20
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Dear friends and members,

As we race toward our 75th birthday in 2026, we reflect on the power of cooperative finance and the potential for credit unions to meet the moment. The sentiment of everyday Americans echoes loudly. Economic constraints and pain are real. Credit unions in the United States were formed during the Great Depression. People came together to create a safe space for saving and a trusted resource for taking out a loan. Credit unions represent all that is best about community, and we need community now more than ever.

That’s why we feel such pride in our team as they’ve heard the call and proactively demonstrated just what it means to have your community stand with you. You Are Enuff means that no matter who you are, where you live, or where you’re at on your financial journey, we put your needs first. With new saving, spending, credit, digital, and community Impact offerings designed to help you through both the dark moments and the bright spots your financial well-being remains our priority.

As you review the Impact created by your credit union, we know you’ll share our pride. We are not just another financial institution. We are your community connection using listening as a superpower to meet the biggest needs of Michiganders. As we continue our journey into 2025, we’re excited to relentlessly move forward with even more member-first innovations and a deeper commitment to our members.

2025 is the year of the credit union and you Belong with Community Financial Credit Union.

Huzzah!

Teri Kuehn
Board Chair

Tansley Stearns
president and ceo

the

why

The right thing to do
is the only thing to do 

As a for-Impact credit union, our purpose is to create Joy and ignite Michiganders’ impossible dreams. Whether it’s solving financial challenges or cheering you on as you build your future, we’re here to make life a little brighter and stand with you when it’s not. While the big banks focus on driving profits, we’re all about putting our members’ success first. Because we’re founded as a financial cooperative, we know that when we put people first, great things follow.

Our Vision for Impact

Trusted, relevant
financial services

Members have easy access to a full suite of safe, secure, leading edge and technologically relevant financial services at competitive and sustainable costs, which they trust and rely upon.

Financial well-being

Members, who choose, have access to financial tools that translate to skills and practices which will lead to financial health and well-being.

Economic resilience
and prosperity for
our members

Members’ financial capacity grows in association with their engagement with the credit union and members achieve emboldened financial aspirations turning their dreams into tangible realities. Additionally, people with significant life transitions and challenges have access to financial tools and support on navigating the change.

Thriving communities

Community organizations, supported by the credit union, are resilient and thrive ensuring the financial and social Impacts of CFCU and our members extend far beyond financial transactions.

YOU
ARE
ENUFF

Getting you closer than ever to your Impossible Dreams: CloseEnuff™    

BOOSTING
CASHFLOW

CloseEnuff™ has saved
members a total of $808,868
in just its first 8 months!

Because You Are Enuff™:

In a time when everybody else seems to want more of your money, we moved quickly to help Michiganders take back control of their cash by creating what we believe is the best full-featured checking account in Michigan:

Our new CloseEnuff™ cashflow boosting checking account.

A checking account designed from the start to boost your cashflow by ditching fees, making funds available sooner, buffering against accidental overdrafts, and fueling your purchasing power.

Since we introduced CloseEnuff™ on April 1st, it saved members a total of $808,868 in 2024 alone.

That adds up to 8,558 members rescued from $380,784 in NSF fees, $211,084 in transfer fees, and $217,000 in safe zone transactions as of January 2, 2025.

That’s Enuff savings to buy 306,389 gallons of farm-fresh Michigan milk!

Which is helping members right when it counts. As a for-impact credit union dedicated to helping Michiganders stay ahead, we couldn’t be prouder.

Stories from the Care Center: A CloseEnuff™ call

“Tina from the Care Center wears a crown of many talents. Going above and beyond is one of those! She helped a member who was stuck in Pennsylvania at the airport due to the hurricane. The member’s flight was canceled, and she was trying to rent a car to drive home. The rental place only accepted credit cards, and the member’s credit card was almost maxed out.

She had enough to pay for the car rental but no funds for gas & food to get home. The member used her $50 overdraft buffer included in her CloseEnuff™ checking to give her Enuff to pay for the gas and food she needed to escape the storm and get home.”

Over the past year, we heard our members, family, friends, and neighbors feeling the financial pinch. In the branch. On the phone. Around the dinner table. The strain on everyday folks was clear, and we knew we couldn’t stand by.

So, we rolled up our sleeves and got to work. We listened to people. We asked members what they needed. And we knew we had to start from the beginning. Re-imagining the traditional checking account for today’s real world.

