01/09/2012
National CU Financial Education Report released by NCUF
Roughly 1.6 million consumers received financial counseling and/or advice through a credit union, says a
report released today by the National Credit Union Foundation (NCUF) through its REAL Solutions
program.
The free online report, "Credit Unions: Focused on Financial Capability Across the Nation," is the result
of an almost yearlong data collection effort by NCUF with the help of state credit union leagues.
NCUF and REAL Solutions conducted a national study of credit‐union‐provided member and consumer
financial education and counseling.
The report is designed to provide credit unions with quantitative data to illustrate how the credit union
movement is making a difference through financial education and counseling.
Among the findings in the report:
Credit union representatives presented more than 24,000 educational sessions to more than
600,000 students in classrooms nationwide designed in accordance with state and national
curriculum standards;
111,500 student members had $34 million on deposit at 1,400 in‐school credit union branches
that encourage savings and connect financial education with financial access; and
Credit unions invested $140 million during 2010 toward improving the financial capability of
members and consumers in general.
The report describes 10 financial education/counseling interventions offered to members/consumers by
credit unions. It provides cumulative data about member use of and access to credit‐union provided
financial education/counseling products, tools, and courses, and reveals probable keys to program
success.
National data are supplemented by case studies of credit unions and state leagues/associations that
illustrate each type of educational intervention.
Data was collected through an online survey of U.S. credit unions from March 2011 through year‐end
2011. The report is based on information submitted by 576 credit unions of all asset sizes. They
represent 8% of all U.S. credit unions, and 27% of all U.S. credit union memberships as of December
2010.
The full report is available as a single document, and each state section also is available as a separate
document. All are in PDF format.