One credit union shares how their mission has defined their success

Fifty years ago, a group of Polish immigrants came together in forming the Polish & Slavic Federal Credit Union (PSFCU) to fill a desperate need in their community. Forgotten and repeatedly turned away by other financial institutions, these immigrants turned to their community tradition of mutual aid anchored by parish networks, paired it with a shared determination that they would serve themselves if no one else would serve them, and created an institution that now serves more than 126,000 members across 24 branches in five states.

A new post on the America’s Credit Unions Blog details their hard work to address a community need.

Originally chartered as the Industrial and Commercial Federal Credit Union, the upstart organization gained NCUA approval in December 1976 and hit $1 million in membership deposits by the summer of 1978.  

“I’m very often thinking what’s the source of this success,” President/CEO Bogdan Chmielewski said. “And I think it’s our mission.”

That mission and not-for-profit mindset is further reflected in how PSFCU invests back in its community. The blog post outlines how PSFCU separates itself from its for-profit competitors. Each year, the credit union directs approximately $3 million into community support. This includes more than $600,000 in scholarships for Polish American students (providing 7,500 recipients with more than $8 million in scholarships since the program began in 2001), direct donations to 142 organizations totaling more than $900,000, and roughly $2 million in sponsorships for cultural events, parishes, Saturday schools, and Polish American media.

Read the full blog post for the inspiring example of the credit union difference at work