State of Your Credit Union

Introducing a new way to stay up to date on all the happenings at Southwest Louisiana Credit Union! As a loyal member, we want to keep you in the loop and informed on what your credit union is working on day-to-day to further enhance your member experience and how we’re creating real change in the Southwest Louisiana community. Check out the “State of Your Credit Union” messages from CEO and President, Chad Miller!

October 2024

Member of SWLACU,

It’s crazy to say, but 2024 is coming to a close and SWLACU is closing out our initiatives for the year with a bang! IMPACT has been our main focus for this year and I’m incredibly proud of the things we’ve been able to accomplish and what we will continue to accomplish in the last few months of 2024 and into 2025.

One of the most impactful initiatives launched in 2024 was our Hand Up to Homeownership grant. We filled all our available slots for this grant program which will result in giving back $50,000 directly into our members pockets in homeownership assistance. To date, this program resulted in almost $1,000,000 in new home loans. Be on the lookout, because 10 more slots will open January 1, 2025. If you’ve been thinking about buying a home and don’t believe you’d qualify, please give us an opportunity to put you on the path to homeownership! Our mission statement is “Financial Empowerment for All” and we strongly believe that homeownership is a huge step into financial empowerment.

Another huge element of financial empowerment is entrepreneurship. At Southwest Louisiana Credit Union, our Southwest Biz Department is here to serve your Small Business needs. We believe this is so important that we’ve launched two new Grant Programs for new AND established businesses! If you believe your business needs a little boost, checkout these opportunities.

Last and certainly not least, for our members in Sulphur the time is almost here for your new branch! Located directly behind our current location, we expect this new and improved branch to be operational for members in December. The new branch will be equipped with the latest technology and beautiful brand you all have come to know and love! Be on the lookout for more progress as the year goes on!

On behalf of myself, the team at SWLACU, and the Board of Directors, I pray that the rest of 2024 is filled with positive impact personally, professionally, and spiritually for you all. Cheers to 2024, the year of impact!

Respectfully,

Chad Miller

President/CEO

Photo 1: South Beau High Homecoming Community Event | Photo 2: Employee Appreciation | Photo 3: A Hand Up to Home Ownership Grant Recipient | Photo 4: Read for the Record with the Junior League of Lake Charles

August 2024

MEMBER OF SWLACU,

As we progress throughout the year, our team continues to focus on “IMPACT” and what that means for our community. During tougher economic times like our members and community are currently facing, SWLACU prides ourselves on being there for you in whatever capacity you need us. From financial counselling to developing creative loan programs to just chatting with you as a friend, your credit union takes whatever role you need us for and as the CEO, that’s what makes me proud!

With that being said, we continue to innovate the way we deliver loan products to you. In the second quarter of this year, we were able to launch our Hand Up to Homeownership Grant. Most of our slots for the grant have been filled, but don’t let this stop you from applying if you are looking to own a home in the next few months to a year as more slots will open soon! Our mission statement is “Financial Empowerment for All” and we strongly believe that homeownership is a huge step into financial empowerment. If you don’t believe you’d qualify for a mortgage, please give us an opportunity to put you on a path to homeownership. I promise you won’t be disappointed!

Next, I wanted to give an update on our progress in rebuilding our Sulphur location. The branch in Sulphur has needed upgrades for quite some time, and earlier this year, we took a big step in fulfilling promises of an upgrade for that community. If you’ve been by lately, you’ll see we have a new building being built directly behind our current branch. Massive progress has been made and we’re on track to open this new location by the end of the year. The new branch will be equipped with the latest technology and beautiful brand you all have come to know and love! Be on the lookout for more progress as the year goes on!

Lastly, I wanted to remind you all to be on the lookout via email and social channels to learn more about what we will be delivering to our members, including many opportunities to win Groceries for a Year.

On behalf of myself, the team at SWLACU, and the Board of Directors, I pray that the rest of 2024 is filled with positive impact personally, professionally, and spiritually for you all. Cheers to 2024, the year of impact!

RESPECTFULLY,

CHAD MILLER

President/CEO

Photo 1: First Hand Up to Home Ownership Grant Recipient | Photo 2: Backpack giveaway | Photo 3: Laura Melancon inducted into the LA Credit Union Hall of Fame | Photo 4: Launching NEW McNeese debit card

May 2024

Member of SWLACU,

I wrote to you at the beginning of the year sharing that our goal for 2024 could be summed up in one word, IMPACT. Despite battling economic challenges, your credit union has lived up to that word in the first quarter in a variety of ways. I’m excited to share a few of those with you.

