A Direct Line Blog

By Beth Satre, MCU Membership Data Manager

Have you recently discussed expanding your credit union’s field of membership, switching your charter, adding a branch, or simply strategizing the best way to identify and reach out to prospective members or employers? Thanks to the partnership between Montana’s Credit Unions and CUCollaborate, you have a lot of helpful data and expert advice at your fingertips.

A Beneficial Partnership

Founded in 2014, CUCollaborate gives credit unions of all sizes access to data, information, online communities, and software tools that can help them grow, plan, and collaborate. It started with an online tool that made it as easy as possible for consumers to find and join credit unions. Subsequently, CUCollaborate created several online tools focused on credit union fields of membership, including its Field of Membership Evaluation Tool. Developing (and working with) its online research tools led Sam Brownell and his team to also develop expertise in credit union fields of membership and possible strategies to help credit unions grow their field of membership.

Better yet, our affiliates can access CUCollaborate’s expertise at no charge.

FOM Consulting

The folks at CUCollaborate can help you generate and weigh your options if your credit union is looking to

• add a new branch,
• serve an entirely new area, or
• more “efficiently prospect” for new SEGs or demographic groups to add to your field of membership.

Your credit union’s “size, charter type, growth strategy, or existing field of membership” doesn’t matter.

Depending on your preference, they can be “hands-on” or “hands-off” — they can give you the resources to develop your own strategies or CUCollaborate’s expert credit union consultants can do most of the research and analysis for you as well as write your FOM amendment application and shepherd it through NCUA’s approval process.

Bottom line: If you’re looking to expand who can join your credit union, CUCollaborate can help. We’ve had stellar reviews from CEOs who have used their services.

Access CUCollaborate

To start, you just need to go to their website, click on the “Login” button, and register as a “new customer.”  Once you’re registered, you can set up your profile and explore CUCollaborate’s research.
Also, CUCollaborate’s Field of Membership Consulting page has a form to fill out if you’re interested in those services.

For More Info

If you’re not sure where to start or curious about all that CUCollaborate offers, email me or call me at 406-324-7457 to learn more.