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Awards season is in full swing. We aren’t talking about the Oscars or the Grammys. We are referencing all the fantastic opportunities credit union employees have to recognize their peers and their credit union’s unique social responsibility accomplishments at the League’s Annual Convention in May.
While today is the final day to submit a nomination for the James M. Gratto, Alexander Ferguson, Jeannette G. Morin, and Diane L. Oceretko Awards, credit unions have two additional weeks (March 31) to apply for one of three Social Responsibility Awards. These awards recognize how credit unions improve the financial lives of their members through community service, financial education, and innovation.
“One of the best parts about the League’s Annual Convention is our awards programming,” said Jen Burke, League AVP – Communications & Outreach. “I feel the Social Responsibility Awards are especially meaningful because these awards honor a credit union’s collective efforts to uplift their communities in a variety of ways. I hope people will spend some time during these last few weeks of March to complete their online application.”
There is no entry fee and all state winners in each asset category will automatically be entered to compete in CUNA’s national competition later this year. A credit union may submit one entry for each of the award categories, but each entry must be unique and reflect activity completed between March 1, 2022 and March 1, 2023.
Award Categories
- The Dora Maxwell Social Responsibility Community Service Award is given to a credit union or chapter for its social responsibility projects within the community. The award is given for external activities. Credit unions could receive the award for involvement in almost any kind of activity that helps other people or strengthens the structure of a community. This may include fundraising for charity, educational activities, or community involvement projects, such as participating in a volunteer fair, building low-income housing, or loaning employees a few hours a week to work in hospitals, retirement homes, and schools.
- The Desjardins Award recognizes leadership within the credit union movement on behalf of financial literacy for all ages. Naming the award after Alphonse Desjardins emphasizes the movement’s longtime commitment to youth. Besides founding the first credit unions in Canada and the U.S., Desjardins pioneered youth savings clubs and in-school “banks,” known as caisses scolaires. The recognition program considers all activities supporting the personal finance education of members and non-members including, but not limited to, face-to-face teaching using proprietary materials and curricula, (such as the NEFE High School Financial Planning Program®), as well as financial literacy leadership efforts.
- The Louise Herring Philosophy-in-Action Member Service Award is given to a credit union for its practical application of the People Helping People philosophy in their programs and policies or within their actual operations. It is awarded for internal programs and services that benefit membership.
Submission Instructions
Award entries for the League’s state awards program are submitted through the CUNA Awards website. You will automatically establish an account when you create an application to submit your first project. You may save your work and return to the submission site as often as needed as long as you complete and submit all parts of the project by March 31, 2023.
Questions
If you have questions about the Social Responsibility Awards, please email Jen Burke at jburke@mainecul.org.