Our commitment to innovation continues to be unwavering. Two huge technological accomplishments were launched in early 2024.

(1) Early Direct Deposit: As a member of SWLACU you can now receive your direct deposit up to one business day earlier. This is a free service that applies to all of our checking and savings accounts.

(2) FLASH CA$H Loans: Whether you need a little extra cash for unexpected bills, groceries, an emergency, or anything in between, a FLASH CA$H loan can help! With no credit check required, you can get money when you need it most deposited right into your account in under 60 seconds!

Something important to us as well is “meeting our members where they are”. We understand that everyone is busy and sometimes you only have a few minutes to meet with a SWLACU representative. Now, whether you’re on your lunch break, driving to your kid’s baseball game, or simply don’t want to leave the house, you can meet with a representative via our Virtual Branch.

Another thing that I promised at the beginning of the year was expanding the impact we have on our members through our Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI)designation. This designation is only given to specialized financial institutions that demonstrate a primary mission of community development while providing financial services to low-income communities and to people who lack access to financing.

We recently launched our Hand Up to Homeownership Grant, which is our first-time home buyer savings program aimed to support and educate first-time home buyers in SWLA. Through this grant, 10 members will be granted $5,000 when they save only $1,000 to be put towards their future home.

All these exciting things were launched in just quarter one. I can’t wait to show you the impact we will continue to have for the rest of 2024. Be on the lookout via email and social channels to learn more about what we will be delivering to our members, including many opportunities to win Free Groceries for a Year.

On behalf of myself, the team at SWLACU, and the Board of Directors, I pray that the rest of your 2024 is filled with positive impact personally, professionally, and spiritually. Cheers to 2024, the year of IMPACT!

Respectfully,

Chad Miller

President/CEO

Photos 1 -2: 2024 Annual Meeting | Photo 3: 2024 LCUL YPN Workshop | Photo 4: 2024 GAC

January 2024

Member of SWLACU,

For me, the first few weeks of 2024 bring reflection on the past year. First and foremost, I must thank and show my deepest appreciation to the members, staff, and volunteers of Southwest Louisiana Credit Union for making 2023, our year of “growth”, an extremely successful one. My proudest moments consisted of: (1) Opening our South Beau Branch, where SWLACU continues to display our commitment to bring convenient and affordable financial services to members of our community that need it most. (2) Being awarded over $2 million in CDFI Grant Funding, which will impact our members for the next 5 years by allowing us to expand services while also granting a large portion of this funding directly back to members. (3) Eliminating several fees on member accounts, where again, we demonstrated our commitment to our mission of “Financial Empowerment for All” by evaluating what fees were putting undue financial burden on our members and eliminating or modifying those.

The year 2024 will come with its own unique challenges. We will have to overcome ever-changing economic challenges and understand how this not only affects our community, but our individual members. We plan to expand our financial counselling department and add new programs in 2024 that will allow us to meet more of our members where they are for appointments, or even conduct them virtually. We now serve over 18,000 members and our dedication is to continue to make strides to better serve you all in the environment that is most convenient for you.

Our goal for 2024 can be summed up in one word, IMPACT. I’ve challenged our team and volunteers to reflect on that word and truly think about how they will individually continue to impact our members and our community. As a credit union, we demonstrate our commitment to impact by pursuing and maintaining our Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) designation, which is only given to specialized financial institutions that provide financial services to low-income communities and to people who lack access to financing while demonstrating a primary mission of community development. SWLACU is the only financial institution headquartered in the Lake Charles area that has this designation, and I can’t wait to share how this will allow us to further positively impact you all in 2024.

In early 2024, you can expect much of the same from SWLACU, but with a deeper impact. In this first quarter you will see progress on the rebuilding of our Sulphur location, bringing much needed upgrades to the member experience at that location. Our McNeese Street Branch and W. 18th Street Branch will also see upgrades in the form of Smart ATMs that will allow members to transact more efficiently. Finally, stay tuned for important updates on how we plan on investing in our members that are in need of purchasing their first home or starting their own business.

On behalf of myself, the team at SWLACU, and the Board of Directors, I pray that 2024 is filled with positive impact personally, professionally, and spiritually for you all. Cheers to 2024, the year of impact!