Why Credit Unions Work With MDC

Working with MDC brings you unique and innovative ideas that can happen when we all get together and collaborate. So, the investment has a 10 x payoff in, in our situation.

I cannot communicate the value enough around what MDC does – what it offers. The networking alone is worth it…These are conversations you cannot get in local chapter meetings or league, conversations you can’t get from round tables or lunches you have with your peers locally.

The value of a MDC membership is ever- rewarding to us and it’s a small investment for what we get out of it and what we bring back.

Credit unions are putting in a small amount of money overall [to be part of MDC] to create a very big pool of money that we can do a whole bunch of things with when we work on these things together.

The biggest benefit is the network, we are around 50-some likeminded credit unions…we learn from each other and share with each other… I think MDC is in a great place today to provide a great value and I think the future is pretty bright.

MDC represents very likeminded, purposeful credit unions who are concerned about the future, concerned about not only our own relevance, but the relevance of our industry and our impact on members. That’s an important edge and important differentiator as a group.

The NextUP program is the “jet fuel” for credit union distinction, personnel development, and innovation skills and capability development. I am honored to help facilitate the research, innovation and NextUP program activities. The ideas that incubate from the program activities are the future competitive advantage for the MDC owners. The skills that the NextUP participants develop will equip them to be future leaders.

We benefit from the combined research and development of nearly 80 progressive credit unions, and in turn, we are able to deploy our resources to help bring meaningful initiatives to reality. Ownership will also allow us to use that R&D to determine what will work well for Meritrust and, equally as important, what will not.

We have been members of MDC for a few years now, and we are very impressed with the team they have! They are insightful and inquisitive, and they love to dig into the gory details. The owner meetings provide a great opportunity to meet like-minded people, hear about what they are doing in their CUs, and just discuss what the future holds for our industry. MDC also has fantastic speakers that you don’t hear at other conferences, and they are very thought-provoking. As an owner, we have access to Tower Research papers that we couldn’t afford on our own and, of course, all of that research and the vetting of vendors performed by MDC itself. You can’t hire your own employee and do what they do for what they charge the owners! It is money well spent!

The ideas and research coming from the NextUP Program are completely unlike any other program in the movement. There is no other group that not only develops the initial idea but then spends the following 12 to 18 months bringing it to reality. Ideas, backed by research, partnerships, and execution can change the world.

I was able to attend both days virtually and it was the best hybrid experience I’ve ever had – the audio, visual, app, and website were all top notch. Y’all made us feel like we truly were VIPs by including us in the activities, having an active chat, mentioning us during sessions, sending us the awesome goodie box, and with the sneak peeks Kristin gave us as she roamed the halls. Add to all of that, the content was extremely interesting and valuable for me.

Being part of MDC has allowed Campus USA Credit Union to explore numerous subjects that we would not have normally had time to pursue. Being able to collaborate with MDC executives has provided value well beyond any amount of money. I would strongly recommend MEMBERS Development Company to any credit union looking to collaboratively tackle the challenges facing our industry today and tomorrow.

Participating in an MDC joint project was a great experience. There was value in the collaboration and in learning new ways to identify gaps and respond with improvements for our members’ experiences.

MDC consistently supplies our credit union with relevant, real-world information that we would have neither the time nor financial resources to obtain on our own. They always make us welcome and make it easy for us to involve multiple levels of our staff in their various projects. We also appreciate the opportunity to collaborate with industry experts and vendors in a non-sales environment. Probably above all, MDC’s two annual owner meetings provide ample opportunity to network and share ideas with the most progressive credit unions in the country.

MDC provides a great forum for owner credit unions to vet research ideas and concepts as a collective group before moving forward with any development work. This provides the owners an opportunity to spend research dollars once, evaluate the potential impact, and determine if MDC should pursue the idea further through a stage gate process. The MDC research and development process ensures a careful eye on cost and a thorough discussion on the benefits of taking the next step with a broader audience of credit union peers.