We asked questions. Could a checking account actually boost cash flow? Could it make life easier? Less stressful? Boost spending power? Cut out the fees? Get your money faster. Easier. Better?

In the end, we realized a few things. It wasn’t about the money. It was about the people who needed a financial partner. No matter where you’re at on your financial journey, You Are Enuff. And you deserve every cent of what you’ve earned to achieve your Impossible Dreams.

We dropped the overdraft fees completely. We cut the required NSF fees to a minimum. We stacked features like Grow Your Change, Early Pay and Buy Now. Pay Later! to enhance savings, jumpstart spending power and boost cashflow. And finally, a $50 overdraft buffer, so if you go over your balance by up to $50 bucks, that’s CloseEnuff™. We won’t charge you.

The result is what we believe to be the best checking account in Michigan. And 2024 was just the beginning. After saving members $808,868 in the first 8 months, we hope you think so too.

How CloseEnuff™ came to be

How can we help our

members hit their

impossible dreams?

1x house
payment!

5x loads
of groceries

2x car
payments!

If we can
save them $125/
month in fees,
in 1 year, that’s

$1500!

Debit Card Donations

Beauty
is in the eye of
the cardholder:
New Mastercard
Debit Cards

expanding
generosity

donated to local charities through our swipe program

financial wellness

Innovating and inspiring: Financial Wellness with Debbie

From pilot to payday, hooray!

Making sure members have the support they need to reach their Impossible Dreams is a big deal. That’s why, this past year, we gave our financial wellness tools a major upgrade. In addition to financial planning and digital banking tools, our innovation team piloted and introduced members to their new best friend… Debbie!

Who’s Debbie? Free to members, Debbie is an app that pays cold hard cash for hitting financial goals. Whether it’s making a money plan, boosting savings, or paying off debt, it’s a super fun way to gamify the tough job of financial wellness while earning rewards for making the right moves.

With over $36,000+ earned by members in 2024, Debbie is transforming our members’ relationships with savings every day.

earned by members on the Debbie app!

growing
know-how

CONTENT WARNING:
Messages about sexual violence and IPV/DV

Choose The Bear™

When 54% of women in America experience contact sexual violence and 47% suffer from domestic violence/intimate partner violence, this eye-opening admission isn’t a surprise.

When you add in that up to 99% of domestic violence includes economic abuse, we saw a way for us to use our financial expertise to step up and step in. That’s why in 2024 we pledged to help Michiganders caught in the trap of economic abuse pivot their trajectory for better.

We call it: Choose The Bear™

It’s a constantly evolving comprehensive system of confidential and compassionate resources, tools, evolving partnerships, and products designed to help victims make a change for the better. Inspired by team member stories and built in partnership with the survivor advocates at First Step of Wayne County, Choose The Bear™ has become an indispensable lifeline unlike anything else out there. And we couldn’t be prouder.

When asked whether they would prefer to meet a man or a bear, while walking in the woods, most women said… the bear.

35

survivors helped

Knowing that we wanted to make direct Impact in the lives of economic abuse survivors as quickly as possible. We sounded the alarm for all hands on deck and connected with the expert advocates at First Step of Wayne County to learn more about how we could help.

This was a tremendous effort across the credit union. It started with conversations at First Step, listening and learning from advocates and survivors on what was really needed to help make an Impact on this issue.

From there, our innovation team worked across many departments to create the product, policies, and compliance needed to stand up the pilot program.

As of December, thanks to our Choose The Bear™ movement, we had 35 survivors in our pilot program gain access to 0% interest First Step loans. Available through advocate referral only, it’s a powerful beginning to our story of Impact in the lives of Michigan survivors.

Innovation at the speed of now: Taking the first steps with First Step

Tansley Stearns with Lori Kitchen-Buschel, Executive Director, First Step

“A member called in to the Care Center in clear distress, crying, stating she needed to talk to someone, but she couldn’t speak loudly. Bob P. handled the interaction so wonderfully, asking if she was in a safe space or if she needed assistance contacting authorities. She confirmed she was ok, hearing about us from Northern Michigan Women’s Resource Center, and we were her last hope to get to safety.

Having moved here from another state to be with her partner, and having no access to funds of her own, we were able to get her approval of a personal loan to rent a vehicle and drive back to her home state safely with her family.

When the member came to get her funds, she hugged Crystal from our Gaylord branch and asked her to pass the hug to everyone involved. She truly feels we were her last hope, and she couldn’t express the relief she was feeling. She is ready to take her life back.”

