Community Amplified: Your Credit Union as a Jam Band

One of the eight Cooperative Principles that supports the foundation of credit unions is “concern for community.” The National Credit Union Foundation states, “While focusing on member needs, credit unions work for the sustainable development of communities, including people of modest means, through policies developed and accepted by the members.” In fact, at Community Financial Credit Union, we take this so seriously that it grounds our name.

While we often say “community,” and share an intrinsic idea of what community means to credit unions and those we serve, data supports the power of what credit unions create. Filene Research Institute showed how collaboration with Children's Miracle Network Hospitals across our country builds resounding and immense localized community support. Producing lasting impact by connecting human beings, when done well, can transform the identity of credit unions from transactional organizations that can be commoditized into the movement envisioned so many years ago.

Community means so many things to so many people. I see my 13-year-old daughter MacKenzie and her generation expanding the bounds of community and how they stay connected beyond what often used to be geographically tied. As the summer comes to life across the Midwest, I’m planning for moments of joy within one of my communities: Dave Matthews Band fans. Earlier this year, I wrote a LinkedIn article on the topic of jam bands (Credit Union’s Next Inspiration: Jam Bands), and these bands demonstrate the power of community in a way that can inspire even more possibilities for credit unions to live the seventh cooperative principle, concern for community.

Community and human connection have powerful impacts on human beings. In fact, according to the World Health Organization, those experiencing loneliness and social isolation see a 25% increase in the risk of early death, up to a 30% increase in the risk of stroke and cardiovascular disease, and up to a 50% increase in the risk of developing dementia. This is startling when you consider that the January 2024 U.S. monthly mental health poll conducted by the American Psychiatric Association found that “30% of adults say they have experienced feelings of loneliness at least once a week over the past year, while 10% say they are lonely every day.”

Jam bands like the Dave Matthews Band and others grow community connections ensuring that human beings do not suffer the negative impacts of isolation. According to the 2010 “Soul of the Community Project” conducted by the Knight Foundation and Gallup, while many factors influence community attachment, five are most important: social offerings, openness, aesthetics, education, and basic services (what an organization might think of as systems & infrastructure). Consider how these same factors correlate closely to communities like jam bands:

• Social offerings: The Knight Foundation defines this as “opportunities for social interaction and citizen caring.” At a Dave Matthews Band concert, you are surrounded by people who share a passion for the music and the experience. At a show last summer, as I approached the entrance, my friend and I saw a woman with earrings featuring the “fire dancer” logo that the band uses. We shared how beautiful we thought they were, and within seconds, she told us how she made them and pulled out a pair to give to each of us. The joy and camaraderie vibrate viscerally throughout the venue. These social offerings also happen remotely and online, with virtual communities connecting to discuss shows, new music, and tour announcements.
• Openness: This describes the willingness of a community to welcome others and to invite different people to join. While many of us have been listening to the Dave Matthews Band for years, at many shows, I watch when someone brings a friend who may have never heard the band play live. Across the library of the band’s music, there are joyful anthems celebrating life, love ballads, and dark dives into the meaning of life and death. At any show, you might hear two fans debate whether they wish to hear “dark Dave” or “fun Dave.”
• Aesthetics: Across various diverse venues, the look and feel of a Dave show comes to life. You see tattoos of the fire dancer. You may see fans sharing bracelets or other gear with snippets of song lyrics. You feel the openness to dancing and belting out music. The vibe created collectively “feels” like a Dave show.
• Education: Passionate fans come prepared with ideas on potential set lists. One of the unique features of jam bands is that no two shows will be the same. My friends and I like to study the tour trajectory and develop potential set lists. We’ve not only studied the music, but we’ve explored the possibilities for what the experience may be like given the location, stage of the tour, and proximity of the show to recently released new music.
• Basic Services (Or Organizationally Systems & Infrastructure): Each show has infrastructure built to support the experience. Frequently, there is a space to enjoy time with other attendees before the show. Often, this might be in a parking lot. You’ll see people gathered together, playing games, sharing a beverage of choice, blasting favorite songs, and dancing. Different venues provide unique amenities, and many fans enjoy traveling to various locations to see the band play, comparing these “basic services” and contrasting the experience of the show depending on where the band is playing.

Credit unions bring this top-five list to life daily. We also have an opportunity to challenge ourselves to be even bolder in the way these are imagined, including:

• Social offerings: We have always been known for our service. How might our engagement with people elevate even further? How might partnerships with local community organizations grow from financial commitments all the way to interconnected, mutually beneficial opportunities? For example, Community Financial Credit Union partnered with renowned artist Tony Roko and the city of Plymouth, Michigan, to bring to life a second phase of a place-making art walk in the town where our credit union is headquartered. That project was a springboard into work to develop young artists, to co-locate Roko’s studio and our Relentless Care Foundation, to elevate support for Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals, and much more.
• Openness: Retired Local Government Federal Credit Union President & CEO Maurice Smith challenged credit unions to add an eighth cooperative principle, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. Credit unions believe in collaboration and value the possibilities of human beings coming together to manifest change. How might we create more space for more people to participate in our movement? At Community Financial Credit Union, belonging is the foundation of our core values, and as an employer, we work to ensure our team members can bring their whole selves to work. The uniqueness of each individual’s experiences, passions, and differing perspectives makes us better.
• Aesthetics: Creating experiences and telling our story as an industry and as individual organizations matters. We have often undervalued marketing and storytelling and thought of branding as a cost center instead of a valued business partner. This led to low brand and market awareness and confusion related to the power of credit unions. Our Community Financial Credit Union team brought to life a brand refresh that reinvigorated our blue colors into a rich purple and orange palate and shifted the way our storytelling comes to life to demonstrate the depth of what it means to be a part of a movement instead of doing business with the typical transactional and commoditized financial institution.
• Education: Credit unions have long elevated, invested in, and promoted financial education and literacy. How might this strength be carried forward for even more impact? Community Financial Credit Union was proud to be the first credit union in Michigan to partner with Greenlight. This tool transformed our commitment to financial literacy with over 50 student credit union branches from classroom education to practical applied learning to support positive financial futures and loyal younger members to support financial well-being and a thriving financial cooperative of the future.
• Basic Services (Or Organizationally Systems & Infrastructure): The fundamentals have not changed. The tools, products, and options a credit union offers its members remain consistent. The delivery mechanisms have expanded exponentially. How might the experience we bring to life for our members, grounded in the cooperative finance model, transform so that we are a unique financial partner and not a task or a dreaded errand? Community Financial Credit Union’s strategy includes focusing on the darker moments in members’ lives including developing solutions focused on cancer and domestic violence. By walking with our members during times when many others walk away, we enable brighter futures and create space to be a part of the future that comes next and the impossible dreams that lie ahead.

Community is core to who we are. Credit unions have lessons to teach many other industries. We can draw inspiration from jam bands like the Dave Matthews Band to amplify our strength as community leaders and ensure our approach to financial services resonates on a profoundly personal level, creating enthusiasts eager to share their positive experiences and bring even more human beings to enjoy the vibe our movement creates.