Strength to Overcome

Humanitarian Highlight 8.12.21

This week, our focus for Humanitarian Highlight is on credit unions who are giving their community the strength to overcome life’s trials and tribulations.

Bay Federal Credit Union

In Bay Federal Credit Union’s annual fundraising drive, a total of over $27,000 was collected for Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals. The money will go to help children in the various high-quality children’s hospitals the network represents.

West Virginia Central Credit Union

GoPacks, a nonprofit made to fight food insecurity and provide educational programs for children, partnered with this credit union to raise over $10,000. The money was raised through individual donations and contributions from West Virginia Credit Union community members and staff.

Credit Union West

Employees at Credit Union West donated $5,451 to the Firefighter Angel Foundation. This non-profit foundation aims to help children in need by providing essential items and services, particularly those in Yavapai County.

State Employees Federal Credit Union

State Employees Federal Credit Union pledged to donate a significant amount of money to the Special Olympics for every USA victory in the Tokyo Olympics. The credit union pledged $500 for every gold, $250 for every silver and $125 for every bronze. Fans and community members are also encouraged to donate directly through SEFCU’s page on the charity event.

Ascend Federal Credit Union

This credit union announced that their employees had donated 5,279 food items to the Second Harvest Food Bank of Middle Tennessee. Ascend Federal Credit Union held the collection in its corporate office and within all 28 branch locations. The food bank will be donating the collected foods to 27 different agencies. This is the fourth year the credit union has participated in this food drive.

Visions Federal Credit Union

For July 4^th, Visions Federal Credit Union hosted its annual 4 on the 4th Road Race. This charity event supports a charitable organization of the credit union’s choosing, and this year’s event donated to the Southern Tier Veterans Support Group. Over 350 runners participated both virtually and physically, and as a result of the race, the credit union donated over $3,500.

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These charitable acts benefitting children, veterans, and other vulnerable groups grant people the strength to overcome their struggles, and these credit unions should be praised for them.

If you would like to place an inquiry about being featured in a Humanitarian Highlight or have any other comments or questions regarding our business, please do not hesitate to contact us with any questions through our email or by phone at (800) 537-9598.

Be sure to follow our social media pages if you’d like to see our weekly Humanitarian Highlights segment as soon as it comes up!

Inspiring Hope

Humanitarian Highlight 8.5.21

For this week’s #HumanitarianHighlight, we’re looking at credit unions whose donations are inspiring hope in the communities they serve. Whether it is through donations to children’s organizations, or even directly donating a closed branch to a charitable organization, here are some credit unions that go above and beyond to inspire hope for those who really need it.

Redstone Federal Credit Union

This credit union committed $2 million toward the Boys & Girls Clubs of North America for their Doors to the Future capital campaign. This campaign aims to grow the organization through developing new Centers for Advancement, improving transportation, and increasing scholarship funds contributions. The significantly large donation will be paid in parts over the next five years.

Affinity Plus Federal Credit Union

Affinity Plus Federal Credit Union hosted the “2021 Tech Drive Tuesday” donation event that aimed to collect laptop tech for struggling college students. In addition, for every laptop that was donated, the credit union promised to donate $150 directly to Minnesota Computers for Schools.

Pillar Credit Union

Marion Matters for Hope Center received an unusually generous donation: an entire closed branch. Pillar Credit Union handed over the keys to the closed office structure to the organization, which has partnered with them for over ten years. Marion Matters helps community members with financial literacy programs and provides comprehensive education for financially struggling participants.

Power Financial Credit Union

Power Financial Credit Union donated nearly $50,000 to charities that help minority groups and communities in Florida. The announcement was made as part of Power Financial Credit Union’s 70-year anniversary. Each of the organizations will receive over $7,000 to be used at their discretion. These organizations include the Advocacy Network on Disabilities, the Save Foundation, the Jason Taylor Foundation and more.

Eastman Credit Union

A $125,000 donation was made by this credit union to sponsor East Tennessee State University’s Roan Scholars Summer Experience Program. This program offers students a six-week service internship aimed at teaching them how to positively impact the world around them.

Directions Credit Union

This credit union donated $3,000 and over 700 pencils to the Monroe County Library System. These generous donations will go toward summer reading supply kits, which are aimed at inspiring children to complete summer reading logs.

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Hope is important, and these credit unions, as well as many others we’ve featured before in #HumanitarianHighlight, are greatly appreciated for their charitable and hopeful donations.