She chose the Bear: A true story of Relentless Care

—Sarah B.
people leader/care center

“We’ve helped several survivors get a safe place of their own. One was living with friends in a hotel room for over a year. Another had started a new job but could not save enough for a security deposit. We even helped one survivor who had just managed to get into Section 8 housing but had nothing for her kids. With Choose The Bear™, she was able to get a dresser, beds, and some personal items for the children. It really feels good to be able to do that for them.”

They walked with us: Out of the forest and into a better place

—Danielle F.
chief growth officer

The need
is real.

1 in 2
women
suffer
Intimate Partner
violence.

For many survivors, employment consequences compound one another and ultimately shift survivors’ long-term economic trajectories.³

¹

94-99%
of women
suffer
economic
abuse

in domestic violence cases.

Economic
Trajectory

1: https://www.cdc.gov/nisvs/documentation/NISVSReportonIPV_2022.pdf 
2: https://nnedv.org/content/about-financial-abuse/#:~:text=Research%20indicates%20that%20financial%20abuse,returning%20to%20an%20abusive%20partner. 
3: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0886260514554291

walk with us.

²

Fighting cancer,
one bill at a time.

Belonging means sticking with people through thick and thin. And there’s nearly no situation as tough as a cancer diagnosis. It’s a threat to your physical and emotional well-being, and a threat to your financial stability. And nobody fighting in the thick of it should have to fear that as well.

Partnering with Andy Janning, we worked to pilot a new group of team members called Cancer Care Agents. The team members have been a lifeline for so many, offering financial support to ease the incredible burdens of cancer treatment.

Compassionately dedicated to walking alongside patients, we’ve made it possible for them to focus on their health instead of their finances.

It’s humbling to know we’ve played a part in their journey, and we’re deeply committed to continuing this work, helping more families find hope, peace, and light during their darkest of moments.

Belonging doesn’t quit:
Cancer Care Agents

h-Ope! will guide you home

In a year of swirling uncertainty, we helped turn the dream of homeownership into reality for families who believed it was an Impossible Dream.

Through our h-Ope! program, we broke down barriers – whether it was low or no down payments or relaxed credit requirements – to make homeownership possible for 42 deserving families across Michigan. It’s incredible to see members who once felt stuck now holding the keys to their very own forever homes.

Impossible Dreams made possible:
h-Ope! Affordable Housing

42

loans

Bringing big wins all season long

As a proud partner of the Detroit Lions, we bet big on our team and our members this season with the One Pride CD. Starting out at 2.00% APY it grew by .25% APY every time the Lions scored the first touchdown in a game. With odds in the Lions’ favor, and huge expectations on the line, they delivered 13 incredible first touchdowns for a final rate of 5.25% APY! So, while they didn’t make it all the way to the big game, they did give our members a big bump in their rate!

PS: We’ll get ‘em next year. Go Lions!

When the Lions roared…
members scored!

Creating Joy by igniting Impossible Dreams

If you were wishing for something special, we may have had your ticket. CFCU Dream Igniter teams stationed in Pride Plaza, outside of Ford Field in downtown Detroit, invited Lions fans to tell us their dreams so that we could make them a reality.

Spreading Joy one impossibility at a time

for the future

In the Cellar event

Did you know 1 in 5* children  across the Great Lake States struggle with mental health challenges?

Despite the need, only 30%* of these children get the support they require. Because of that startling statistic, we couldn’t idly stand by. In 2024, we joined as a Title Sponsor for “In the Cellar,” a charity event in support of Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals, to step up and showcase the remarkable Impact of the credit union principle of ‘People helping People.’ Together we raised a collective $1,086,336 to address these critical gaps.

*Sources: National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) & Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

What the heck is “In the Cellar?”

It’s a collaborative event highlighting the power of credit unions living their values. The evening’s charitable festivities raised over $1 million for mental health programming across our Great Lake communities and beyond. Held at Union Station, CFCU stood as the gala’s Title Sponsor for 2024 for the benefit of Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals and the Impossible Dreams they empower.

$1,086,336

raised for kids!

We believe that Joy is one of those magical forces that has the power to light up any room, transforming not just our own experience but the people around us. It’s like a spark that spreads effortlessly, lifting spirits and melting away the heaviness of the day. When we embrace Joy, it doesn’t just stay with us – it’s contagious. It ripples outward, breaking down barriers and dissolving walls of doubt, fear, or isolation.

