What are MembersOwn Credit Union’s mission and values?

Our mission is to make our members financial successful through personalized financial services presented with empathy and honesty as a valued partner of the MembersOwn family.  Our values are: Not for Profit, Cooperative, Non-Judgmental, Trustworthy, and Community Drive.

What is MembersOwn Credit Union’s philosophy?

MembersOwn Credit Union is a not-for-profit financial cooperative, locally owned by the members who save and borrow here. We have a unique common bond with people who live, work, worship, attend school or belong to an organization in Southeast Nebraska.

We look at our members like trusted financial partners in a family business by providing personal attention with a caring, supportive approach. We strive to be a trusted financial partner, providing care and support as you work towards your financial goals. We see our role as that of the financial advisor in a family business with our members the extended family members.

Our role in the community is to provide a cost-effective, accessible source of financial goods and services to all members of our communities. We place our emphasis on people over profits and believe in the importance of giving back with a commitment of support to organizations working to make our communities a better place.

What’s a credit union?

A credit union is a cooperative, not-for-profit financial institution formed on the premise of “People Helping People” and organized to promote thrift and provide credit to members. Each member is an owner, saver and potential borrower. It is member-owned and controlled through a board of directors elected by the membership. The board serves on a volunteer basis and may hire a management team to run the credit union. The board also establishes and revises policy, sets dividend and loan rates and directs certain operations. The result: members are provided with a safe, convenient place to save and borrow at reasonable rates at an institution that exists to benefit them, not to make a profit.

Who owns a credit union?

Most financial institutions are owned by stockholders who intend on making money from their investment. A credit union doesn’t operate in that manner. Rather, each credit union member owns one “share” of the organization. The user of credit union services is also an owner, and is even entitled to vote on important issues, such as the election of member representatives to serve on the board of directors.

Who can join MembersOwn Credit Union?

Eligibility for membership in MembersOwn Credit Union is open to any person who lives, works, worships, attends school or regularly conducts business or volunteers in the following counties in  Southeast Nebraska: Lancaster, Gage, Jefferson, Saline, Seward, Sanders, Cass, Otoe, Johnson, and Pawnee.

Also, anyone who is closely related to an existing member may also join. Closely related is defined as spouse, child, sibling, parent, grandparent, grandchild, step parents, step children, step siblings and adoptive relationships.

How did credit unions start?

The first credit union cooperatives started in Germany over a century ago. Today, credit unions are found everywhere in the world. The credit union movement started in this country in Manchester, New Hampshire. There, the St. Mary’s Cooperative Credit Association, a church-affiliated credit union, opened its doors in 1909. Today, 1 in every 3 Americans is a credit union member.

What is the purpose of a credit union?

The primary purpose in furthering their goal of service is to encourage members to save money. Another purpose is to offer loans to members. Credit unions can charge lower rates for loans (as well as pay higher dividends on savings) because they are not-for-profit cooperatives. Rather than paying profits to stockholders, credit unions return earnings to members in the form of dividends or improved services.