If you would like to place an inquiry about being featured in a Humanitarian Highlight or have any other comments or questions regarding our business, please do not hesitate to contact us with any questions through our email or by phone at (800) 537-9598.

Be sure to follow our social media pages if you’d like to see our weekly Humanitarian Highlights segment as soon as it comes up!

Providing Food and Supporting Veterans

Humanitarian Highlight 7.29.21 | Providing Food and Supporting Veterans

Humanitarian Highlight 7.29.21

This week, our focus for Humanitarian Highlight is on credit unions providing food to the need and supporting veterans. Both are valuable causes and help those in need, and these credit unions are setting the bar high.

GCS Credit Union

This credit union raised over $30,000 during their fifth annual Tee Up Fore Veterans golf tournament, an event started in the interest of supporting veterans. Several sponsors and golfers contributed to the overall donation, which will be used to sponsor a prepaid vacation for veterans to visit the memorials built for their service.

Jax Federal Credit Union

Jax Federal Credit Union gave generously to Feeding Northeast Florida: a whopping 23,000 meals through food drives and a sizeable $3,700 monetary donation. This foodbank serves millions of meals to families in need in the northeast region of Florida. It is estimated that the combined donation will result in approximately 23,174 meals.

All In Credit Union

Fort Rucker’s Army Emergency Relief Fund received $30,000 due to this credit union’s Annual Golf Tournament, which was held at Fort Rucker’s Silver Wings Golf Course. This emergency fund is a financial assistance program created to help active and retired soldiers with emergency vital care. The golf tournament was started over three decades ago to facilitate donations toward this valuable service.

University Credit Union

University Credit Union has started a three-day initiative to support local restaurants and donate to the Campaign for Ending Hunger. Every order taken at participating restaurants will be matched with a $5 donation toward the campaign by the credit union. The campaign hopes to raise up to $5,000 toward the $100,000 goal, which will support local food banks in Maine.

San Diego County Credit Union

SCCU is hosting it’s 7^th annual “Stuff the Bus” Fundraiser, which aims to purchase school supplies for students experiencing financial hardship or homelessness. The fundraiser takes digital and in-store donations through locations such as Ralphs or Food 4 Less. The event will run through July 31^st in San Diego County.

Clearwater Credit Union

The Community Food and Agriculture Coalition (CFAC) will receive a $25,000 donation from Clearwater Credit Union. This donation will aim to help with food shortages in vulnerable households in the area, as the CFAC estimates 1 in 8 Montana citizens struggle to afford food supplies. It will do so by contributing to the CFAC’s Double SNAP program, which doubles SNAP benefits (up to a certain amount) at local qualifying farmers’ markets.

Oak Tree Business Systems, Inc.

It is incredibly important for society to help those in need. Initiatives like these help some of our most honorable and some of our most vulnerable, and we applaud credit unions for doing them. These credit unions, as well as many others we’ve featured before in #HumanitarianHighlight, deserve praise for their wonderful acts of charity.

If you would like to place an inquiry about being featured in a Humanitarian Highlight or have any other comments or questions regarding our business, please do not hesitate to contact us with any questions through our email or by phone at (800) 537-9598.

Be sure to follow our social media pages if you’d like to see our weekly Humanitarian Highlights segment as soon as it comes up!

Climate Change and Mortgage Lenders

Climate Change and Mortgage Lenders

A home is a safe haven for members, and the biggest, most important purchase many will ever make. As a trusted source of lending and financial expertise, credit unions have an obligation to administer the benefits of fair rates on mortgage lending, as well as provide financial education to understand the risks involved with owning and operating a home. A lot of that risk can depend on location and the changing climates. This is why we wanted to look at climate change and mortgage lenders today.

Natural disasters cannot be predicted, but property-owning members and financial lending institutions can be prepared for them. Fires in the west, blizzards in the north, flooding in the south; over the past years, many homeowners have been surprised by nature’s destructive and abrupt course. Many of those caught in these disasters were not prepared with insurance to cover any and all possibilities of property destruction in their areas.

This unpreparedness puts the majority in jeopardy and causes debt, mortgage defaults, and eventually, property loss. With these defaults and strained situations, most lenders look to Fannie May and Freddie Mac to take on property mortgages to lighten portfolios and escape delinquency. It is then up to taxpayers and the government to clean up and fund reconstruction, which shifts state and federal spending and debt.

