Beginnings Credit Union is Officially Here

Jack Eves: X101 Always classic Jack here in the studio. And joining me
once again is Katie Foley, VP of Marketing Sales for now Beginnings
Credit Union. Katie, how are you doing this morning?
Katie Foley: I’m doing great, Jack. Thanks for having me on the show
again.
Jack Eves: Always great to have you here and yes, CFCU is now
officially Beginnings Credit Union.
How is it feeling with the changeover?
Katie Foley: Its offical , you know, it was it was exciting for me to join
you, what feels like just yesterday, but it wasn’t a couple months ago.
Jack Eves: I know time flies by.
Katie Foley: Yeah. Um, where we were sort of just introducing that this
was gonna be happening for us and that was an exciting time and the
last few months have been quite busy for the preparation and I’m really
excited to share that.
As of July 1st, we are officially. Beginnings, credit union. Um, still little
things to do here and there. Mm-hmm. But by and large, the transition
has gone quite smoothly. Uh, [00:01:00] the branches have started to
take form. The website is new, digital banking is launched. Um, so we’re
really excited
Jack Eves: yeah physical change. People are really seeing now with
Beginnings.
Katie Foley: Exactly. Um, with a, with a rebrand such as this, there’s
lots behind the curtain that have to happen, right?
Jack Eves: Yes, definitely.
Katie Foley: To ensure that things go smoothly. Um, some of which,
you know, aren’t quite as visible to the members. But this last sort of
milestone really, the physical changes are happening.

The website has changed, and, uh, we’re in it. We’re in it, and it feels
great.
Jack Eves: It feels great indeed. And, you know, we talked last time, but
maybe some listeners. We’re still aware there is a good reason why
CFCU became Beginnings.
Katie Foley: Certainly. Certainly. And you know, we’ve shared, um, the
why. The why has always been very important to us as an organization.
And some may or may not know that our name has actually changed
already a few times,
Jack Eves: right.
Katie Foley: Over the years. Uh, back in 1953, we were Cornell Federal
Credit [00:02:00] Union.
Jack Eves: Yep.
Katie Foley: Uh, we have long since not been, uh, affiliated with Cornell
as a, as just a specific SEG group and have really expanded over the
years, um, and CFCU today.
Actually doesn’t stand for anything. Uh, it, our, our last change was to
just be CFCU Community Credit Union.
Jack Eves: Right?
Katie Foley: Um, and that can be challenging in a variety of ways. Uh,
for some that hold that name near and dear. Um, ironically, when I have
had some chats with members, um, where they feel a loss, they’ll say.
But now we’re not, we’re, we’re not, you know, associated with Cornell
any longer. And I say, well, actually it hasn’t stood for Cornell in some
time.
Jack Eves: It’s been, it’s
been a few years

Katie Foley: displaced grief. So there’s a little bit of education that’s
been,
Jack Eves: yeah, they, they’re learning on top of that. Oh, okay. I’ve, I
guess I’m used to it then.
Katie Foley: Yes.
Jack Eves: If it hasn’t been associated with cornell for a while.
Katie Foley: Yeah. And I will still say we still have an excellent
relationship with Cornell,
Jack Eves: Right of course.
Katie Foley: And have branches and residents there. Um, but you
know, it, it, it, the practic [00:03:00] practically as what. You know, as
well, there are other financial institutions with the same acronym, so we
would often get, um, mail checks, potential, uh, transfer,
Jack Eves: a little confusion going on,
Katie Foley: confusion.
Not to mention, we want to ensure that our frontline staff who are talking
to members feel confident so they can answer the question, right. Um,
and it’s, it’s a mouthful. So we really felt it was time. Um, it had been, you
know, each time we changed our charter in the past, the question of
should we change our name or not has come up And it didn’t really feel
like the right time until it was. Um, you may know, but. Back in 2022, we
merged with a, uh, fi in Syracuse called Core.
Jack Eves: Right.
Katie Foley: And that was an excellent opportunity for us. And even in,
in doing that and realizing that we’re a little bit, um, bigger than we once
were, it, it felt important to have a name where everybody sort of felt like
they belonged
Jack Eves: yeah all conected yeah,

Katie Foley: it was a new [00:04:00] start, all connected, um, and
Beginnings really. Um, resonated. Uh, it was a, it was a long process, as
Jack Eves: oh yes
Katie Foley: I mentioned before.
Jack Eves: Yes, yes. I remember
Katie Foley: very much a strategic decision amongst our board and our
leadership team. We worked with a company, uh, called Adrenaline, who
specializes in rebranding credit unions and financial institutions.
Um, we did a ton of focus groups with members and non-members in
market out of market and Beginnings really rose to the top in all of. The
surveys we conducted, the focus groups we led, and, um, we, we
couldn’t be happier. We, we find the name to be very optimistic. It’s
friendly. Our colors are predominantly, uh, grape, uh, purple.
Jack Eves: Yep.
Katie Foley: And, and Amber
Jack Eves: and as we were discussing before we went on air, you
know, your logos, the butterfly, which is always is another welcoming.
Thing people love to see, especially in the spring leaving out of winter.
Katie Foley: Exactly, exactly. And, and you know, really represents sort
of this ability to transform. [00:05:00] And our tagline is all that’s
possible.
And I, I really feel strongly that, you know, you can begin. Any day, any
moment, any breath. Uh, but there’s lots of Beginnings over the course
of our lifetime, you know?
Jack Eves: Very true. Yeah.
Katie Foley: Whether it’s, um, uh, opening your very first student
checking account and working with youth, we have a lot of exciting
things coming down the pipeline regarding, um, thinking about how we

