BRADFORD, Pa. — With the financial help of NCUA and the Pennsylvania Credit Union Association, six small credit unions are operating a joint Web site and collaborating in marketing and other areas to protect what they said is their future and further the CU cause.
The unusual cooperation, at least among very small CUs in this rural area of northwest Pennsylvania, began in September and has already attracted interest of other small CU groups in Pennsylvania.
The six CUs, all with assets under $10 million, have named their venture the McKean County Credit Union Partnership using the joint online site, www.mckeancountycreditunions.org, which has access to individual CU domains.
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Staffers from the CUs have also been meeting regularly to share ideas on BSA compliance, training and joint ad campaigns, said Sherry Post, an NCUA Region II principal examiner out of Erie who has helped coordinate the effort.
Post said some $28,000 in grants for the partnership have come from NCUA's Office of Small Credit Union Initiatives and from PCUA's foundation to foster the programming. The CUs are located in a 50-square mile area covered by Post who said her NCUA specialty is working with small CUs.
"Let me tell you that this is the first time we've ever collaborated on anything and so far it's working very well," said Susanne Wilcox, also a partnership coordinator and office manager at the $5 million Bradford Area Federal Credit Union.
Wilcox said her own CU previously did have its own Web site "but we've known for a long time it needed to be more professional."
Under Post's prodding and using the grant funds, the partnership hired two college interns to design the Web site and prepare the marketing, said Wilcox.
Small CUs like hers, said Wilcox, "hear all the time from the big credit unions about mergers and economies of scale but we agreed there can be a future if we combine our resources."
Beside Bradford Area, the other five FCUs in the partnership include ARG Bradford, Bradford Onized, P.C., Petrowax and Pierce.
Apart from designing the Web site, the interns have also drafted Web site content and developed a series of newsletter articles, logos and templates for each CU.
Also the two have developed special promotions, design labels, giveaways, banners and ad copy, said Post.
The CUs operated a booth at a local bridge festival and participated in a Kid's Fest at one of the local colleges. A local state lawmaker was to present the partnership with a proclamation at the Kid's Fest event.
Also, the Bradford Chamber of Commerce is featuring articles on the partnership and has included a copy of the group's flyer insert in its newsletter.
The partnership Web site notes that each of the CUs "provide a wide range of financial services to their members." Online visitors are encouraged to look at individual CU sites "to read the latest news about each credit union, learn about the variety of services available to members, or get details on requirements for membership."
Post said she is pleased with the progress of the CU group in embarking on projects that they probably could not afford on their own. The partnership, she said, represents a positive step toward enhancing CU membership in the area.
The PCUA Foundation, which contributed $18,000 to the partnership, has said it plans to use the Bradford venture as a model for other small CUs.
Adrienne Munroe, credit development analyst with NCUA's Office of Small Credit Union Initiatives, said there has been a sharp rise in agency grants this year as small CUs see the need to gain higher public visibility. So far 300 grants totaling $1.4 million have already been awarded compared to 400 and $1.37 million for all of last year.
"These outreach grants are easy to apply for and are proving helpful," said Munroe.
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