LA CROSSE, Wis. – August 9, 2021 – Friends and partners of Marine Credit Union donated more than $150,000 to support financial literacy and charitable causes in our communities as part of the sixth annual Marine Credit Union (MCU) Foundation Golf Outing on Wednesday, August 4. More than 140 golfers participated at the Golf Course at Cedar Creek Country Club in Onalaska, Wis. The event was sponsored by Allied Solutions and had additional event sponsors that included NuSource Financial, MOKA, The Scan Group and Advisors Management Group.
Funds raised advance the work of the MCU Foundation, a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization committed to making an impact in the communities Marine serves in two ways: 1) giving out charitable contributions and 2) increasing financial literacy.
To further its mission, the Foundation launched Finding HOME in May of 2018 – a free financial literacy and behavior change program designed to help families who do not qualify for a mortgage, achieve homeownership. This 12-18-month program consists of one-on-one financial literacy counseling, educational courses, and resource navigation assistance. As a result of changed spending and borrowing habits, participants increase their credit scores, reduce debt, and build robust savings accounts – prior to being connected with homeownership. Graduates of Finding HOME are guaranteed access to a market-rate mortgage that fits their budget.
“Three years into Finding HOME, the program has graduated 14 families, and provided a path to financial stability and homeownership to almost 300 individuals,” says the MCU Foundation’s Executive Director, Quinn Devlin. “Watching participants develop a sense of hope as they begin to master their finances has been the most rewarding part. It’s changed their whole lives in a way that even I wasn’t expecting.”
Since the Foundation was created in January 2014:
Four in five Marine employees contribute to the MCU Foundation through an automatic payroll deduction. The credit union matches each employee donation – for every dollar an individual donates, Marine donates two.
Marine Credit Union is built upon the strong belief that members are more than a credit score, and we are committed to providing financial services to all members of the community—including those with past financial challenges. Marine will continue our long-standing tradition of delivering personalized lending solutions to fit our members’ individual needs. Marine Credit Union is a full-service financial institution serving members with office locations in Wisconsin, Minnesota and Iowa. For more information, connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and LinkedIn.