“The resilience of our North Bay communities is second to none. Not only has our region answered the call for help, but the world has shown its heartfelt support, and we’re deeply grateful for the generosity of everyone who donated to support fire survivors.”—Cynthia Negri, president, Redwood Credit Union Community Fund
Last October, when wildfires tore through the North Bay devastating homes, families, and businesses. Redwood Credit Union (RCU) demonstrated leadership and commitment to the community, working in tandem with The Press Democrat and Senator Mike McGuire to create the North Bay Fire Relief Fund.
The North Bay Fire Relief Fund began accepting donations within 48 hours after the fires started and raised more than $32 million in the 120 days that followed. In addition, RCU shouldered all administrative costs, which totaled more than $900,000, to allow for 100 percent of the money raised to go directly to survivors of the fire. Contributions came from more than 41,100 donors from 23 countries, and nearly 70 percent of donations came from outside the four affected counties of Sonoma, Napa, Mendocino, and Lake—proving people around the world care about what happened to the North Bay and are sending a message of care and hope for the community.
“The resilience of our North Bay communities is second to none. Not only has our region answered the call for help, but the world has shown its heartfelt support, and we’re deeply grateful for the generosity of everyone who donated to support fire survivors,” says Cynthia Negri, president of the Redwood Credit Union Community Fund, the nonprofit fund which housed the North Bay Fire Relief Fund. "We could not have done it without our partners The Press Democrat and Senator Mike McGuire, and the incredible support from many local nonprofits and corporate sponsors—it’s proves we’re truly in this together,” Negri adds.
Redwood Credit Union was established in 1950. Today, RCU has more than $4 billion in assets, and serves 300,000 members with 17 full-service branches from San Francisco to Ukiah and 30,000 fee-free network ATMs nationwide. How does a credit union differ from a bank? A credit union is a not-for-profit cooperative (owned by its members and its board of directors) is comprised of volunteers, who are members of the credit union.
RCU has numerous awards in the community such as the “Large Business of the Year” recognition from the Santa Rosa Chamber of Commerce and from the Napa Chamber of Commerce. It has also been rated one of the Top 5 Healthiest Credit Unions by Glatt Consulting.
How does Redwood Credit Union manage to win Best Credit Union by NorthBay biz readers 12 years in a row? Chances are it’s mostly because its commitment to service. But this time, RCU’s deep commitment to serving and helping the North Bay community was evidenced by its quick response to the North Bay fires—both in maintaining uninterrupted service to its members, and in helping to establish the North Bay Fire Relief Fund to support the immediate needs of fire victims.
As for its future goals, RCU hopes to help more people in more locations. Says Brett Martinez, president and chief executive officer, “[Our goal is] to help people in future RCU locations (such as American Canyon, Napa, Lake County, and San Francisco) gain a better understanding of the benefits of credit union membership. The more people and businesses that participate in our financial cooperative, the more benefits we can return to all members, including better rates, fewer and lower fees and expanded services. And when our members benefit, so does our community because it keeps money in our local economy, which supports job growth and local businesses—and that contributes to making it a better place for everyone to live and work.”
www.redwoodcu.org
