Giving, Charities, and Fundraising, Plus a New Virtual Assistant

Cornerstone League recognizes member credit unions for their growth and community endeavors to exemplify the “people helping people” philosophy.

A+FCU Volunteers 1,610 Hours During Third Annual A+ Gives Day

^{Read time: 56 secs}

On Oct. 14, Austin-based A+ Federal Credit Union hosted its annual A+ Gives Day in which over 490 team members volunteered more than 1,610 hours at 43 Central Texas organizations and 29 organizations across the nation.

A+ Gives Day is an expansion of the credit union’s ongoing A+ Gives program to show appreciation and support for the communities A+FCU serves. A+ Gives Day specifically focuses on organizations that help in four key areas: animal needs, community outreach, food insecurity, and park clean up. Key highlights:

• More than 490 employees volunteered
• Over 800 hours served with 26 community outreach partners
• Over 285 hours served with eight organizations supporting animal needs
• Over 270 hours served with seven organizations fighting food insecurity
• Over 90 hours served cleaning up local parks with three organizations
• Over 160 hours served with 29 organizations across the nation by 40 remote team members

A+FCU also donated $10,000 after organizing a community voting process that generated over 5,650 votes from community members and partner organization supporters. On A+ Gives Day, the top five organizations were each awarded a $2,000 check:

• African American Youth Harvest Foundation
• Ancora Ministries Feed Kids Right Now
• Central Texas Table of Grace
• ROCK Ride On Center for Kids
• Williamson County Children’s Advocacy Center
  

FirstLight Foundation Hosts 4th Annual Golf Classic

^{Read time: 35 secs}

El Paso-based FirstLight Community Foundation hosted its 4th Annual Golf Classic at Painted Dunes Desert Golf Club on Oct. 10, raising $106,000 for student scholarships and financial literacy programs. 

Since its inception, the charitable tournament has raised nearly 450,000, providing $50,000 in student scholarships in 2024 alone. The foundation has passionately dedicated itself to supporting higher education and bridging the financial literacy gap in El Paso, Fort Bliss, and Las Cruces communities.

“Our golf classic is a powerful reminder of what can be achieved when a community comes together,” said Anthony T. Walker, SVP marketing and community impact and executive director of the FirstLight Community Foundation. “Every swing, every contribution, helps pave the way for brighter futures, and we could not be prouder to play a role in that journey.”

Check out the incredible video highlights!

Shred Event Turns into Impromptu Fundraiser

^{Read time: 55 secs}

On Oct. 19, Arsenal Credit Union in St. Louis, Mo., held a shred and recycling event for residents of Shrewsbury, Webster Groves, and surrounding communities. In addition to helping people destroy and recycle their sensitive documents, $786.84 was collected to help victims of Hurricanes Milton and Helene.

A total of 171 cars full of attendees donated spare change and loose bills collected by credit union volunteers. All funds were matched by Arsenal, and a donation of $1,600 was made to the Greater St. Louis Chapter of the American Red Cross.

“Every day, we take for granted the fact that we have shelter, can flip on electricity, or can just turn on the faucet for running water,” said Craig Meyer, VP of marketing and business development for Arsenal. “The destruction from these hurricanes changed that routine for fellow Americans. The communities of Shrewsbury and Webster Groves, along with the employees and partners of Arsenal Credit Union wanted to help restore some normalcy for those displaced and impacted by contributing to the Red Cross and their volunteer efforts. We salute all who supported this worthy cause.”

For the shred event, Arsenal partnered with ProShred Document Shredding Services to properly dispose of 12,300 pounds of paper documents. This translates to $31,832.40 in total eco-friendly savings for the community. 

Greater Texas | Aggieland Sees Quick Acceptance of Tex-Line Virtual Assistant

^{Read time: 1 min, 18 secs}

In just a couple of months, implementing an AI-based system into its contact center has yielded impressive efficiency gains along with other benefits for Austin-based Greater Texas | Aggieland Credit Union.

Earlier this summer, Greater Texas and its Aggieland subsidiary rolled out the AI-based Tex-Line feature as part of its voice system call flow, and in no time the system was handling about one out of every four calls. That has eased the burden on contact center agents while providing human-like interaction with members.

“Our members can have human-like conversations with Tex-Line for a more personalized experience,” said Stephanie Stout, SVP member experience. “That is a big improvement from our older system, where these conversations weren’t possible. Members were forced to choose an option in the system to go to a specific department. Now they can speak with our virtual assistant to inquire about their needs and conduct transactions immediately without waiting for an agent.”

Stout noted, Tex-Line can manage high call volumes with its ability to answer several calls simultaneously and to resolve common inquiries with no need to involve a live agent. That frees agents to focus on higher-level calls that need additional investigation, and the contact center’s first call resolution rates have surged as a result. Average call wait times have dropped by 40%, bringing a big drop in call abandonment rates.

Greater Texas | Aggieland has also gained cost savings because, as the contact center experiences normal attrition, the credit union has been able to avoid replacing those employees due to Tex-Line’s ability to handle so many calls effectively.

One of the advantages of Tex-Line is that because it learns through its interactions with members, the credit union can leverage that data to improve the scripting for the system, ensuring a continued human-style interaction that is responsive to members’ needs and communication styles.