Making a Difference in Denver's history

January, 1934 - The chocolate chip cookie and ice cream cone had just been invented, FM radio just patented, and prohibition repealed. To Denver's east, the dust bowl swept the plains, while to our west the Winter Park ski area was established.

As America searched for an answer to the woes of the great depression, well known pioneers of the credit union movement gathered in Estes Park, Colorado to strengthen a simple idea: people helping people. Amongst them were Dora Maxwell and Louise Herring, philanthropists now immortalized by social responsibility awards in their names. This meeting establishes what will soon become the Credit Union National Association.

As part of his "New Deal" with America, Franklin Delano Roosevelt signed the Federal Credit Union Act.

Established in 1934, Denver Community Credit Union was originally called the Municipal Employees Credit Union of Denver. With only $50, the original board met to organize the credit union under a state charter that would serve employees of the City and County of Denver. That first board included Frank L. Hays and W.H. McNichols.  Hays’ son Frank later became Lieutenant Governor of Colorado while McNichols' sons Stephen and William became Governor of Colorado and Mayor of Denver respectively.

Our proud history of leadership in Colorado continued with the organization of the Colorado Credit Union League in September of 1934. This league, now with over 144 member credit unions, represents one in three Colorado citizens.

Growing (1934 - 2000)

As Denver quickly became an American boom-town, the credit union simply maintained itself. It wasn't until the late 1980s, a time of great economic hardship, that Denver Community began to thrive as people in the community looked to each other instead of corporations for help.

In November 1991, the rapidly expanding credit union converted to a federal charter to better meet the needs of our membership.  In 1996, we built a new facility at our 1075 Acoma location and moved our headquarters to the beautiful brick building located in the heart of Denver's Golden Triangle.  This 23,000 square foot facility has become quite a recognizable Denver landmark and stands as a testimony to the power of the credit union's devotion to the people in our community. 

We applied for a community charter and were approved in August, 2000. Soon thereafter we received expanded approval, allowing us to serve individuals who live, work, worship, attend school, or volunteer in the city and county of Denver, their family members, as well as businesses in the city and county.

Thriving (2000 - 2007)

Having established itself as a trusted member of the community, and with the backing of more than 26,000 members, Denver Community sought new opportunities to support the financial needs of a diversifying Denver community.

The question of convenience and our promise to serve the community continued to surface.  In January, 2004, the branch at 40th and Chambers opened to serve Northeast Denver, including DIA, Montbello and Green Valley Ranch. In February of 2005 we opened a branch at 12th and Federal to serve the Hispanic neighborhoods and lower income populations of West Denver. With grants from the National Credit Union Association (NCUA) and the Piton Foundation (an arm of the Annie E. Casey foundation), this ground-breaking new branch was amongst the first of its kind to offer services tailored to those in our community not able to be traditional credit union members.

Denver Community not only saw the importance of building locations tailored to a diversified membership group, but also continued our participation in strong partnerships that could bring increased convenience. Through on-going participation in the CO-OP ATM network, our members had access to the largest credit union-only ATM network in the country. Our members also continued to have access to a huge network of CUSN Shared Branch locations where they could use any participating credit union to carry out their financial business. 

It soon became apparent that meeting the needs of a diverse community would not only mean building convenient branches and partnerships, but to accommodate those who wished to do their banking from home and around the world. We quickly built a highly secure website complete with e-banking and rate calculators, and have continued to be a leader in bringing our members safe & secure access to their money from anywhere in the world.

Flourishing  (2008 and the future)

Now, with over $200 million in assets and growing, Denver Community is a far cry from the fledgling Credit Union of 1934, which started with only $50. However; as different as we may look on the outside, we still hold true to the same beliefs that were held by our founders:  people helping people.

The credit union’s vision is to maintain a reputation as a leader in the community with a market presence as a community-oriented financial cooperative. Here, members can obtain the product or service they need at each stage of life while experiencing a high level of personal attention.  We are committed to making a difference in people's lives by providing financial opportunity.

Our commitment to the community has never been stronger. In 2007, Denver Community won a national Dora Maxwell Social Responsibility Award for our financial education for adults and community organizations, as well as a national Desjardins Youth Financial Education Award. We also received national honorable mention in the Louise Herring Philosophy in Action category for our financial education for members.

We have also emerged as a leader in the community through donations of time, money, and resources to deserving groups in our community.

Our Green Solutions program, established to mirror the values of one of the most environmentally friendly cities in the country, has made Denver Community a role model for eco-friendly financial institutions across the country.

In the spring of 2009, Denver Community Credit Union celebrated 75 years of making a difference in people's lives by providing financial opportunity. While we look forward to meeting the financial challenges of a growing Denver market, we proudly reflect on the people and events that have made Denver Community Credit Union an integral part of Denver's history.