North Star Credit Union (NSCU) has been honored for giving back to the community. NSCU has received the prestigious 2021 Dora Maxwell Social Responsibility Community Service Award. They were presented the award during Minnesota Credit Union Network’s (McCUN) Accelerate22 in April 2022. 

The award, sponsored by the Minnesota Credit Union Network (MnCUN) and the Credit Union National Association (CUNA), recognizes credit unions for the activities they coordinate that benefit their community or a specific charity.

The credit union was honored for its participation in “CU Day: People Helping People,” where it gave $3,200 to 17 different nonprofits that each have a mission of devoting to a specific cause with an overall theme of people helping people, community, and giving back.
“It means so much to our credit union to be recognized for this award, our team works hard to make a difference in the community,” said Jennifer Stedt, Executive Vice President of North Star Credit Union. “This project was especially important to us because staff members had an opportunity to donate to charities that impact our lives and those around us.”

With restrictions in place due to Covid-19, the North Star Credit Union (NSCU) wanted to find a creative way to help people and still make an impact as part of Credit Union Day, which is a way to give back and highlight the credit union spirit. 
Each staff member chose a cause/nonprofit near and dear to his/her heart to support. The credit union donated $100 in his/her name to the cause. Then, each nonprofit would be entered for a chance to receive up to $1,000 based on likes/shares on social media. 
One goal was to create awareness about these causes that meant so much to staff and community. Another was to support nonprofits that were suffering due to the pandemic and communities in all of our four branches.

“There are so many volunteers working hard to make a difference everyday and we wanted to find a way to help,” said Stedt. “Hearing the stories of how these nonprofits help people is really touching.”

The Credit Union’s winning entry will advance to the national competition, where it will compete with financial education projects from credit unions in other states.

The award is named in honor of Dora Maxwell, an early credit union pioneer. One of the original signers of CUNA’s constitution at Estes Park, Colorado, Maxwell worked as an organizer for the movement’s trade association (then called the Credit Union National Extension Bureau) and held numerous volunteer positions at the local and national level. In addition to organizing hundreds of credit unions, she developed volunteer organizer clubs and worked with organizations on behalf of the poor.