Filene Research Institute’s Inner Circle has influenced the credit union industry’s research agenda through the funding of six research Centers of Excellence launched by Filene since early 2020. Representing nearly $240 billion in assets and serving 13.5 million members*, organizations in the Inner Circle span across the entire country.
“We’ve watched credit unions rapidly innovate to expand their digital footprint, redefine their value proposition and mine for growth. Credit unions are showing up for their employees, members and communities while finding opportunities to grow and lead within the financial services sector,” said Filene’s President & CEO Mark Meyer. “The focused longitudinal research and incubation Filene conducts around the most pressing challenges faced by this industry would not be possible without the forward-thinking innovation mindsets of our Inner Circle supporters.”
Filene’s Inner Circle includes:
- 4Front Credit Union — Traverse City, MI
- Advantis Credit Union — Portland, OR
- Alaska USA Federal Credit Union — Anchorage, AK
- Alliant Credit Union — Chicago, IL
- America First Federal Credit Union — Ogden, UT
- American Airlines Federal Credit Union — Fort Worth, TX
- BCU — Vernon Hills, IL
- BECU — Seattle, WA
- Bethpage Federal Credit Union — Bethpage, NY
- Callahan & Associates Inc — Washington, DC
- Canvas Credit Union — Englewood, CO
- Christian Financial Credit Union — Sterling Heights, MI
- Civic Federal Credit Union — Raleigh, NC
- Coastal Credit Union — Raleigh, NC
- Collins Community Credit Union — Cedar Rapids, IA
- CO-OP Financial Services — Rancho Cucamonga, CA
- Corporate Central Credit Union — Muskego, WI
- CUNA Mutual Group — Madison, WI
- DCUC — Washington, DC
- Desert Financial Credit Union — Phoenix, AZ
- Digital Federal Credit Union — Marlborough, MA
- Envisant — Naperville, IL
- Financial Partners Credit Union — Downey, CA
- GECU — El Paso, TX
- Kinecta Federal Credit Union — Manhattan Beach, CA
- Lake Trust Credit Union — Brighton, MI
- Local Government Federal Credit Union — Raleigh, NC
- MSUFCU — East Lansing, MI
- New England Federal Credit Union — Williston, VT
- PSCU — Saint Petersburg, FL
- Redwood Credit Union — Santa Rosa, CA
- SchoolsFirst Federal Credit Union — Santa Ana, CA
- State Department Federal Credit Union — Alexandria, VA
- State National Companies — Bedford, TX
- Summit Credit Union — Madison, WI
- Suncoast Credit Union — Tampa, FL
- Teachers Credit Union — South Bend, IN
- Together Credit Union — Saint Louis, MO
- United Nations Federal Credit Union — Long Island City, NY
- University Federal Credit Union — Austin, TX
- University of Michigan Credit Union — Ann Arbor, MI
- UW Credit Union — Madison, WI
- Vantage West Credit Union — Tucson, AZ
- VISA Inc. — San Francisco, CA
- Visions Federal Credit Union — Endicott, NY
- Vizo Financial Corporate Credit Union — Middletown, PA
- WSECU — Olympia, WA
- WEOKIE Federal Credit Union — Oklahoma City, OK
Collectively, these 48 Inner Circle organizations funded more than $13 million of industry research that will continue to emerge and create exponential impact as more organizations put the ideas into practice.
"Innovation is the path to success for credit unions and the people and purpose they serve."
“Innovation is the path to success for credit unions and the people and purpose they serve,” said Tiffany Ford, President & CEO of University of Michigan Credit Union. “Yet it is not enough to just have ideas, we must also take action. Supporting Filene’s work in the Centers of Excellence for Innovation & Incubation as well as Diversity, Equity and Inclusion helps put ideas into action and is a long-term investment in our organization, staff, members, and community.”
This completes the two-year funding campaign for the second wave of Filene’s research centers, with 14 additional Inner Circle organizations joining since the beginning of 2021. Funding has now begun for Filene’s newest addition to its innovation program, The Lab at Filene. Credit unions and system partners can get involved in The Lab at Filene by becoming a sponsor and learning more at filene.org/innercircle.
*Asset size and membership totals include natural-person credit union organizations only