CO-OP Financial Services announced that the entry period is now open for the CO-OP THINK Prize 13. Entrants have until Sept. 28 to complete round one applications and become eligible for the $10,000 grand prize sponsored by MasterCard.
CO-OP THINK Prize 13 contestants can find complete details and apply at co-opthink.org/think-prize.
“The purpose of the prize is to inspire innovative solutions to the issues confronting the credit union industry,” said Stan Hollen, president/CEO, CO-OP Financial Services. “We have had two wonderful examples of this with the winners of the 2011 and 2012 competitions, and we are looking for more great creative thinking to help our movement in 2013.”
The solutions put forward in the competition can take any form, such as an innovative application of technology, a new process for back-office efficiency or a fresh approach to industry advertising and marketing. Though the ideas can vary widely, the judging criteria for entries are based on four main standards, impact, creativity, aggregation (the application of the idea across the industry) and implementation (the ability to be adopted quickly).
The CO-OP THINK Prize 13 winner will be announced at the THINK 13 Conference in Chicago, Ill. on May 1.
This is the third year for the CO-OP THINK Prize competition. The two previous winners were Matt Weidler, IT asset coordinator with Evangelical Christian Credit Union of Brea, Calif., and Paul Yang, CEO, Premier Community Credit Union, Stockton, Calif.
The CO-OP THINK Prize winner is awarded $10,000. The money goes to the individual entrant, who may use it toward executing the winning idea but is not obligated to do so.
