MOON TOWNSHIP, Pa. — Clearview Federal Credit Union is wrapping up its "Thanks A Million" initiative, part of its "10th Anniversary Members Matter Celebration" that has been investing a total of $1 million in Clearview members and community over the last three months.
What makes this unusual is the $950 million CU is celebrating the anniversary of its switch to a community charter, as opposed to the anniversary of its original founding. It spent the first 50 years of its existence as a credit union for various airlines and other employer groups.
In the first phase of the program, Clearview said it reviewed all member accounts and gave a "thank you" patronage dividend based on the length of time members have been with the credit union and their overall relationship with Clearview. Some members were chosen at random for a patronage dividend. Additional "thank yous" were also offered throughout the program, which will come to a close at the end of this month.
Mark Brennan, Clearview's president and CEO, said the campaign has many component pieces because the goal is "to try to keep building momentum." Instead of a one-time, lump sum payment, he explained, management wanted the community to keep looking at the CU over a multi-month period.
"The dividend was based on the relationship members had with the credit union — we wanted to reward those who have a deeper relationship," he said.
Clearview has already awarded concert and sports tickets to a number of its members as part of the initiative, and has made donations on their behalf to a number of charities. The credit union made appearances at events at various locations, including basketball games at a college with which Clearview has a relationship. "Cash Crews" have been rewarding people for carrying a Clearview credit or debit card.
"We also will reward people who have loans with us with a random payment. All of this hopefully will keep the buzz going," he said. "We want the public to know about Clearview and know we are a little bit different."
When it was suggested celebrating the anniversary of a charter change was unique, Brennan told Credit Union Journal he and his team were "surprised" to hear others have not done so.
"We were planning a number of events with our staff and discussing the upcoming anniversary of the charter change with our marketing department," he recalled. "Our members embraced going from a single sponsor to a community charter. It was a significant change, and we wanted to celebrate."
Lessons Learned: Show Appreciation
Clearview has received nothing but positive feedback from members as "Thanks A Million" rolled out.
The response has been "better than we expected," Brennan said, noting Clearview received "hundreds" of e-mails and personal letters, and even phone calls, in reaction to the initial dividend.
"People thanked us and said it confirmed they were with the right organization," he reported. "The ticket giveaways have prompted priceless reactions. People appreciate us thanking them. We have not received a single negative comment."
According to Brennan, thanking its members isn't something the CU only does during a milestone anniversary — Clearview does in every single day, even if only in small ways. For example, instead of simply saying "goodbye" at the end of a telephone call, Clearview's call center representatives thank people for being members. Thanking members, he said, is part of the culture.
"Make sure you tell your members you appreciate their business," he advised. "They have a choice for financial services, so it is important to thank them from time to time. We have seen people noticing who Clearview is because of this initiative. The primary reason is to thank our members, but we are hoping by generating positive notice in the community we will gain some members."
History Of Mergers, Growth
Clearview Federal Credit Union has been in operation since 1953 and today serves more than 86,000 members. It was chartered as Allegheny Airlines Federal Credit Union, serving all airline employees. The CU conducted its first 12 years of business at Washington National Airport.
In 1966 the CU moved to a new office in Pittsburgh at the Allegheny Airlines hangar facility. Then came a series of mergers as the credit union grew its asset size: Lake Central Airlines FCU merged into the CU in 1969, followed by Mohawk FCU in 1972, and, in 1988, by Pacific Southwest Airline FCU.
Along the way the credit union's name changed twice: to USAir Federal Credit Union in 1979, and to US Airways Federal Credit Union in 1997.
In 2002 and 2003 there were two more mergers: Ohio Valley General Hospital FCU and B-K Pittsburgh Employees FCU. In 2004 the name of the CU changed to Clearview Federal Credit Union and the charter changed to community.
Today, membership in Clearview is open to individuals who live, work, worship, volunteer or attend school in the Southwestern Pennsylvania community, which includes Allegheny, Armstrong, Beaver, Butler, Fayette, Greene, Indiana, Lawrence, Washington and Westmoreland counties. Membership also is open to immediate family members of current Clearview members.
