BVU, Community 1st Credit Union Forge Strategic Partnership for Stronger Communities
A new Strategic Partnership expands educational benefits for employees and their families with 17 Community 1st Credit Union branch sites in and around 14 Iowa cities.
Buena Vista University (BVU) and Community 1st Credit Union have put their respective stamps on a Strategic Partnership that will benefit both organizations as they strive to enhance the communities and states they serve.
Under the agreement, Community 1st Credit Union employees, their spouses, and dependents may receive grant funding to lower the overall cost of education while enrolled in classes at BVU’s Storm Lake campus. Partner grant funding also lowers the cost per credit hour for students enrolled in BVU’s convenient online/hybrid undergraduate instruction or the organizational leadership graduate program courses.
BVU professors and staff members are also available for training programs, workshops, and more should officials with Community 1st Credit Union seek those services and expertise.
“We’re excited to see Community 1st Credit Union employees and their families enhance their educational experience, and their careers, through BVU’s convenient online instruction that’s made even more affordable through this partnership.”
Katie Smith, Director of Strategic Partnerships
“We are very passionate about investing in our employees,” says Community 1st Credit Union CEO Greg Hanshaw. “The Strategic Partnership with BVU adds a life-changing benefit to our already robust benefits package. The grant funding graciously offered by BVU represents a natural extension of a bold education-reimbursement plan already in place for full- and part-time Community 1st Credit Union employees.”
Community 1st Credit Union, which began operations 85 years ago, represents the sixth largest credit union in Iowa with assets totaling in excess of $815 million. The organization, which offers membership to persons living in or working in 57 Iowa counties and eight Missouri counties, has 17 branch sites in 14 communities throughout eastern and southeast Iowa.
Hanshaw notes how Community 1st Credit Union, based in Ottumwa, values community involvement by compensating employees for a vast array of volunteer roles they serve in their communities. Commitments such as this have helped Community 1st and its 240 employees grow to include nearly 60,000 members.
“Building communities is central to BVU’s Strategic Partnerships initiative, and Community 1st Credit Union aligns with our vision that, through education, we can create stronger cities, towns, organizations, and people across Iowa, the Midwest, and beyond,” says Katie Smith, BVU Director of Strategic Partnerships. “We’re excited to see Community 1st Credit Union employees and their families enhance their educational experience, and their careers, through BVU’s convenient online instruction that’s made even more affordable through this partnership.”
The Strategic Partnership linking Community 1st Credit Union and BVU is the second such agreement forged in Ottumwa in recent weeks. Earlier this month, BVU officials joined administrators with the Ottumwa Community School District in announcing the 15th such Strategic Partnership in Iowa.
For more information about BVU’s Strategic Partnerships and partner opportunities, please visit the BVU website at bvu.edu/strategic-partnerships or contact Katie Smith at SmithK@bvu.edu.