In those moments, Joy becomes a bridge that connects us all, pulling us into a brighter, more vibrant place where laughter and lightness take center stage. The beauty of Joy is that the more we share it, the more we get to bask in it, creating a cycle of connection and smiles that only grows stronger.

That’s the reason we embraced the Joy of “In the Cellar.” It’s also why we come to work every day with Joy in our hearts and the purpose of Belonging in every little moment. From the branch to the boardroom, it’s what makes us different. And what drives us to do everything we can to help raise up any Michigander who could use a little bit of Joy in their lives.

A moment of Joy can change everything

doing

Learning
through doing:
The power of
CFCU Student Run
Credit Unions

57

Student Run Credit Unions across the mitten

jump in SRCU membership!

SAVVY
STUDENTS

saved by students!

Molding a money savvy tomorrow for Michigan

We believe that setting kids up with financial skills from a young age is one of the strongest ways to build economic prosperity in our communities. We’re working to help students in 57 schools across the state learn by doing through our Student Run Credit Union program. From marketing to operations, the kids run it all. Giving them hands-on experience and financial knowledge that’ll help them thrive into the future.

In celebration of over 30 years of growing financial wellness in Northville Schools, we partnered with the district and the Northville Education Foundation to launch a $20 Student Savings Starter program. For any kindergartener and fifth grader in the district who opened a CFCU account we’d deposit the first $20 on us! In 2024, we set 133 new student accounts on the path to a successful financial future.

Beyond the experience gained, the Impacts of the student credit unions truly add up, with $47,782.39 saved among all students for an average account balance of $359.27 per student in 2024. At well over 300 bucks, that’s more than the median checking account balance in the lowest percentile of US households in 2022!*

*Source: Federal Reserve Board (2023)

Growing up
with Greenlight

Learning financial skills is a family affair

Student Run Credit Unions aren’t the only way we’re helping kids get on the right track. We’re helping parents teach their kiddos about finances with no-charge access to Greenlight on us!

Thanks to the 152 CFCU families that joined in 2024, nearly 500 families and 772 kids are now learning through doing with neat tools like kid-friendly debit cards and mobile games that make everyday spending a learning experience. With all those bright financial futures ahead, Greenlight is definitely what we call #winning.

serving
  through
growing

Growing the good,
one member at a time

Our growth in 2024 was a natural result of creating Belonging by solving people’s real-world needs. Unlike traditional banks, from the launch of the new CloseEnuff™ cashflow boosting checking account to smart solutions like High Yield Savings and the Lion’s One Pride CD, we’re out there empowering Michiganders’ Impossible Dreams every day. And it's obvious people are taking notice.

The more we grow,

the more good we can do!

new members

Literally Groundbreaking:
Here we come Detroit and West Bloomfield!

Bringing more Belonging to Detroit

Detroit, we’re coming – and we couldn’t be more excited! Following fast on the success of Roof The Block, our initiative that brought 14 new roofs to longtime Fitzgerald residents, our new location will be all about creating real connections, deepening community ties, and making sure more Michiganders feel at home with a financial partner that gets them.

A star-studded welcome party
Detroit showed up big for our epic groundbreaking! Showcasing the great partnerships that brought Roof the Block to life, HGTV’s Keith Bynum and Evan homas of Bargain Block led the celebration, along with Mayor Mike Duggan and community leaders Cindy Eggleton and La’Shonta Smith from Brilliant Cities. The energy, the excitement, the community spirit – it was a moment we’ll never forget, and it’s just the beginning for all our new neighbors and friends in Detroit!

More possibilities in West Bloomfield

West Bloomfield, we’re here to make sure you get more out of your money – and more out of your financial partner. Our new community hub will be all about bringing personalized service, big-time resources, and a whole lot of heart to your incredible community.

Spreading sunshine
Bursting through the rain like a ray of hope, nothing could dampen the excitement as we broke ground in West Bloomfield! Surrounded by local leaders, community partners, future members, and new friends, we kicked off a new chapter full of possibilities. And trust us – we’re just getting started!

These new locations aren’t just about growth – they’re about Impact. Now, as the foundations are laid and walls start to rise, we’re counting down the days until we can open the doors and bring a little more of our Belonging magic to these deserving communities. We’ll see you at the grand openings in 2025!

Shout it from the
white pine tops.

(That’s our state tree!)

