Welcome to GoWest Digital Media Center, a one-stop resource for journalists, bloggers, communicators, and marketers. Whether the stories you tell are for trade outlets or for consumer-facing media, we are here to help.
Questions? Contact us:
SVP, Marketing & Communications Washington Phone: 509.499.3929 Toll-free: 800.995.9064
Katy Wagnon
About GoWest
Association
GoWest Credit Union Association is the trade association representing more than 300 not-for-profit, cooperative credit unions in Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Oregon, Washington, and Wyoming and their 17.4 million total consumer members. We help our member credit unions with compliance, professional development, and advocacy for laws and regulations that remove barriers so they can better serve their members.
Foundation
Powered by a network of credit unions, GoWest Credit Union Foundation is uniquely positioned to harness and deliver resources that strengthen the financial lives of people and communities throughout the region. This is accomplished through asset building, economic empowerment, and cooperative development. The GoWest Foundation is a 501 (c) (3) organization.
Solutions
Serving as a collaborative hub, GoWest Solutions harnesses the power of cooperative intelligence to connect GoWest member credit unions with leading business partners in the industry. These world-class partners provide innovative solutions designed to help credit unions save money, stay up to date with emerging trends, deliver cutting-edge technology, and ultimately, better serve their diverse memberships.
The CU Difference
Credit unions help consumers achieve their financial dreams. They provide every possible financial service, including savings accounts, loans for cars, homes, and businesses, credit cards, financial counseling, and more.
What is a Credit Union?
A credit union is a cooperative financial institution, essentially owned by the people who have chosen them as their financial services partners.
How are credit unions different from banks?
That’s easy. Credit unions put people before profits. While banks are owned by stockholders and must deliver profits to them, credit unions are not-for-profit cooperatives, essentially owned by the members using their services. Instead of returning profits to Wall Street, credit unions reinvest in their members, offering them smart, economical products and services, and to top all that off, a voice in how the credit union is operated!
The American Credit Union Movement took flight during the Great Depression when people in need could not access the for-profit financial services system. Founding members pooled their own money to make affordable loans possible for people who needed help. While membership in credit unions has grown and technology has evolved to meet members’ needs, credit unions remain as true to those roots as ever.
Not-for-profit
Credit unions are not-for-profit financial cooperatives existing to serve members, not to make a profit. Unlike most other financial institutions, credit unions do not issue stock or pay dividends to outside stockholders. Instead, earnings are returned to our members through benefits such as lower loan rates, higher interest on deposits, lower fees, free financial education, and added emphasis serving communities large and small, metropolitan and rural.
Your money is always safe in a credit union.
Deposits in most federally insured credit unions are insured up to $250,000 by the National Credit Union Share Insurance Fund (NCUSIF). Some credit unions offer similar or additional insurance protection for your accounts.Funded by credit unions and administered by the National Credit Union Administration, , the NCUSIF is backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government.
Taxation
Credit unions do pay taxes – payroll taxes, sales taxes, and property taxes. Credit unions are exempt from corporate and income taxes because of their not-for-profit structure.
Ownership
Credit unions are an economic democracy. Each credit union member has equal ownership and one vote – regardless of how much money a member has on deposit. At a credit union, everyone is both a member and an owner who gets to vote on how the credit union will be run through board elections.
Member-Driven Boards
Each credit union is governed by a board of directors elected by and from the credit union’s membership.
Membership Eligibility
Nearly everyone qualifies for membership in a credit union, depending on where they live, work, worship, or attend school.
People Helping People
Credit unions exist to help people, not make a profit. The goal is to serve all the members well, including those of modest means – every member counts. Members are fiercely loyal for this reason. They know their credit union will be there for them in bad times as well as good. The same people-first philosophy encourages credit unions and their employees to get involved in community charitable activities and worthwhile causes.
News Releases
We provide releases to be picked up by news outlets and published for immediate use. We are a go-to source for news outlets covering credit unions, the economy, consumer finance, and more.
In The News
Anytime the GoWest Credit Union Association is recognized by a news source, we will publish that information here. We are a go-to source for news outlets covering credit unions, the economy, consumer finance, and more.
Upcoming Events
All EventsQ1 CDFI Roundtable
Q1 Small Credit Union Roundtable
The ACU GAC — GoWest Rendition
Digital Innovation Council; Session One
On The Go Articles
Finding Your People: A Guiding to Networking
Credit union professionals have a variety of associations and organizations to choose from when they are looking for networking and connection opportunities.
Introducing Marketing Tools To Share Credit Unions’ Positive Impacts
Credit union marketers are critically important in getting the word out to Main Street. GoWest has created an online toolkit to help them share the good news about credit unions’ positive impacts.
GoWest Foundation Creates Meaningful Opportunities Throughout the Region in 2024
The GoWest Foundation is dedicated to empowering and supporting credit unions and communities across GoWest’s six-state region to ensure communities […]