(Clockwise from bottom left)  Robin Schroeder (Prospera Credit Union Board of Directors Chair), Greg Potts (Past Prospera Board Chair, Scott Copeland (Chief Operating Officer--Retail & Logistics Goodwill NCW and Prospera Credit Union Board Member), Patrick Seubert (Prospera Board Member), Ken Eiden (President & CEO of Prospera Credit Union
and former Goodwill NCW Board Member)

GoodMoney Presented the National Credit Union Foundation's Herb Wegner Award 

On Sunday night February 25, the National Credit Union Foundation (NCUF) presented the prestigious Herb Wegner Award for Outstanding Program to GoodMoney.  GoodMoney is the collaborative not-for-profit alternative to payday lending and check cashing offered by Prospera Credit Union and Goodwill NCW at Goodwill NCW’s Darboy Superstore and Retail Training Center. This award was one of three awards that were celebrated at NCUF’s Herb Wegner Memorial Awards Dinner during the Credit Union National Association’s (CUNA) Governmental Affairs Conference held at the Hilton Washington, D.C.

 

GoodMoney offers:

• Short-term loans at less than half the rates of for-profit payday lenders; 
• Check-cashing with substantially lower fees than for-profit check-cashers;
• Money orders and bill payments;
• International wire transfers;
• Referrals to FISC, a program of Goodwill NCW, which offers financial workshops and budget counseling to help consumers manage their money. For those who are already in financial trouble, FISC develops debt management plans.

“GoodMoney is a unique, collaborative and competitive approach to fulfilling the short-term loan needs of people in our community,” explains Prospera Credit Union CEO Kenneth Eiden, Jr. “GoodMoney has captured the attention of the local marketplace, state and national consumer researchers, consumer advocacy groups, legislators, and Goodwill Industries nationwide. We hope that the program is a seed of innovation that continues to spread throughout the credit union industry and will benefit innumerable members.”

“It’s a unique opportunity for non-profit organizations with similar missions to collaborate toward common goals,” related Bob Pedersen, Goodwill NCW President/CEO. “Providing people with lifelong economic planning is instrumental to our mission. We must ensure that debt is not a barrier to people’s futures.”

Pedersen noted that the collaboration today between the two organizations is reflective of each organization’s founding father’s vision in Boston in the early 1900s: the credit union movement’s Edward A. Filene, who worked to grow consumer cooperation; and Goodwill Industries’ Dr. Edgar J. Helms, who spearheaded the philosophy of “a hand up, not a handout.”

“Where we’ve been in the past truly helps us see where we are going in the future,” Pederson observed. “GoodMoney is a way in which we can help fulfill today’s needs while looking forward to meet tomorrow’s needs for people of limited resources.”

Ken Eiden accepted the award on behalf of GoodMoney and Prospera Credit Union.  Also in attendance from Goodwill NCW were Scott Copeland, Chief Operating Officer--Retail & Logistics and Prospera Credit Union board member, and Rick Sense, Director of Development.

 

“I am exceedingly proud for both organizations; Prospera and Goodwill NCW,” said Copeland, “to be honored, selected from the nearly 10,000 credit unions nationwide is quite an honor.  This is a great service for Goodwill-as part of our mission delivery- and for the credit union movement because it really is how credit unions started out-serving those that banks don’t.”

 

GoodMoney is also starting to gain interest from other communities across the United States.  Copeland pointed out that upon returning from the Wegner Award ceremony he talked with John Rose of the Rochester, New York area Goodwill.  Rose commented that his local credit union had just learned about GoodMoney at the conference and approached him about developing a partnership similar to the Goodwill NCW/Prospera Credit Union model.