|
Royal Credit Union (RCU) was organized in April 1964 to serve employees of Uniroyal and their families. In November 1972, the Wisconsin Commissioner of Credit Unions gave RCU permission to add other employee groups to its membership and for the next two years, additional groups were added until there was a total of 27 groups. With this growth experienced by being able to serve more people, RCU applied for and was granted a community charter.
| |
Annual Reports |
| |
|
| |
 |
| |
Service Area |
| |
Our current charter provides us with a field of membership that includes people who live or work in: |
Eau Claire County |
Chippewa County |
Barron County |
Buffalo County |
Burnett County |
Clark County |
Dunn County |
Jackson County |
Marathon County |
Pierce County |
Pepin County |
Polk County |
Rusk County |
St. Croix County |
Taylor County |
Trempealeau County |
Washburn County |
Wood County |
|
| |
|
Membership has grown rapidly from the original 100 Uniroyal employees to over 113,000 community Members. RCU is now one of the largest credit unions in the state of Wisconsin.
Statement of Commitment
As a Member-owned, not-for-profit financial cooperative, RCU is committed to our Members. We will uphold our fundamental responsibility to actively serve people within our field of membership and the communities in which we live. We will continue to deliver a wide range of products and services to the diverse economic and social make-up of our Members and potential Members.
We will monitor and communicate our service to Members in a meaningful way so that Members, potential Members, legislators, regulators, and the community at-large will understand and appreciate the unique role that Member-owned financial cooperatives play in their lives.
RCU’s strategic plan includes efforts that encourage our Members to become financially
self-sufficient and successful. We will continue to place high importance on consumer education and financial thrift.
This Statement of Commitment to RCU Members is consistent with our credit union principles of “Not For Profit, Not For Charity, But For Service” and our philosophy of “People Helping People”. This statement represents good business practices that ensure the financial strength of our credit union on behalf of our Members.
RCU strives to offer services designed to improve the economic and social well being of all Members from all socio-economic backgrounds and return financial value to all those who participate in our Member-owned financial cooperative.
Current or Existing Products and Services:
New Potential Services Planned for the Future:
 Teen Accounts
Additional ATM locations
Expansion of RCU Investment & Insurance Services
Member Business Products
Lending to the Underserved
Aggregation of Accounts
RCU is committed to Member and consumer financial education; in addition, we are committed to educating Members and consumers alike, about credit union uniqueness, philosophy, and values.
Current or Existing Programs:
Educational Seminars—RCU holds a number of educational seminars, which are typically free to our Members and non-Members. These seminars discuss a variety of topics and help our Members become better financial consumers.
Home Buying Seminar—RCU's Home Loan Department conducts free home-buying seminars for Members and non-members. Participants learn what to expect when buying, building, or refinancing a home, including mortgage options, closing costs, and more.
Website—RCU's website contains valuable information about RCU services, along with valuable links to auto price guides, credit management advice, and financial calculators.
Newsletter Articles—Each quarter, our newsletter, On The Money, contains valuable information for Members related to credit union uniqueness and philosophy.
Resource Library in RCU Lobbies—In each of our branch lobbies, RCU provides a resource center with educational publications and brochures, as well as a computer to access our website and eBranch, RCU's online account access service.
Community Presentations—RCU employees are often invited into local high schools, civic groups, and other organizations to conduct sessions related to important financial topics such as how to handle a checking account or how to save for future purchases.
Employee Orientation—RCU provides a comprehensive orientation for new employees, which includes emphasis on credit union uniqueness. In turn, employees convey this information to Members.
RCU School Sites—RCU is actively involved in local schools. RCU feels it is important to educate students about the importance of saving their money and to show how credit unions work. RCU School Sites allow these students to open accounts at RCU and deposit their saved money on a weekly basis at the school. We also hire a number of student tellers and marketing students to do the actual transactions for that week. RCU also works with two high schools where we have a branch located inside each school. We hire juniors and seniors to work in each office, along with giving them additional opportunities to work within our other offices. Over the years with this program, it has allowed us to hire these employees after they graduate to work in the summer or as full-time employees as they are going to college.
Volunteer Program—RCU recognizes Members that volunteer their time in community organizations and rewards them through discounted checking accounts, free travelers checks, and RCU logowear.
Newspaper Articles—Various RCU employees write articles for local newspapers and publications giving financial advice and general financial information.
Family Means Consumer Credit Counseling—RCU is a member of an alliance between the Wisconsin Credit Union League, Consumer Credit Counseling Services, and participating credit unions to provide viable credit counseling services to Members.
Senior Housing Service—RCU employees visit two elderly housing complexes, St. John's Apartments and Park Towers, providing check cashing services and selling postage stamps for Members and non-members.
Junior Achievement—Annually, employees participate in teaching various classes in the local school systems on not only financial matters, but on environmental, economic, and social matters.
RCU will endeavor to preserve credit union principles, including demographic representation and volunteer participation in credit union activities.
Current or Existing Programs:
Board Elections—All board members are voted in by mail ballot, stressing full participation.
Board Education—RCU provides special training for the board members. One example is the Volunteer Achievement Program, a training program to help our Board of Directors understand credit unions and how they work. The board is required to attend one national conference per year to help complete these training modules. Some of the modules in the training program include board duties, managing risk, and management and board policy.
Annual Meeting—We invite the entire adult membership to our annual meeting where election results are announced for available seats on the Board of Directors. The membership is also updated with the achievements of the credit union from the past year. The annual report is printed and made available to Members.