Every new Community Financial branch, and every new member, is a chance to do even more good for our communities. So help us spread the CFCU word for 2025!

Growing together, thriving together

belonging in action

Moving fast, making an impact

This year, our foundation hit the ground running – and never looked back. From expanding essential programs to funding life-changing initiatives, we showed up for our long-time communities across the state when they needed us most.

Moving quickly to raise funds, build the connections required to make housing more attainable, strengthen the workforce, and foster community mobility – all through the power of Belonging.

Because when people have a place to call home, the tools to succeed, and the support to move forward, entire communities thrive. Thanks to the generosity and passion of our supporters, we’re building momentum for an even greater, lasting Impact in the years ahead.

Making housing
attainable

Enabling acquisition for affordable housing in Hillman, MI with Habitat for Humanity for Northeast Michigan

Strengthening
the workforce

Encouraging trades and non-traditional career programming with Plymouth District Library

Fostering
community mobility

Empowering youth-led mobility solutions with YouthTank Detroit at Michigan Central Station

GIVING
BACK

in grants to 42 amazing organizations

Raising the roof on an
entire neighborhood

Roof the Block

Through the power of partnership, we connected Bargain Block’s Keith and Evan and Brilliant Detroit (now Brilliant Cities) in hopes of replacing 10 roofs for long-time residents in Detroit’s Fitzgerald neighborhood.

The Relentless Care Foundation seeded the project with $50,000, and through our involvement and investment as a collective force leveraged nearly $130k in additional cash and in-kind contributions, resulting in 14 new roofs for these amazing neighbors to our new Detroit branch!

The RCF Pickleball
Pledge Fundraiser

What a tournament! Our first-ever charity pickleball event for the Relentless Care Foundation was a smashing success – full of fierce rallies, big laughs, and even bigger generosity. Thanks to our corporate partners, members, team members and supporters, we raised over $91,000 to make a real difference in our community.

Game, set, Impact – see you on the court next year!

investing
in people, inside
and out

Building a team that

builds community

We’re all about lifting people up – our members, our communities, and our own team. When our people grow, so does our Impact. That’s why we invest in career growth, create opportunities, and build a culture where everyone Belongs. Because when we support each other, we all go further – together.

Inside:

leadership & development opportunities

leaders
advanced

team members
promoted

volunteer hours in our communities!

A huge first for us!

Our first year!

Tansley Stearns, our president and ceo, celebrated at America’s Credit Union Museum Herstory Exhibit!

7 years and
counting

19 years
and running

Outside:

estimated amount we saved members by saving with us¹

$808,868

amount members saved in
fees with CloseEnuff™

$649,459

estimated amount members saved in
interest by taking out loans from us²

$31,567,555 vs. $10,281,028

share dividends paid by us vs. estimated
dividends if banked with competitors

202

new homes!³

42

new homeowners with h-Ope!⁴

1 "Estimated $$ Members Save by Saving with CFCU" is the difference between the Share Dividends Paid in 2024 by CFCU and the Estimated Dividends if Banked with Competitors in 2024. Competitor rates are based on the average of our local and national competitors by category (Savings, Checking, Money Market, CD) as of 12/31/2024 per Curinos. 2 "Estimated $$ Members Save in Interest" is the difference between the Estimated Interest Paid with their loan through CFCU and the Estimated Interest Paid if the loan was through Competitors. This is based on loans granted in 2024, and only includes Consumer and Real Estate loans. Commercial, Employee PC loans, and Collections Pay Down loans have been excluded. Competitor rates are based on the average of our local and national competitors by category (auto, credit card, secured, unsecured, equity, HEL OC, first mortgage) as of 12/31/2024 per S&P Capital IQ. 3 "Number of New Homes" is defined as number of mortgages closed in 2024 that are non-refinance loans (purchases). 4 "Number of New Homes - h-Ope!" are the number of mortgages closed in 2024 that are h-Ope! Loans (previously known as Path to Homeownership) and are also included in the total Number of New Homes.

a sneak
peek at what’s possible

Making 2025 the year
of the credit union

Our collective Impact in 2024 was HUGE! But it was only a warmup. In 2025, we’re making it The Year of the Credit Union – a year of bigger Impact, stronger communities, and more opportunities for everyone. We’re doubling down on what matters most: you. Because when financial success is built with Belonging, we all thrive.

So, let’s embrace the Joy, share our stories, and get ready to ignite big things!