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The Iowa Credit Union Foundation partners with the following organizations that advance the credit union movement and share the same ideas and beliefs of the credit union philosophy of “people helping people.”
The National Credit Union Foundation is the philanthropic arm of the national credit union movement and focuses on the needs of consumers and credit unions’ unique ability to meet those needs. The National Credit Union Foundation makes grants that promote consumer financial education, affordable mortgage lending, savings and asset accumulation.
World Council of Credit Unions & Panama Partnership
With the help of the World Council for Credit Unions, the Iowa Credit Union League has established an international "People to People Partnership" with COFEP - the credit union trade organization of Panama. This partnership was established in 2005 to help strengthen the Panamanian credit union movement. Panama currently has a sound credit union movement in place, and the League is working with COFEP to develop a more structured regulatory system in that country. COFEP was formed in 1985 by U.S. credit unions in the Panama Canal Zone in order to provide a stabilization fund, guarantee fund and consulting for credit unions to preserve their financial well-being and the savings of their members. Currently, 84 Panama credit unions belong to COFEP, which represents 112,000 of the 135,000 credit union members of those who live Panama.
The National Endowment for Financial Education® (NEFE®) is a non-profit foundation dedicated to helping all Americans acquire the information and gain the skills necessary to take control of their personal finances. NEFE partners with Credit Union National Association, Cooperative Extension Services and other concerned organizations to provide financial education to members of the public—in particular, to underserved individuals whose financial education issues are not being addressed by others. These partnerships are an effective means of responding to the needs of many different groups within the general population. The Foundation provides funding toward revising and updating curriculum for the NEFE High School Financial Planning Program®. Several credit unions in Iowa use the NEFE curriculum to provide financial education to the youth in their communities.
Family Involvement Board
The Family Involvement Board, created in the 1980s, developed the FIB Scholarship, which is managed by the Iowa Credit Union Foundation. The FIB encourages young adults and nontraditional students to learn about the credit union movement. Each year, the FIB Scholarship provides resources for postsecondary education. Four high school seniors and two nontraditional students receive a scholarship each year based on academic achievement and a 500-word essay contest. Winners are selected by a panel of judges including teachers and credit union professionals. A copy of the FIB rules and application can be found at: http://www.iowacreditunions.com/asp/fib/FIBApp.asp.
Children’s Miracle Network (CMN) is a non-profit organization dedicated to saving and improving the lives of children by raising funds for children’s hospitals across North America. All credit unions throughout the U.S. endorse CMN as it is the credit union industry’s charity of choice. Several CMN fundraising activities are coordinated by Iowa credit unions through the annual "Credit Unions for Kids" campaign. Contributions to CMN improve the lives of local children and their families when hospitalization is required. All CMN funds raised by Iowa credit unions help Iowa children at regional hospitals in Iowa City, Omaha and Sioux City. The Iowa Credit Union Foundation collects all donations from credit unions and makes quarterly payments to the appropriate Children’s Miracle Network hospital.
Checks should be made payable to Children’s Miracle Foundation, C/O Iowa Credit Union Foundation, 1500 NW 118th Street, Des Moines, IA 50325.
The Jump$tart Coalition for Personal Financial Literacy seeks to improve the personal financial literacy of young adults. Its purpose is to evaluate the financial literacy of young adults; develop, disseminate, and encourage the use of standards of financial literacy for grades K-12; and promote the teaching of personal finance. The Jump$tart Coalition believes all young adults need to have the financial literacy necessary to make informed financial decisions. Each year, the Iowa Credit Union Foundation provides a Teacher of the Year Award to an educator at the annual Iowa Jump$tart conference. The Foundation also provides a grant to teachers involved in teaching financial education by reimbursing them for continuing education credits given at the conference.
ISU Extension builds partnerships and provides research-based learning opportunities to improve the quality of life in Iowa. The Iowa Credit Union League partners with ISU Extension to promote the NEFE High School Financial Planning program and Jump$tart Coalition. Together, ISU Extension and Iowa credit unions work to promote prosperity for individuals and their communities, and help teach Iowa's youth how to earn, save, manage and spend their money wisely.
Center for Disabilities and Development
The Iowa Credit union League is working with the Center for Disabilities and Development, a department of the University of Iowa, to provide financial education and counseling to individuals with disabilities. Smart Start is a pilot project for youth to help young people with disabilities have improved secondary and post-secondary education to prevent the risk of unemployment or underemployment. The program is designed to help increase student and family empowerment in determining financial outcomes as well as timing and pace of these services. The Consumer Choices Option, is the adult program for individuals with Medicaid waivers. The program provides an option for people who are eligible for Medicaid Home and Community Based Services (HCBS) Waivers to have more choices and control in managing their daily lives.
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