National Foundation grant cycle open to help CUs measure impact of financial health initiatives

The National Credit Union Foundation (the Foundation) 2019 grant cycle is open. The Foundation is seeking requests for proposals from credit unions that want to document and measure the impacts of their products and services on member and employee financial health. The deadline for proposal submission is June 30. 

In 2017, the Foundation funded six credit unions to measure the financial health of their members, using the Financial Health Network’s financial health segmentation methodology. The aggregate data showed that more than half (58%) of members in the total credit union sample are struggling financially, highlighting a significant opportunity for credit unions to help their members better spend, save, borrow, and plan.

To build on this work, the Foundation will evaluate and fund proposals by credit unions to consider their suite of products and services across the four components of financial health and document the improvement in member and/or employee financial health. The intent of this RFP is to support credit union initiatives to measure and document these efforts specifically in the Spend, Save, Borrow, and Plan categories created by the Financial Health Network.

“The Foundation’s vision is making financial freedom achievable through credit unions,” said Gigi Hyland, executive director at the Foundation. “That can only happen when credit unions place consumer financial health at the center of their strategy. This grant funding is focused on advancing credit unions’ efforts and innovations to understand and improve member and employee financial health. We know that when we improve someone’s financial health, it can improve physical and emotional health as well. This critical work not only benefits the member and your bottom line, but also reinforces and showcases the central mission of credit unions.”

Download the RFP.

The Foundation will review all applications for each credit union’s financial capacity and commitment to improving members’ financial health that directly support the stated objectives defined in the above RFP. Total funding of $75,000 is available with a minimum grant request of $10,000.

About the National Credit Union Foundation (ncuf.coop)
The National Credit Union Foundation is the charitable arm of the U.S credit union movement, serving as a catalyst for change in people’s financial lives. The Foundation works to ignite understanding and focus on member financial health, inspire and create opportunities for credit unions to leverage their cooperative values and respond quickly when disaster strikes. Through cooperative support and action, the Foundation helps people achieve financial freedom.