2023 Year In Review
posted on Tuesday, December 19, 2023 in Newsletters
2023 was another year of growth and continued strategies to stay connected to our members and communities. We started the year with $938 million in assets, $704 million in loans, and 65,500 members. Thanks to our strong and empowered team, we have continued to grow and are now at $943 million in assets, $780 million in loans, and 66,400 members. This growth would not be possible without you, our loyal members.
We continue to offer new and innovative products and services. At the beginning of the year, we introduced Change Counts, a unique and easy way to save, without even thinking about it. Enroll in our Change Counts program by logging into C1st Digital Banking. Then, start making purchases with your C1st Visa debit card. We round up the purchase to the next whole dollar amount and deposit the change into a C1st savings account of your choice. It’s that easy to save!
We’re always looking for more ways to enhance our member’s digital banking experience. In July, C1st launched SavvyMoney’s Credit Score & Report, a comprehensive product that is offered via C1st’s Digital Banking. SavvyMoney provides credit score analyses, full credit reports, monitoring, and personalized product information – all in one dashboard. You can use it for FREE - anytime and anywhere. Master your credit standing, with no purchases or credit card required.
We are…connected to our communities. In 2023, the C1st Foundation financially supported many local non-profit organizations in our communities. A total of $152,340 was pledged and given to communities across our footprint. In addition, we gave our local communities over $125,000 for local non-profit organization sponsorship and donations. We are also very proud to announce our C1st Foundation exceeded the giving of over $250,000 in grants – directly affecting our local communities and promoting community betterment. All of these projects were made possible by grants from the C1st Credit Union Impact Giving Fund of Greater Cedar Rapids Community Foundation.
We are…a strong and empowered team at C1st. Community 1st Credit Union received its eighth straight Des Moines Register “Top Workplace” award. The newspaper recognized 148 Iowa companies and organizations for the 2023 honor. The employer honor is based on the results of an employee feedback survey. We are proud to hold on to this honor for 8 years.
In addition, C1st was named by Forbes’ annual list of America’s Best-In-Credit Unions as the #1 Credit Union in the state of Iowa. This prestigious award is presented by Forbes and Statista Inc., the leading statistics portal and industry ranking provider. C1st is one of only five Iowa credit unions making the 2023 list. Being recognized by Forbes as the #1 credit union in Iowa is a true testament to how our members feel about us every day. The award validates we are continuing to help improve the lives of our members by helping them achieve financial success.
We continue to expand and invest in facilities. On March 29th, we officially opened the new location of our Shenandoah branch - located at 700 Fremont Street, across from the Walmart in Shenandoah. C1st partnered with Single Source Architects & Master Builders out of Waterloo who led the entire project to completion partnering with several local sub-contractors. It was an exciting opportunity for C1st to continue to expand value to our members as well as invest in the Shenandoah community. We believe we have the absolute best spot in the town!
We humbly thank you for being a member of Community 1st. Credit Unions were built on the foundation of ‘people-helping-people.’ Providing access to affordable financial products and services, and striving to meet the needs of underserved communities is what the credit union difference is all about. At C1st, we’re honored to have been a part of that philosophy for over 85 years!
Greg Hanshaw
President & CEO