Four credit unions across the country have been selected as winners of a contest designed to educate young members and encourage youth to join credit unions.

NerdWallet, a personal finance analysis site, recently announced the winners of its 2013 Gen Y Credit Union Contest, which awarded grants to credit unions that submitted a “commencement speech to the Class of 2013 and a proposal detailing how the funds would be spent to increase financial literacy among youth,” the company said.

According to NerdWallet, the winners and their proposals include:

Christian Financial Credit Union of Roseville, Mich. – Grand Prize Winner ($2,000)

The $288 million, 35,000-member Christian Financial plans to conduct a social media scavenger hunt that will introduce members to the credit union's products and services online and then segue into an in-person scavenger hunt throughout the local community, as members use photo clues posted by credit union staff to discover locations related to credit union services. The second part of their proposal involves producing a series of financial literacy videos to better educate their Gen Y members.

Cooperative Federal Credit Union in Syracuse, N.Y. – Runner-Up Prize ($1,000)

The $20 million, 4,000-member Cooperative FCU 's proposal includes launching a team-based Savings Challenge for youth during the coming school year. Students will divide into teams, become credit union members, open savings accounts and establish a savings goal, such as college expenses or a weekend trip. Teams will be scored based on total savings and the number of deposits.

PremierOne Credit Union in San Jose, Calif. – Special Prize ($1,000)

The $334 million, 25,000-member PremierOne said it intends to turn its Credit Zone program into an interactive online community for Gen Y by expanding current services, producing more videos and implementing a point system for online interactions, such as weekly quizzes or credit union branch check-ins. Points would be redeemable for Credit Zone “swag” such as sweatshirts, notebooks and t-shirts.

Financial One Credit Union in Columbia Heights, Minn. – Special Prize ($1000)

The $62 million, 7,200-member Financial One Credit Union wants to launch a campaign to promote a “Making Cents out of Life” blog, with articles about maintaining financial health at different stages of life and examples of how maintaining good credit is important at any age. Community youth will be encouraged to visit a credit union branch to talk about credit and enter a quarterly drawing for prizes.

Instant Insights /

Four CUs Win Grants for Gen Y Programs

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