Credit Union Puts Giving Campaign to a Vote

One of the best ways to engage members is to keep things fresh. So when our credit union decided to repeat one of its most successful community give-back programs this year, we knew there had to be a twist.

Our challenge: How could we do the same amount of good, if not more, while also involving our members to a greater degree?

The program we’d deployed in 2017 was the CO-OP/Yoobi Backpack Bundle Drive. It was a program that not only afforded us the opportunity to give, but to receive on so many levels.

For every $1,500 we invested in the program, we received 50 backpacks and school supplies for students in need. It was up to us to choose the local organization whose clients would benefit from the donation. In 2017, one of our members recommended their child’s school in Orange, Calif., whose class needed the backpacks and supplies. We received such a great response, and it was such an easy way to meet a large need for local students, that we knew we had to participate in the program again.

For our 2018 twist, we changed things up by allowing our members to select the benefitting organization. In August, we organized a vote among Eagle Community Credit Union’s 20,000 members to determine which school or organization would receive the backpacks.

We began by asking our members to nominate worthy institutions; 10 different organizations ultimately came our way through that effort. At mid-month, we organized a vote, which we promoted mainly through email and social media, although we also posted flyers throughout our six branch locations.

The social response was incredible, providing a pretty unexpected benefit to the campaign. We had a great deal of social media engagement, earning new followers, lots of positive comments and incredible number of shares from members who spread the word throughout their own circles of influence.

By Sept. 1, we had our winner: Connecting Hands of Placentia, Calif., earned more than 2,500 votes.

The organization was nominated by a member of the credit union who works for Goodwill and often refers families to Connecting Hands. The non-profit helps financially distressed families with life necessities and counseling, serving about 1,500 families throughout Orange County.

The campaign came to a conclusion on Sept. 12 with two very gratifying team building exercises. First, our employees held a pizza party to stuff the donated school supplies into the backpacks. Then, five employees, including President/CEO Scott Rains, delivered 50 backpacks to the children at Connecting Hands. We also donated a $250 gift card so more supplies could be ordered.

Ultimately, the campaign had just as much impact on the credit union as it did the local families. It aligned well with our Helping Hands/Give Back Initiative, built team comradery, grew our social media presence and engaged our members in something relevant, personalized and meaningful.

Erica W. Beach is Vice President of Marketing for Eagle Community Credit Union. She can be reached at ebeach@eaglecu.org.