The Bottom Line
Small business is important to Central Oregon, and to Mid Oregon. Find tips and resources for business, and information about Mid Oregon’s commercial services and business members.
Millennials: Six Reasons to Choose a Credit Union
It’s no surprise: Mainstreet.com reports that millennials are ditching banks for local, cooperatively owned credit unions. The customer-friendly service and simple, straightforward solutions that you demand are found at local, cooperatively owned financial institutions, so it makes sense.
Just in case you’re still asking, here are six other reasons to choose credit unions over banks:
1. Loans R us. You may need to secure loans, even if your credit isn’t in great shape. While banks tend to turn away millennials with low credit scores, credit union lenders roll up their sleeves and get to work.
2. We’re real people. You want to text or talk to a real person and get what you want, when you want it, and how you want it. Credit unions are about people helping people.
3. Got mobile. You demand access to your accounts whether you are at home or on the move. Credit unions offer tech and mobile services at the same level as banks.
4. Cool deals. You’re a smart social-media consumer who quickly identifies and shares opportunities, including for car loans or mortgages. Credit unions have the lowest rates and best terms.
5. It’s all about community. You value the role you play in your community. Out in the community is where credit unions can be found.
6. Low fees work. You’re on a tight budget. Credit unions charge lower overdraft fees than banks, more free checking and lower or no out-of-network ATM fees. Fewer fees at your credit union mean lower overall prices for top-quality financial services.
If you’re not a member of Mid Oregon Credit Union already, we want to meet you. Visit any of our convenient branches or check out our website at www.midoregon.com to get a glimpse of what we offer. If you’re already a member, thank you. We’d love to hear from you. Stop by today, email us or call (541) 382-1795.
Community Involvement- It’s Who We Are!
Involvement in our community is more than something we do… it’s who we are.
As part of our series highlighting the newest and best features of our recently upgraded website, today on “Website Wednesday” our #9 feature is our Community Involvement page. We hope that through this page more people will see how important we believe it is to support and engage is in Central Oregon communities.
As a not-for-profit cooperative, our members should know that participation through their Credit Union membership, deposits and loans make it possible for us to give back on their behalf to many important efforts and organizations locally. Acknowledging that many of today’s Central Oregon residents use online sources for information, we’ve provided more a better resource about our involvement.
More than writing checks
As our page states, Community Involvement is “Who we are”, and a big part of that is our volunteer commitment to support local organizations. We know our members and the community at large believe in personal service, and so do we. Significant community involvement is more than just writing checks.
On the page is a “Learn More” button which will open a PDF with snapshots of many of the things Mid Oregon does in the community. For example, we recently completed the summer campaign for the Great Drake Park Duck Race, where over $90,000 were raised and as an organization we volunteered, promoted and sold tickets to raise money for 5 Central Oregon Charities…each of which help children.
Why we place such a strong emphasis on giving back is verbalized in parts of some of our organizational statements:
“We demonstrate through meaningful involvement, our commitment to the communities we serve. We both benefit from and have a responsibility to help grow a healthy community.” – from our Foundational Vision.
“As the only credit union headquartered and doing business solely in Central Oregon, we recognize and share in a corporate social responsibility to our communities and residents. Mid Oregon Credit union has been recognized as an exceptional credit union in the area of social responsibility evidenced by its winning of the statewide Dora Maxwell award since 1998. We have accomplished this through our actions and strong belief in contributing to the community with both time and financial resources.” – from our Social Responsibility Statement.
Understanding Mid Oregon and Credit Unions
Please take a moment to check out our page and involvement, and hopefully you will get a better understanding of how important supporting our community is to credit unions and Mid Oregon. We welcome you to join us!
10 Facts About Credit Unions
Being a member of a credit union is a coup for your finances for many reasons. Here are just a few facts that make credit unions a great option.
Fact #1: President Roosevelt signed the Federal Credit Union Act in 1934 to promote thriftiness and prevent usury during the Great Depression.
Fact #2: Credit unions are insured. Most credit unions are insured by the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA), which provides essentially the same coverage on funds as does the FDIC. If the word “federal” is in the name, they are insured. If not, check with your credit union. It may be state-chartered and/or have private deposit insurance. (Mid Oregon’s legal name is “Mid Oregon Federal Credit Union”, so we have NCUA Insurance!)
Fact #3: Eligibility is fairly flexible at most credit unions. Most require residency in a certain community, city, or state, or that you are employed by the credit union’s sponsor company, also known as a Select Employee Group (SEG). But requirements are pretty broad on most, making eligibility at a credit union a possibility for almost anyone.(Generally Mid Oregon’s eligibility is persons who live, work, worship or go to school in Deschutes, Jefferson or Crook Counties. For more details, visit www.midoregon.com)
Fact #4: Credit unions are not-for-profit institutions and are owned by the people they serve, not by a few shareholders.
Fact #5: Credit unions can offer better rates on savings accounts, lower interest rates on loans, and little or no fees on accounts because they are exempt from federal taxes. Credit unions still pay state taxes.
Fact #6: The credit union’s board of directors, which is elected by members, can set loan limits in an effort to help the credit union grow.
Fact #7: Credit union members have democratic control of the credit union and can attend and participate in regular and special membership meetings.
Fact #8: Nonmembers benefit from credit unions too. Competition for low rates keeps banks’ fees in check, thereby benefiting nonmembers.
Fact #9: With more than 5,000 credit unions across the globe and access to tens of thousands of ATMs, credit unions are increasingly convenient on a national scale. (Mid Oregon’s ATM Network includes 38 Central Oregon, 30,000 + Domestic and over 800,000 ATMs worldwide surcharge free!)
Fact #10: Once you are a member of a credit union, you stay a member for as long as you maintain your deposit account (share), regardless of whether or not you continue to meet the original eligibility requirements.
Questions? Email us to beheard@midoregon.com, call us at (541) 382-1795 or visit one of our Central Oregon branches!