Planning, Implementing, Measuring & Reporting your Financial Counseling Program

Mark Lynch, CUDE, DUDE

Field CoachREAL Solutions

Overview

• What is REAL Solutions?• Why is REAL Solutions promoting Financial

Counseling initiatives?• Establishing your vision• Setting your goals• Preparing an action plan• Measuring and reporting your successes

What is REAL Solutions

• Signature program of the National Credit Union Foundation

• Originally created by the Filene Research Institute• Program aimed at assisting credit unions better

serving - low income, low wealth, modest means, underserved and unbanked households

What is REAL Solutions

• Help credit unions develop products, programs and partnerships

• All initiatives are aimed at “doing well by doing good”

• Focus is on attracting and serving low wealth families in a way that grows credit unions and enhances their bottom line

What is REAL Solutions involvement in this program?

• Showcased the concept developed by the Vermont League at our January League Liaison Meeting

• Utah and Michigan Leagues applied for grants to replicate the model

• Our focus this year has been on how to help students develop a plan for best using their new skills at their credit union

What is planned for 2011?

• Nationally coordinated League based program• At least 12 new states participating• Aiming for 400 accredited CU financial counselors• Development of a national measurement and

reporting system

Your Role

• What do you do now?• Why did you enroll?• What do you intend to do with your new

skills?

“It pays to plan ahead… It wasn't raining when Noah

built the ark.”

John F. Kennedy

Establish Your Vision

• What do you ultimately want to achieve at your credit union?

• This is your wish list!• It is not something you necessarily will achieve in the

next year• It is what you can realistically achieve some time in

the future

Establish Your Vision

If a local newspaper wrote a story about your counseling program in 5 years time, what would you

like it to say?

That should be your vision!

Set Your Annual Goals

• These are the goals you want to achieve in the next year

• These are not actions you are going to take, these are the outcomes you want to achieve

Annual Goals

• Number of members you want to counsel• Number of education courses you want to conduct• Number of new members you will help• Impact on the bottom line

“Planning is bringing the future into

the present so that you

can do something about it now.”

Develop Your Action Plans

• These are the actual tasks you are going to take to set up your program and begin your counseling program

• It should include everything you intend to do in the first year

“If you don’t know where you are going,

you will probably end up somewhere

else.”

-- Dr. Laurence J. Peter

Action Plans

Finalize a program proposalGet board approval Inform and where necessary train staffBuild Community PartnershipsTell your membersTell the community

Measure and Report

• Your plan needs to include what you are going to do to measure and report your successes

• How do you intend to track and record the outcomes of your program?

• Compare outcomes to the goals you set.• How will you report your successes?• Who will you report to?

The Power of Planning

Let’s look at an example of the power of planning

Melbourne 1956 13 8 14 35

Rome 1960 8 8 6 22

Tokyo 1964 6 2 10 18

Mexico City 1968 5 7 5 17

Munich 1972 8 7 2 17

Montreal 1976 0 1 4 5

Moscow 1980 2 2 5 9

Los Angeles 1984 4 8 12 24

Seoul 1988 3 6 5 14

Barcelona 1992 7 9 11 27

Atlanta 1996 9 9 23 41

Sydney 2000 16 25 17 58

Athens 2004 17 16 16 49

Beijing 2008 14 15 17 46

Gold Silver Bronze TotalPopulation

‘000Population per

gold medalsPopulation per

all medals

1 Bahamas 1 0 1 2 317 317 159

2 Norway 5 0 1 6 4,551 910 759

3 Australia 17 16 16 49 20,164 1,186 4124 Hungary 8 6 3 17 9,830 1,229 578

5 Cuba 9 7 11 27 11,323 1,258 419

6 New Zealand 3 2 0 5 3,902 1,301 780

7 Jamaica 2 1 2 5 2,677 1,339 535

8 Greece 6 6 4 16 10,963 1,827 685

9 Sweden 4 1 2 7 8,887 2,222 1,270

10 Georgia 2 2 0 4 5,073 2,537 1,268

11 Denmark 2 0 6 8 5,373 2,687 672

12 Slovakia 2 2 2 6 5,407 2,704 901

13 Romania 8 5 6 19 22,278 2,785 1,173

14 United Arab Emirates 1 0 0 1 3,049 3,049 3,049

15 Lithuania 1 2 0 3 3,421 3,421 1,140

16 Bulgaria 2 1 9 12 7,830 3,915 653

17 Ireland 1 0 0 1 3,996 3,996 3,996

18 Netherlands 4 9 9 22 16,220 4,055 737

19 Austria 2 4 1 7 8,116 4,058 1,159

20 Croatia 1 2 2 5 4,413 4,413 883

21 Belarus 2 6 7 15 9,854 4,927 657

Lessons to Learn

• Understand the issue• Establish your vision• Set goals over various time frames• Develop detailed plans• Provide adequate resourcing• Develop ways to measure success• Report on achievements

Your Plans & Goals

Must be your own

Must be stated positively

Must be realistic and achievable

MUST BE WRITTEN !

