Your Neighbourhood Credit Union counts people in

When Lisa Colangelo became CEO of Your Neighbourhood Credit Union Ltd. (YNCU) in September 2024, she already had an impressive track record in a variety of senior roles in the financial services sector.

Still, YNCU offered the undeniable appeal of doing business differently from other types of financial institutions. For starters, a $5 membership means an individual is an owner, not a customer.

“As a co-operative, we have a very people-focused culture,” Colangelo says. “We keep our dollars local by reinvesting in our members, our staff and our local communities.”

Colangelo says her initial goals were listening and learning. This included visiting employees at YNCU branches and taking particular care to connect with those engaged in hybrid work.

“We want to be an employer of choice where people can thrive and do work that is meaningful to them,” she says.

YNCU traces its origins to 1947 when members founded a credit union in a Waterloo church hall. A series of subsequent mergers eventually formed one of the largest credit unions in the province with 16 branches throughout southwestern and northern Ontario.

While members are entitled to profit-sharing dividends, YNCU also sets aside a minimum of one per cent of annual pre-tax profits to be used for charitable organizations and associations that align with YNCU’s focus on improving communities.

For their part, employees contribute to numerous community-minded initiatives, both as volunteers and through fundraising. One campaign, the Coldest Night of the Year, engages employees across YNCU’s entire footprint. Together, they take a wintry walk in February to better understand what it might be like to experience homelessness.

The donations they collect fund critical services at local charities in their home communities. In 2024, a team from YNCU’s Uptown Waterloo branch raised $8,200, significantly above the national campaign’s team average of $1,900.

Paul Grobbecker, manager of the Fischer-Hallman branch in Kitchener, says being active in the community benefits employees as well. “It keeps people engaged and creates positive morale,” he says.

For those who helped plant 200 trees at two separate school sites in two consecutive years, volunteering was also an opportunity to connect with like-minded individuals.

The tree planting was a collaborative project with Sustainable Waterloo Region (SWR), a social enterprise non-profit committed to making Waterloo a more resilient, environmentally friendly community.

SWR named YNCU its partner of the year in 2024 in recognition of all the measures the organization had implemented in just two years. This included investments in green energy, waste reduction, recycling and emissions tracking.

YNCU also places a high priority on financial literacy. Several employees in Grobbecker’s branch are part of a team of specially trained volunteers who present in-person financial education workshops in the community.

For those interested in self-directed learning, YNCUniversity is a free online hub replete with an extensive selection of expertly- written blogs and publications. It also has financial literacy resources for youngsters in the form of games and other activities.

Intended to make essential knowledge accessible to everyone, the workshops are delivered in plain language and are not tied to specific products or services. Talks for schools, for example, may cover basic budgeting tips.

Groups and organizations, on the other hand, can request presentations that suit their particular needs, whether that’s understanding the advantages and disadvantages of credit cards or financial wellness for seniors.

“We’re not pushing the financial product of the day,” says Grobbecker. “We’re a progressive, forward-thinking organization where everybody can make a difference. We’re people helping people.”

Colangelo agrees: “Our people and our culture really set us apart.”

This article appeared in the magazine announcing this year's Waterloo Area’s Top Employers winners, published January 14, 2025 in The Waterloo Record. This article was prepared with the financial support of the employer, which reviewed but did not write its contents.