Business View Magazine Apr-2023

93 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE VOLUME 10, ISSUE 4 HERE ARE JUST A FEW OF THE WAYS THAT CREDIT UNIONS IMPACT ALBERTA. Local and member first Credit unions can be found in cities, towns, and villages across Alberta. And in 15 communities across the province, Servus, Vision, and connectFirst credit unions are the only financial service providers. Credit unions are locally focused not just because we are found in neighborhoods large and small, but also because we care about putting members first. For the past 17 years in a row, Alberta’s credit unions have won several IPSOS Financial Service Excellence Awards, including Customer Service Excellence. Protecting the environment Many Alberta credit unions are taking immediate steps to address environmental sustainability and climate change, with 33% reporting specific initiatives and programs in place as of 2021 and this number is only growing. To help the environment at a local level, for example, Rocky Credit Union sponsored a LED lighting conversion project to help improve the energy efficiency of lights at a local school and reduce waste. And Vision Credit Union employees have volunteered repeatedly for community clean-up projects, such as picking up litter in public spaces. Diversity, equity, and inclusion Of the 13 Alberta credit unions, 52% of their board and management team members identify as women, racialized persons, or Indigenous Peoples. Credit unions were also the first financial institutions to lend to women in their own names in 1961. As one way to foster inclusion, some credit unions have specialized accounts for newcomers to Canada. For example, Servus Credit Union offers a microloan program, in partnership with The Government of Alberta and the Bredin Centre for Career Advancement, to help newcomers pay for licensing and/or certification programs so they can work in their field after they arrive. ALBERTA CENTRAL Alberta credit unions serve more than 6,700 small and medium-sized business (SME) members, with more than 33% of these SME members identifying as women or racialized persons. In 2021,Alberta credit unions lent $8.21 billion to businesses across the province through commercial lending programs..