Your Goals

“The difference between a goal and

a dream is the written word”

Gerry Donohue

Developing a Financial Counseling Plan

• Understand the issues• Understand members needs• Assess the current environment• What will your role be in the program?• What role will others play in the program?

Current Environment

• What current financial counseling (formal or informal) occurs at your credit union?

• Do you have any existing policies that might impact on a new financial counseling strategy?

• Are there any barriers to developing a financial counseling strategy?

Your Role in the Program

• Will financial counseling be a completely new part of your job or will your new skills enhance your current job?

• Will you be doing remedial, preventative and productive counseling?

• Will you be given extra time to counsel members?• Will you conduct group sessions?

What role will others play?

• Can other staff play a role in the program?• What role will collections staff play?• What role will lending staff play?• How can all staff participate in the program?

What role will others play?

• Do you currently partner with any community organizations to provide counseling services?

• What community organizations might you consider partnering with in the future?

• How might you attract new members by offering a financial counseling service?

Reviewing the Planning Process

• Establish your vision• Set your goals• Prepare your plans• Measure your progress• Report your impact

Planning Template

Vision Goals Action Plans Progress Report

Impact Measurement

Measuring the Impact

• Why measurement is important• Start with activities• Activities lead to outcomesFor the memberFor the credit unionFor the community

Activities

• Program developed• Program marketed• Partners established• Members counseled• Education workshops conducted

Outcomes for the member

• Improved financial management• Right loans at the right price at the right time• Bankruptcies prevented• Foreclosures prevented

Outcomes for the credit union

• Improved loan approval rates• Reduction in delinquency rates• Reduction in write offs• Improved bottom line

Products, programs & policies to Consider

• Loans approved or “Not yet!”• Credit Builder or Credit Rebuilder Loans• Debt in Focus• Steer Clear Auto Loan Program• Stickk• Savings Challenge

Loans approved or “Not yet!”

• Any loans that are not approved are not declined

• Member is told that the loan is not yet approved and referred to the financial counselor

• Financial counselor explains what the member needs to do so that the loan can be approved

Debt in Focus

• For members who aren’t ready yet to meet face to face with a counselor

• www.filene.org/debtinfocus

Steer Clear Auto Loan Program

• For members who are forced into the sub-prime auto market

• Seven step program• Financial counseling upon approval• Getting the right auto• Insuring against all risks• Immediate action when problems arise

stickK

• Aimed at the proactive member• Set a goal• Set the stakes rewards and penalties• Get a referee• Add friends for support• Contact Jordan Goldberg – CEO of stickKjordan.goldberg@stickK.com

Savings Challenge

• Members compete in a public challenge to• Increase Savings• Reduce Debt• Improve Credit Score

• www.savingschallengenm.com• www.gecusavingschallenge.com

Remember!

Your Plan needs to be reviewed at least annually

•What’s working well?•What’s not?•Have member needs changed?•Have laws changed?•Review partnerships!•How can you improve your program?

Checklist

Vision

Have you developed a vision of what your credit union's financial counseling program will look like when it is operating exactly the way you would like it to?

Checklist

Action Plan

Have you developed an action plan for the next year, to ensure that you are working towards your vision?

Does your action plan include - All actions you are going to take over the next year? Getting Board and Senior Management sign off? How you will identify members who need remedial

counseling?

Checklist

Action Plan

How you will identify members who would like some preventative counseling?

A list of potential partners, when you will contact them and details of what you hope to achieve from each partnership?

More staff to become accredited CU Financial Counselors? The development of new products and services to assist

counselors?

ChecklistGoals & Measurement

Have you established goals for the type and number of activities you aim to achieve in your first year?

Do these include one on one counseling as well as workshops and seminars?

Have you developed a way to record your activities? Have you developed a way to record the outcomes of your

activities?

Checklist

Reporting

How will you report your activities and outcomes? Who will you report to?

“When you’re finished

changing, you’re

finished.”Benjamin Franklin