work with youth and providing financial literacy to our young people,
which is critical.
Jack Eves: It’s very important to get education with that, especially
’cause, you know, some kids might not learn that in school. The better
steps ahead to build credit to. On top of that, it’s an important step.
Katie Foley: It’s an important step. So in, in, in many ways, the, the
name lends itself quite nicely to that. But let’s, let’s not also think about
on the other end of the spectrum, people that are getting ready to retire.
Jack Eves: Yes.
Katie Foley: How scary is that? You know, what am I gonna do? You’re
beginning again. What are you gonna do with your time? How do you
plan for that? Um, all the way to estate planning and thinking about
[00:06:00] investments. You know, we, we have the opportunity as, as.
As beings, uh, to to begin again and have new chapters and we really
wanna make sure we’re there for you to unlock whatever it is that you
want to do and make things possible along your journey.
Jack Eves: Yeah, and that’s such a prime example Beginnings for all
your Beginnings in life.
Katie Foley: Yes. The good times, the bad times.
Jack Eves: yeah,
Katie Foley: You know, money plays an important role
Jack Eves: and it does. Yes.
Katie Foley: We can’t ignore that. So, um, you know, being the kind of
financial institution that is there to meet you with where you are at with
products that meet your needs to help is a big part of why we’re here.
Yes. And
Jack Eves: you know, the website now is Beginnings.com. That
transition,

Katie Foley: it is begginings.com
I
Jack Eves: i had to say was seamless
Katie Foley: good
Jack Eves: from going from June to July. And I know a lot of, um. Your
members and customers, they’re gonna be starting to see the actual
branding changes at their locations too, coming up, especially with the
two locations here in Cortland.
Katie Foley: Yes, definitely. If you go in branch, you’ll notice that a lot of
the [00:07:00] interior have, you know, has already been completed. So,
uh, you’ll, you’ll see that purple, that lavender, that amber, you’ll see
some of. Signage, exterior signage will continue to go up over the
course of the next two months, which is also very exciting. And in our
branding, whether they’re on the billboards that you see here

Jack Eves: yup,
Katie Foley: as you’re driving down 281, uh, or in magazines, print,
radio ads, you’ll start hearing our name, seeing our new look and feel,
seeing how that new look is represented in some of the products that
we’re promoting as well. Uh, and just starting to be Beginnings,
Jack Eves: be Beginnings,
Katie Foley: be, be Beginnings
Jack Eves: and, you know, it’s more of just.
Rebranding too, because you’re also planning on new digital banking
features and to expand some other ones, right?
Katie Foley: Yes, exactly. So you know, many of our long-term
members will, will recall that we had a big transition a couple years ago
to CFCU More, which is our digital banking site, which really allows us to

offer multiple service within the palm of your hands, [00:08:00] uh,
whether it’s to set vacation alerts or open an account or apply for a loan,
or look at all of the subscriptions you have and say, oh my gosh, I didn’t
realize I was paying for Amazon Prime three times.
Jack Eves: They really do add up too.
Katie Foley: They do,

Jack Eves: so if you have a one stop source of what you’re paying for, it
comes in handy.
Katie Foley: Exactly so we’ve, we’ve really put a lot of energy into our
digital banking over the last handful of years, and we recognize that it’s
critical for members to be able to bank right in the palm of their hand. So
our digital banking platform has not changed. Um, the, it is now called
digital.Beginnings.com, and there is a new icon on the app.
Uh, so if people woke up one morning and they saw a different look on
their phone, it’s the
Jack Eves: no need for panic.
Katie Foley: No need for panic, it’s. Still the same platform. It should still
be your same password, same account number, um, but you know, here
to help too if anybody has had any challenges with that. But yeah, the,
the digital banking allows us to explore other relationships where we
might offer other tiles.
So something [00:09:00] that is getting launched just today, which we’re
really excited about, is a new program that we’re calling Tell your
Friends. It’s a referral program. It’s very entrepreneurial and it allows
members and non-members alike to make referrals to people to open a
checking account. And when they do, both the referer and the referee
get a $25 gift card.
Jack Eves: That’s a great incentive.

Katie Foley: It’s a great incentive, and it’s unlimited. You can do it as
much as you want. And the, um. It also allows you to kind of quickly
share whether it’s on social media through an email.
Jack Eves: So it has a convenience on it too.
Katie Foley: Really very convenient to to, to tell your friends.
Jack Eves: To tell. Yes.
Katie Foley: Yeah. So you know, our hope is to help, um, spread the
good word that we are now Beginnings. Having some additional
products where we’re, uh, singing from the rooftops who we are letting
people know about some of our incredible checking products that we
have, where you can earn rewards, um, and hopefully, um, serve more
people and continue to serve the members we already have in
[00:10:00] even better ways.
Jack Eves: Definitely. You know, it’s an amazing progress to see with a
rebranding and then also expanding on digital, which is, like you said, it’s
extremely popular now.
Katie Foley: Yes,
Jack Eves: everyone loves
Katie Foley: yes
Jack Eves: all their information just in the palm of their hand.
Katie Foley: That’s true.
Jack Eves: And could be one centralized location too.
Katie Foley: Yeah. Yeah.
Jack Eves: Convenience is everything.
Katie Foley: yeah,

Jack Eves: Thank you, Katie. Thank you so much for coming in with us
again. CFCU is now officially Beginnings Credit Union, and more
information may be found@Beginnings.com. Katie, thank you so much.
Katie Foley: Thank you, Jack. Pleasure to be here
Jack Eves: for X101 I’m Jack Eves.