Whether one believes in global warming or not, climate change and natural disaster rates have been available as proof that the world is changing along with past regulatory forecasts. On the horizon of increasing climate-shift awareness, it becomes imperative for lenders to consistently be aware of possible risks and forecasted possibilities, as well as relay information, require necessary insurance, and provide compliant forms and disclosures to protect the institution, member, and community.

Fixed Mortgage Rates & Climate Change

Fixed mortgage rates lock in home buyers to essential regulations and disclosures for 30+ years. A length of time which can hardly perceive the possible changes in shifting climates and incoming disasters.

According to MarketWatch.com “The number and total value of flood insurance policies have been declining since 2006, meaning that households that purchased a property in coastal areas especially may be at increased risk of defaulting on their mortgages. Commercial banks, including two of the largest U.S. mortgage lenders, JPMorgan Chase JPM, +0.69%, and Wells Fargo WFC, -0.08%, have the ability to price mortgages for flood risk, and by design they can securitize some of these loans, thereby spreading the risk to more parties.”

Leaning on government funding agencies fuels lending for financial institutions as a safety net for defaulted portfolios. This allows unassuming members who strive for the status of homeownership to jump into high-priced mortgages in potential hazard and climate-changing zones, ultimately putting the property, buyers, and lender in a risk area that inadvertently will be picked up by taxpayers and hurt real estate economy, through Fannie and Freddie in a time of disastrous outcomes.

The seeds of change have been planted, with many startup companies beginning to dive deep into climate change forecasting and disaster risks measured to inform the housing market and more importantly, the lenders and buyers.

”Some of the players include Four Twenty Seven Inc., which this year was acquired by the credit-ratings firm Moody’s, and a 3-year-old firm called Jupiter, which converts flood, fire, heat, drought, cold, wind, and hail events into risk modeling for real estate assets, including in such high-population coastal areas as New York and Miami.” MarketWatch.com

Some are requesting reforms to Fannie and Freddie that would require insurance or raise guarantee fees as a precursor to absorbing mortgages from lenders. Making mortgage terms flexible in change regulations for changing climates in terms of necessary insurances will make lenders and buyers responsible and less likely to default and lose property in the face of disaster. When it comes to climate change and mortgage lenders it pays to prepare and plan ahead.

Oak Tree is compliant in all 50 states, and creates customized form packages containing compliant, informed, and prepared forms and disclosures for your credit union including flood hazard determination forms or flood hazard insurance notice. Don’t wait for another disaster to strike: get your lending team and your members prepared and secured for the future. Contact us today!

How Charity Helps Your Credit Union

There is no question that donating and being active in the community helps brand awareness and image. In the case of credit unions, it goes deeper than that since institutions are heavily centered on members. This is why it is important to maintain a positive presence in the community. Considering a majority of your members make up that population and have come to expect nothing but the best. There are articles helping spread the word on how charities help your credit union and it makes great press!

Being active with your community and your members takes on many different forms. We see credit unions do anything from present checks to organizations, sponsor events, have fundraisers, and even donate to their members directly through contests and giveaways. Simply being aware of community events and causes is a great way to start planning a charity campaign. Take notice of the types of activities your members are involved with and develop ways to cater to them. There is no shortage of ways to show you care about your community and it is all up to your institution to find a way to do so.

With that being said, your efforts do not go unnoticed. Your members appreciate being taken care of and your community will see the benefits of your support. After all, the whole point of doing charitable work is to create a better environment and to help people. Show them what the credit union difference is, and remind them of why they chose to bank with a credit union in the first place. Also, when you create a positive image for your credit union it opens the door for other opportunities. Not only do you get the satisfaction of doing something positive, but you also get the added benefit of people wanting to share your kind actions. This can develop into a great marketing strategy for social media platforms and other outlets.

Even Credit Union Vendors Participate

At Oak Tree, we encourage your credit union to give back as much as they can to help maintain a positive image and to keep members happy. We love to see the awesome things going on in the credit union community every day and are always looking for a feel-good story. We love acts of charity so much that we write about them in our weekly Humanitarian Highlight blogs on our website. Check them out to see all of the great things happening in the credit union world, and hopefully, we can feature you next!

Speaking of charity and the credit union community, we also wanted to remind you how this weekend begins the SacTown Virtual Run for 2021, a great cause to help the Children’s Miracle Network of Hospitals.

If you have questions about any of our products, feel free to send us a message at ClientServices@oaktreebiz.com.