FALCON HEIGHTS, Minn.-Spire FCU here has found success by partnering with a trio of local food co-ops.
Ryan Panariso, Spire's director of business services, explained that Spire's original name was Twin Cities Cooperative Credit Union, and its original charter was to serve co-ops. Nearly four decades ago, he said, it wrote a business loan to Valley Natural Food Co-Op, which has since become one of the area's biggest food co-ops. In addition to Valley Natural, the $582-million, 63,000-member credit union also partners with Seward Co-Op and Wedge Community Co-Op, and has been in discussions with other co-ops in the region about forming alliances.
"In the past year to year-and-a-half we've grown the relationships and strengthened the bond," said Panariso. "It was something we'd had that was falling away, and nobody was really cultivating the relationship until I got here."
In addition to focusing on co-ops, Panariso also works with other commercial ventures at the CU.
Spire's renewed focus on co-ops comes on the heels of the United Nations' International Year of Cooperatives, which came to a close last fall.
A Springboard For Renewal
Panariso said that Spire used the start of the IYC as a springboard to reestablish some of those relationships.
Perhaps the most successful collaboration among the institutions has been co-branded credit cards for each of the three co-ops. When Spire members use those cards, 10% of the interchange income goes back to the individual food co-ops. Panariso said that about 300 members hold those cards, carrying more than $400,000 in outstanding balances, and Spire has paid more than $6,800 to the co-ops through this program since June 2010.
The credit union is pleased with those figures, but does not have specific goals to increase usage of those cards among co-op members. "We want that relationship to be more organic," said Panariso. "We want that relationship to be based on a mutual benefit versus a transactional benefit. We haven't set any goal of 'We need to get X number of Seward credit cards this year in order for this to be beneficial.'"
Another project that has been successful is a coupon booklet that offers benefits to co-op members that bring their business to Spire, such as receiving a $25 gift card to their co-op in exchange for opening a SFCU credit card.
"Another option is if the member comes in and opens a checking account with us, we give the member $70 cash and give $15 back to the co-op for their community fund," said Panariso.
'Move Your Money' Events
Spire has also held "Move Your Money" events at Wedge, offering benefits to co-op members who joined the credit union. There have also been discussions about holding educational classes for the co-ops' members on topics such as home-buying, credit repair, how to buy a car and more.
The credit union and the co-ops also promote one another through social media. The tagline "Co-ops helping co-ops" has been used for a number of events between the institutions.
Valley Natural, Seward and Wedge are the biggest co-op partnerships that Spire has, but Panariso said that it is looking into forming other similar alliances. He said a cooperative in nearby St. Cloud, Minn. reached out to the CU recently about replicating the credit card program, but whether or not that will happen is still up in the air. He pointed out that that co-op may not be large enough for that program to effectively benefit both institutions, but if that does not work there are other options the two groups can explore.
"As an organization, we're very excited about these partnerships that we have," he said. "We're excited to see the growth and to see what's gone on in this short time."
