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Maine credit unions have a shared People Helping People philosophy, and we work hard every day to make our state a great place to live and thrive for all.
Our League would like to recognize how your credit union is improving the financial lives of your members through community service, financial education, and innovation. We have opened the application portal for our state Dora Maxwell, Louise Herring, and Desjardins Awards. The winners of these prestigious awards will be recognized at the League’s Annual Convention in May. We hope you will apply for a chance to get your meaningful work recognized among your peers.
“I always look forward to the time of year when our League is able to acknowledge our credit unions for the phenomenal work they do in and for their communities all year long,” said Jen Burke, AVP – Outreach & Communication for the League. “I see how dedicated our credit unions are to improving the lives of their members daily, so I always encourage each of them to take this significant opportunity to reflect on the good their staff has done by applying for these esteemed awards.”
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. Maine has had great success in this competition!
To provide credit unions plenty of time to apply for one or multiple awards, the application portal is open now through Friday, March 31, 2023 at 11:59 pm.
Please don’t hesitate to reach out to Jen Burke (jburke@mainecul.org) with any questions, especially if you have concerns about which category you should enter.
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 the due date of March 31, 2023.
Award Winner
Entries are judged by a panel of state marketing and communications professionals, and award winners will be announced at the League’s Convention in May. First-place winners are automatically entered for CUNA’s national awards program taking place later this year. The League will share additional details about CUNA’s ceremony when they are available.
Award FAQs
What is the time period the awards cover?
Awards are given for activities completed between March 1, 2022 and March 1, 2023. Ensuring your activity occurred during this period is important!
Can a credit union compete in all the competition’s categories?
Yes. A credit union may submit one entry for each of the award categories, but each entry must be unique!
Can a credit union enter the same entry in multiple programs?
No. Each program has different objectives and requirements. Entries should be tailored to match the defined goals of the competition.