by Chelsea Springli 
Fifty-two years ago, a small group of men and women in North County St. Louis, began pooling their funds together. They trusted one another. This credit union was started with the belief that everything is possible when people work together with integrity and trust. They built a financial institution as a not for profit cooperative. A place where everyone has equal ownership. Everyone has an equal voice. Whether they have $1,000 to invest, or $1.
That’s still true today. Every person who puts $1 in this credit union has the same voice and ownership as our largest investors. It’s a beautiful equalizer among all the communities we serve. Being controlled by an elected board of volunteer directors from within the community, we all get to sleep easy every night, knowing we had no other choice but to work for the greater good of those who live, work, worship and are educated here.
For many years, we’ve existed as 1st Financial Federal Credit Union. A name that, while common and quite institutional, didn’t tell the story of us. The story that we have been trying to tell anyone who would listen for fifty-two years.
We are a credit union that chooses to exist every day to meet needs that so often are ignored or avoided. We go where we are needed, showing up in communities that have been divested by the banking industry for generations, leaving only pay day lenders in their place. Our credit union focuses on building innovative financial tools and providing equitable access to all. We are a not for profit cooperative, driven by integrity and a desire to fill the gaps of the financial service industry for all communities. That’s our story.
So, we’ve decided to change our name to tell that story more clearly. Our members, employees and community supporters helped us find this name. And we are so proud, that beginning November 2020, we will be Alltru Credit Union.
Alltru is a name that reflects our collective ownership and demonstrates our shared integrity. We are all in this together, just as we always have been. Just as we always will be. When you succeed, so do we, and our shared successes build a better community for us all.
I can’t wait for us all to see how this new name will finally represent who we are throughout St. Louis and carry us forward as we continue to work together as a cooperative. We hope this new name will be a catalyst for us to better share the news that together, we are so much stronger than we are on our own.
Thank you for owning and investing in this credit union. Your membership is making us all better.
Sincerely,
Carol Minges
CEO
Alltru Credit Union
The Better Way To Bank
