When looking at how to ensure that charitable contributions go to causes that matter to its members, Littleton-based Workers Credit Union also wanted to find a way to let members participate in choosing which organizations would receive funding.
The credit union this year launched a program that lets members vote on which nonprofit organizations should receive funding.
“It’s like it’s coming out of their pocket, because we’re a membership organization,” said Doug Petersen, president and CEO of Workers Credit Union. “So, they get that positive feeling like we all get when we give money to different charities.”
Workers Credit Union has joined several other Massachusetts-based community financial institutions that use community or customer voting process to allocate at least a portion of annual charitable giving. Banks and credit unions see these types of programs as helping demonstrate the roles they have in the community and reinforcing what sets them apart from competitors.
A Key to a Close Connection
BankGloucester recently completed its 15th annual “Banking for the Community” program, which saw nearly 7,000 community members vote for 29 nonprofits to receive grants from the bank. The top 19 vote-getters received grants that totaled $30,000.
The program helps keep the bank closely connected to the community it serves, said Derek Clements, BankGloucester’s marketing manager. Clements said in an email that the bank has a chance to show its “appreciation for the local organizations that are so crucial to Cape Ann and the surrounding area.”
PHOTOS: A Year in Giving 2022
“It’s really all about the opportunity for non-profits to build awareness around their causes, and for the community to show us which of those causes mean the most to them,” Clements said.
Other institutions with community voting programs include North Easton Savings Bank, Lowell-based Jeanne D’Arc Credit Union and Monson Savings Bank.
Banks and credit unions report closer connections to the community, a greater awareness of nonprofits in their operating area and other benefits from letting customers vote on where charitable donations are sent.
Receiving input about charitable donations has helped Monson Savings Bank reach more nonprofits in the community, said Dan Moriarty, president and CEO of Monson Savings Bank.
“As we continued to donate to nonprofits, we thought there were probably nonprofits that we weren’t aware of that would have a lot of importance in the communities we serve, so we threw it out to community members to help us decide where we want to allocate our philanthropic dollars,” Moriarty said. “We thought it was a perfect opportunity to reach out to the public and our customers to see where they might like to see some of our dollars go.”
Nonprofits Give Bank a Signal Boost
Monson Savings’ annual “Community Giving Initiative,” which launched in 2010, gives community members a chance to vote for up to three nonprofits to receive grants, and the top 10 receive grants totaling $15,000. Voters do not need to be bank customers, and the online voting process ensures that each IP address votes only once. The bank receives 3,000 to 5,000 votes each year, Moriarty said.
While the bank provides funds in response to other grant requests, the community-involved approach helps the bank build trust and good will in the community, Moriarty said. He added that the bank and some nonprofits use social media to let people know about the voting.
“A lot of different organizations spread the word through their social media contacts, and it becomes a little bit of contest to try to get as many votes as their organization can,” Moriarty said. “At many of the organizations out here, the need is greater than the dollars received, so any dollar that goes toward their mission is valuable.”
The bank limits grant recipients to organizations in the Greater Springfield area, including regional or national organizations that provide services within the bank’s footprint. The bank does not limit how often an organization participates in the voting, Moriarty said, noting that the results do change year after year. He added that the program has helped the bank form good partnerships in the community.
“Part of our mission, as with most community banks, is to support the communities we serve,” Moriarty said. “It’s not just to provide financial services for people or organizations in our community, but also to support those individuals or organizations within the community.”
A Lender’s Differentiator
Currently in the pilot phase, Workers Credit Union’s voting initiative is known as “Workers Kindness” and takes place quarterly. For the first vote in May, the credit union provided members a list of nonprofit organizations. At the same time, WCU asked members to provide suggestions for other nonprofit organizations that should appear on future lists. Another five organizations were selected for the second round of voting.
Diane McLaughlin
Petersen said the first round of voting saw 10,000 of its 120,000 members participate in the vote. Members vote online or in branches, and branch and call center staff promote the program when interacting with members.
“That’s a fun conversation to have,” Petersen said. “It also reinforces the fact that we are a membership organization, and this is one of the ways that differentiates us from other financial institutions – that we really are here for our members 100 percent.”
Workers Credit Union provides funding through other grant requests and capital drives, Petersen said. He added that as the credit union works through the program’s pilot phase, he would like to see a higher share of grants made available through the member voting process.
“That’s the challenge: to keep it simple and not too complex, but to obviously meet the needs that our members are looking for,” Petersen said.
