The credit union’s only branch at 1601 Ownby Lane. (Michael Schwartz)
Shedding part of its postal past, a local credit union has changed its name after a 94-year history.
Richmond Postal Credit Union last month unveiled a new name: Credit Union of Richmond.
The rebrand aims to capitalize on an expanded charter it received in 2008, allowing it to offer membership beyond its original base of local postal workers and their families to anyone who lives, works, worships, attends school or volunteers in the city limits.
It’s rolling out the new name, logo and color scheme, as well as an abbreviated name it hopes will catch on – CUofR.
While the credit union currently has around 7,100 members and $75 million in assets, the charter expansion was nearly a decade ago and co-CEOs Penny Williams and Shirley Cooper say it hasn’t translated into the kind of membership growth they expected.
“Since then we’ve tried to go out and spread the word, but it’s hard to change the impression given by the (Richmond Postal) name because people think you have to be a postal worker,” Williams said. “If we want to remain a viable financial institution it was in our best interest to change our name.”
The changes are a big step for an institution that bills itself as the oldest credit union in Virginia. It was founded in 1923 by postal workers at the USPS facility at 1801 Brook Road. The credit union opened its only branch in 1992, a mile away at 1601 Ownby Lane, where its 21 employees still work today.
Less than a decade ago, the Brook Road sorting facility was relocated 17 miles east to Sandston, distancing the credit union from many of its members and causing a dip in membership growth.
Shirley Cooper, left, and Penny Williams. (CUofR)
“The distance between our building and their building had an impact,” Williams said, adding that it set up a small office at the Sandston facility that didn’t catch on as hoped.
While credit unions are not-for-profit, CUofR does operate in the black, according to filings with the National Credit Union Administration. It reported $750,000 in net income for the full year 2016 and $215,000 through the first half of this year.
Its citywide charter gives it 211,000 potential members, meaning the institution has plenty of room to grow if it can win business from banks and other credit unions.
The next challenge, Williams and Cooper said, is to spread word of the rebrand and make people aware of its membership range. Williams said it will hang new signage at its branch and do radio ads, and maybe a bus wrap and billboard.
While the majority of its members are still postal workers and their family members, there are signs that the broader reach could catch on. Williams and Cooper said of around 50 new members last month, only a handful were postal workers.
And at a time when credits unions and banks alike are merging in increasing numbers, Williams and Cooper say they intend to remain independent and have no such deals in the works.
“We are intending to grow the credit union,” Williams said. “We do not intend on merging at all.”
The credit union’s only branch at 1601 Ownby Lane. (Michael Schwartz)
Shedding part of its postal past, a local credit union has changed its name after a 94-year history.
Richmond Postal Credit Union last month unveiled a new name: Credit Union of Richmond.
The rebrand aims to capitalize on an expanded charter it received in 2008, allowing it to offer membership beyond its original base of local postal workers and their families to anyone who lives, works, worships, attends school or volunteers in the city limits.
It’s rolling out the new name, logo and color scheme, as well as an abbreviated name it hopes will catch on – CUofR.
While the credit union currently has around 7,100 members and $75 million in assets, the charter expansion was nearly a decade ago and co-CEOs Penny Williams and Shirley Cooper say it hasn’t translated into the kind of membership growth they expected.
“Since then we’ve tried to go out and spread the word, but it’s hard to change the impression given by the (Richmond Postal) name because people think you have to be a postal worker,” Williams said. “If we want to remain a viable financial institution it was in our best interest to change our name.”
The changes are a big step for an institution that bills itself as the oldest credit union in Virginia. It was founded in 1923 by postal workers at the USPS facility at 1801 Brook Road. The credit union opened its only branch in 1992, a mile away at 1601 Ownby Lane, where its 21 employees still work today.
Less than a decade ago, the Brook Road sorting facility was relocated 17 miles east to Sandston, distancing the credit union from many of its members and causing a dip in membership growth.
Shirley Cooper, left, and Penny Williams. (CUofR)
“The distance between our building and their building had an impact,” Williams said, adding that it set up a small office at the Sandston facility that didn’t catch on as hoped.
While credit unions are not-for-profit, CUofR does operate in the black, according to filings with the National Credit Union Administration. It reported $750,000 in net income for the full year 2016 and $215,000 through the first half of this year.
Its citywide charter gives it 211,000 potential members, meaning the institution has plenty of room to grow if it can win business from banks and other credit unions.
The next challenge, Williams and Cooper said, is to spread word of the rebrand and make people aware of its membership range. Williams said it will hang new signage at its branch and do radio ads, and maybe a bus wrap and billboard.
While the majority of its members are still postal workers and their family members, there are signs that the broader reach could catch on. Williams and Cooper said of around 50 new members last month, only a handful were postal workers.
And at a time when credits unions and banks alike are merging in increasing numbers, Williams and Cooper say they intend to remain independent and have no such deals in the works.
“We are intending to grow the credit union,” Williams said. “We do not intend on merging at all.”