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Jeanne D'Arc Credit Union, a $2.1 billion-credit union based in Lowell, Mass., unveiled a new employee benefit last week that's intended to help staff be prepared for financial emergencies.
Earlier this year, Jeanne D'Arc invited full- and part-time employees who had been with Jeanne D'Arc for at least six months to take advantage of the credit union's newly-created EmergeStrong Account. Employees who opened an EmergeStrong Account and deposited at least $100 by mid-March received a one-time $400 bonus deposit into their account, effectively building a cushion of at least $500 for emergencies.
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In announcing the initiative, Jeanne D'Arc pointed to data from the Federal Reserve's Economic Well-Being Survey of U.S. Households, which covered households' financial well-being from May 2022 to May 2023 and revealed that 37% of Americans lack the financial means to cover a $400 emergency expense.
"No one is immune to unexpected financial challenges, and there's no shame in needing support during such times," Jeanne D'Arc President/CEO Mark S. Cochran said. "Our goal is to improve the financial resilience of our employees in the face of economic adversity, and help them emerge stronger from that challenge. By ensuring our team's financial security, we equip them to better serve the financial well-being of our members."
Jeanne D'Arc has 236 full-time employees (those who work 26 hours or more per week) and 34 part-time employees (those who work 25 hours or less per week). A portion of the 34 part-time employees are limited part-time employees (LPTs), who work 19 hours or less per week and tend to be students, according to SVP and Chief Marketing Officer Robin Lorenzen. She noted that LPTs were given an EmergeStrong Account match at a different amount than full- and part-time employees.
The credit union said the EmergeStrong Account is an interest-bearing account with no penalties or constraints on withdrawals. So far, approximately 95% of eligible Jeanne D'Arc employees have taken advantage of the new account and company match, Lorenzen said.
"The focus was not on what we gave, but that we were able to support 95% of our workforce in becoming more financially secure," she added.
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Natasha Chilingerian
Natasha Chilingerian has been immersed in the credit union industry for over a decade. She first joined CU Times in 2011 as a freelance writer, and following a two-year hiatus from 2013-2015, during which time she served as a communications specialist for Xceed Financial Credit Union (now Kinecta Federal Credit Union), she re-joined the CU Times team full-time as managing editor. She was promoted to executive editor in 2019. In the earlier days of her career, Chilingerian focused on news and lifestyle journalism, serving as a writer and editor for numerous regional publications in Oregon, Louisiana, South Carolina and the San Francisco Bay Area. In addition, she holds experience in marketing copywriting for companies in the finance and technology space. At CU Times, she covers People and Community news, cybersecurity, fintech partnerships, marketing, workplace culture, leadership, DEI, branch strategies, digital banking and more. She currently works remotely and splits her time between Southern California and Portland, Ore.