Committee Involvement—RCU has several on-going committees and strongly encourages volunteer and Member participation. They are the Asset Liability Committee, the Nominating Committee, the Member Business Loan Committee, the Technology Committee, and the Suggestion Committee.
Focus Group Participation—RCU holds various topic specific focus groups and invites Members and non-members to participate.
Money Smart Week - RCU is actively involved in Money Smart Week. This is a creation of the Governor's Council on Financial Literacy in Wisconsin. Money Smart Week is held in October each year.
Surveys—Member and non-membersurveys are conducted to seek information that RCU can use to improve products and services. Various topic specific surveys are also conducted as needed.
International Credit Union Day—RCU supports this international movement annually by having a celebration in all our offices and distributing media kits to the local media.
Campaign for Consumer Choice—RCU actively participated and monetarily supported the Credit Union Campaign for Consumer Choice. A credit union wide congressional letter writing campaign was initiated in 1998. Thousands of RCU Members and employees asked their congressional representative to support the RCU Members Access Act, HR 1151.
Credit Union Activists - RCU currently has over 75 credit union activists on staff. Activists are credit union supporters - staff, volunteers, members, and others - who are trained by and work in concert with the Wisconsin Credit Union League to protect and grow the credit union movement in our state.
New Programs Planned for the Future:
Board Elections—Board election voting via the Internet is being considered for Member vote ballots.
RCU operates as a democratically controlled, Member-owned cooperative by focusing management, staff, and volunteers on diversity in the leadership and staff of the credit union.
Current or Existing Programs:
Nominating Committee—The nominating committee strives to find Members from all types of backgrounds and views in order to ensure a diverse board of directors.
Equal Employment Opportunity—RCU actively seeks to fill vacancies by hiring qualified candidates without regard to race, creed, religion, or socio-economic status, seeking to represent the community in which we operate.
Member Market Segmentation—RCU uses an MCIF system to help determine the demographic makeup of its Members so that products and services may be specifically targeted to meet their needs.
Hmong Mutual Assistance—Some RCU employees were involved in developing a cultural center for the Hmong.
Spanish Speaking Members - RCU produced International Wire Service materials in both English and Spanish to help the growing number of Spanish speaking members.
RCU works to build and strengthen our unique credit union movement by providing financial and in-kind resources to others within the credit union and in other appropriate public forums. In addition, RCU participates in local, state, and national cooperative activities as appropriate, and strives to build and strengthen relationships with other sectors of the national cooperative movement.
Current or Existing Programs:
Chapter Meetings—RCU takes an active role in the Chippewa Valley Chapter and the Seven Rivers Region Chapter of Credit Unions, by attending meetings, holding leadership roles, and participating in chapter sponsored activities.
Continuing Education for Staff—RCU encourages employees to attend seminars that pertain to their job and the workings of a credit union. In addition, RCU assists with undergraduate education so that employees may further their careers within the credit union.
Alliance One—RCU is involved in Alliance One, which is an network of Wisconsin credit unions that do not charge each other's Members for ATM access.
Chippewa Valley Chapter of Credit Unions—RCU is actively involved with employees often serving as Chapter Officers.
Wisconsin Credit Union League—RCU employees and management are actively involved with board representation.
National Association of State Credit Union Supervisors (NASCUS)—Our president has been highly involved with this organization and was recently re-elected as Chairman of the NASCUS Council.
Mentoring—RCU hosts numerous other credit union staffs, providing teaching, training, and conducting planning sessions.
Leadership Roles—RCU's senior management staff serves on several board of directors and covers many items for credit union organizations. For example, RCU's Chief Operating Officer serves as President of the Chippewa Valley Chapter of Credit Unions and is on the Government Affairs Committee for the Wisconsin Credit Union League. RCU's CEO serves on various boards, including PULSE, Filene Institute, and Wisconsin Credit Union League.
RCU will continue to be an active partner in the community. Each year, RCU makes financial and in-kind contributions and donations of over $100,000 to a number of eligible organizations.
Current or Existing Programs:
RCU Charity Classic—This annual event raises money for local, non-profit charities that are chosen by the RCU employees. Money is raised through registrations and pledges. Over the years, we have raised over $55,000 for various non-profit organizations in the communities we serve.
Food & Bear Drives—We ask our Members to donate items to be given to a variety of organizations.
Scholarships—RCU offers $5,000 in scholarships that are available to families of employees.
Employee Commitment to Volunteerism—RCU encourages all employees to volunteer time at local charitable organizations. Employees also organize teams for Relay for Life, American Heart Walk, Epilepsy Stroll and other community fundraisers. Each year, RCU employees volunteer over 14,000 hours.
United Way—RCU is a pace setter company for the United Way. Employees are asked to contribute money from their paychecks, along with contributing their time for many United Way fundraisers.
Feed My People—Feed My People is a community food bank serving Western Wisconsin. RCU employees and Members are asked to donate and collect for this organization.
RCU Volunteers—Because of RCU's involvement in the communities we serve, we want to reward those Members that also give their time to the local communities.
Educational Financial Articles—RCU has published articles discouraging the use of high-rate pawnshops, payday lenders, and rent-to-own stores.
RCU also practices good corporate citizenship by:
Doing business with those that do business with us.
Providing space for community and civic groups to
meet in our many conference rooms at our branches
and Corporate Center.
Working with many of the local Main Street
Association programs, the Industrial Development
Corporation, the Eau Claire City Center, the UW
Foundation board and the Eau Claire Foundation
Board.
|
