People Helping People: Community First Credit Union’s Commitment to Impact

Community First Credit Union (CFCU) serves as a member-owned financial institution rooted in the philosophy of people helping people. The name, Community First, was chosen intentionally to reflect the commitment not only to their member-owners but also to the broader communities where they live and work.

Making a difference isn’t just something CFCU does, but rather part of who they are. Each year, they invest in their communities through employee volunteerism, fundraising, financial contributions, and in-kind support. Whether it’s hands-on service or strategic giving, Community First is focused on showing up in meaningful ways and helping communities grow stronger.

Across Community First’s 630 employees, people take action in the communities where they live and work. In 2025 alone, employees logged more than 25,000 volunteer hours through sponsored events and independent service with nonprofits they care about most. That level of engagement helped earn Community First recognition in the 2026 CSR Industry Report. We interviewed Amanda Secor, Chief of Staff, and Heather Smarzinski, Volunteer and Events Coordinator, to learn more about the culture that fosters such strong engagement and the tools that make it happen.

How does Community First Credit Union bring its “we’ll find a way” philosophy to life through community involvement?

At Community First, “we’ll find a way” is more than a tagline. It’s a mindset and a commitment. When it comes to our communities, it means showing up where support is needed most through financial contributions, volunteerism, partnerships, or hands-on service. It reflects a belief that there is always a meaningful way to make a difference.

We recognize that meaningful impact goes beyond financial contributions. While we provide significant funding to nonprofit organizations, we also understand that many community needs are met through time, skills, and expertise. That is why volunteering is treated as a core cultural value within our organization. Our employees are encouraged to show up in ways that align with their passions, whether that means supporting a nonprofit event, offering professional expertise, or giving their time to causes they care about.

 

This approach allows us to pair financial and in-kind support with something just as important: people showing up for people. It’s how we bring our “we’ll find a way” promise to life. Whether the need is financial, operational, or simply an extra set of hands, we look for meaningful ways to help. Our employees and members take pride in being part of that impact, and that shared purpose is what makes us more than a financial institution.

 

Volunteering is deeply embedded in CFCU’s culture and is even measured at the board level. How do you approach goal-setting and accountability across the organization?

Volunteering is a key part of how we measure success as an organization, and it is included directly in our organizational scorecard that is shared with our board of directors. This ensures that community impact is treated with the same level of importance as our financial performance and growth metrics.

We focus on two primary measurements to understand our impact. The first is the percentage of employees who participate in at least one volunteer activity over the course of the year, and the second is the total number of volunteer hours contributed. Together, these metrics give us a clear picture of both engagement and overall impact across the organization.

At the start of each year, we establish an organization-wide goal for volunteer hours. From there, teams are actively involved in setting their own goals based on their performance in the previous year. This approach makes volunteering more personal and meaningful because employees are not only contributing to a corporate target but also to goals that are relevant to their teams and individual contributions.

Accountability is maintained through consistent visibility. Rather than waiting until the end of the year, we provide monthly reporting at both the team and organizational levels. Employees can clearly see how they are progressing toward their goals, and leadership can monitor performance in real time. This ongoing visibility helps keep momentum high and ensures that volunteering remains a constant focus throughout the year.

 

CFCU consistently sees very high volunteer participation. What do you think contributes most to that success?

One of the biggest contributors to our high participation rates is that volunteering is genuinely part of who we are. Our employees are intrinsically motivated to give back, and in many cases, they are actively seeking opportunities rather than needing encouragement to participate. It is not uncommon for volunteer opportunities to fill quickly and for employees to organize their own volunteer activities, which speaks to the level of enthusiasm across the organization.

 

We do not limit volunteer participation to activities organized by the credit union. Instead, we recognize a wide range of volunteer efforts, including activities such as coaching youth sports, participating in school programs, volunteering through churches, or supporting local nonprofits. As long as the work supports a nonprofit organization, it counts as volunteering.

This flexible, inclusive approach allows employees to engage in causes that are personally meaningful, which naturally leads to higher participation. We also see strong engagement in in-person and group-based activities, such as kit-packing projects, community cleanups, and large-scale events like the Community First Fox Cities Marathon. These opportunities not only provide tangible value to the community but also create moments of connection among employees, strengthening both engagement and culture.

 

Beyond volunteering, CFCU supports the community through significant giving and fundraising efforts. What does this broader approach look like in practice?

One of our most recognized efforts is the Polar Plunge benefiting Special Olympics Wisconsin. This high-energy tradition blends fundraising and volunteering, bringing employees, members, and the community together each year. Our team rallies behind the effort, collecting donations in our branches, selling polar-themed merchandise, hosting an internal online auction, paying for casual days—and, of course, making pledges to the team of brave souls who are willing to jump into freezing water. The Polar Plunge is a powerful example of how we rally together as a team and a community to make a difference.

 

Other initiatives help keep that momentum going year-round, from supporting the American Cancer Society Sole Burner to hosting drives for essentials like food and diapers, candy bar sales for local nonprofits, paid jeans days, and day-off raffles during employee meetings.

Our in-person all-employee meetings often include hands-on service projects too, like building bears for children in crisis, assembling birthday boxes for local food pantries, creating cards for veterans, or packing snack bags for youth organizations. By weaving service directly into team activities and company gatherings, community impact becomes part of our culture and not just something we do occasionally. It sets the tone, strengthens employee engagement, and gives our team another reason to feel proud of where they work.

Financial support is thoughtfully shared across the communities we serve and aligned with our giving priorities through an annual giving budget. Beyond direct donations for events and capital campaigns, we also provide meaningful in-kind support in ways that can make a lasting impact. That includes promoting nonprofit organizations through our radio campaigns, donating equipment and furniture, offering office space, and providing zero- or low-interest loans to help support nonprofit capital campaigns. By looking beyond traditional giving, we’re able to find more ways to support organizations doing important work in our communities. When combined, these contributions represent more than $5 million in community support annually, reflecting our belief that meaningful impact comes from a combination of financial investment, resources, and active involvement.

 

How have tools like YourCause supported the way Community First Credit Union tracks, measures, and communicates its community impact?

YourCause has made a huge difference in how we track and manage our volunteer efforts. Before, we were relying on manual processes through HRIS and payroll systems, which made it harder to get a clear, consistent picture of our impact.

Now, with everything in one centralized platform, tracking volunteer hours and participation across the organization is much easier. Employees can log in anytime to see their progress toward personal, team, and company-wide goals, which helps create more ownership and excitement around giving back.

The platform also makes monthly reporting simple, so teams can stay aligned, celebrate progress, and keep momentum going throughout the year. Having better visibility and easier access to data has helped us continue growing volunteer participation and expanding our overall impact year after year.