Northwest Credit Union Foundation’s Donor Appreciation Breakfast Celebrates Credit Unions’ Contributions

Posted by Ben Shuey on October 28, 2019

MAXX 2019 attendees had an opportunity during the convention last week in Spokane to hear about how credit unions are improving the financial lives of their members and the communities they serve.

During the Northwest Credit Union Foundation’s Donor Appreciation Breakfast, credit unions gathered to reconnect and hear how their contributions are making a difference across the Northwest.

“The Foundation is so grateful to the many credit union supporters who attended the Donor Appreciation Breakfast,” said Foundation Executive Director, Sharee Adkins. “It was wonderful to be together to celebrate their generosity and the ever-growing work of the Foundation.”

The breakfast featured an activity where credit union attendees collaborated and drew upon their expertise to create housing solutions based on a unique community profile at their table.

“We were excited to see how engaged the attendees were in their table discussions. Limited access to housing options is a challenge that faces all of our communities and it will take collaborations like this to find innovative solutions. The Foundation looks forward to more opportunities to bring credit unions together around important issues,” said Claire Hendrix, Foundation Program Director.

The winning idea, called “Book and Bed,” was a refinance product for home owners where they would receive favorable interest rates or rate subsidies in exchange for renting out part of their home to a student at an affordable rate.

Alyssa Clare from Northwest Community Credit Union was the Young Professional leading the discussion at the winning table.

“We loved this activity! Even though none of us knew each other, the feeling at our table was one of passion and connection both around creating a great idea and being a part of the solution,” Clare said. “In my opinion, this exercise was a prime example of our cooperative spirit as Credit Unions and how much we all care about the communities we serve.”

Each member of the winning table received a $500 scholarship to go toward a future Northwest Credit Union Association event or for professional development, to use in 2020. The scholarships were sponsored in part by Strategic Link partner, Glia, which also sponsored the breakfast.

Winners of the breakfast housing challenge included members from the following credit unions:

Express Credit Union, Northwest Community Credit Union, Clackamas Federal Credit Union, and Verity Credit Union.

The Northwest Credit Union Foundation has awarded grants to credit unions in Idaho, Oregon, and Washington that are designing and implementing scalable and replicable workforce housing solutions. To learn more about the initiative, visit the Foundation online. Questions may be directed to Foundation Program Director, Claire Hendrix.

Posted in Foundation.