How One CU Helped Its Members Get Financially Fit; Program helped Mountain America to be seen as a true advocate with its members' best interests at heart

An executive at Mountain America Credit Union (CU) was well aware of the fact eight out 10 people identify money as a significant source of stress in their lives and that regardless of income 70% of Americans live paycheck to paycheck. He wanted to do something about it. Specifically, he wanted to build a culture of financial wellness and member advocacy that could spill over into the larger community. Executives at Mountain America got to work on a program that would first get employees passionate about financial wellness and then engage Mountain America's members. More than 800 of the CU's 1,200 employees voluntarily went through the program. Taken together, the efforts from Mountain America represent a powerful instance of becoming a true advocate for members. It illustrates that above all it's crucial to first get employees excited about advocacy and then encourage legitimate change in the lives of members.