HONOLULU–From the 50th state, Hawaii State FCU has become the 50th and final member of Filene’s “Inner Circle” to sponsor its research centers.
Filene described itsInner Circle as an elite group of innovative leaders in the credit union community that support its Centers of Excellence, and said the organizations now span across the entire country.
Filene’s six Centers of Excellence are focused on Diversity, Equity & Inclusion, Consumer Financial Lives in Transition, Emerging Technology, Data Analytics, Community Impact, and Innovation & Incubation.
Hawaii State FCU’s support will research on community social impact, innovation, and incubation, Filene said.
‘Proud Supporter’
“Hawaii State FCU is a proud supporter of the Filene Research Institute and we are honored to serve as the organization’s 50th Inner Circle member,” said Andrew Rosen, president and CEO of Hawaii State FCU. “We look forward to working closely with Filene and the other 49 credit union members as we explore and adopt new innovative products and services that meet the ever-changing needs of our members and communities in Hawaii.”
According to Filene, collectively the 50 Inner Circle organizations funded more than $13.5 million of industry research that will continue to emerge and create exponential impact as more organizations put the ideas into practice.
A ’Catalyst’
“Research produced within Filene’s Center for Community Social Impact, a five-year project, will expand the knowledge and practice of social impact so that credit unions can develop a strategic advantage in the communities they serve and become a catalyst for positive community transformation,” Filene said. “Projected outcomes include documentation of industry business models that enable community transformation, financial empowerment, and economic prosperity.”
Filene’s Center for Innovation and Incubation is a three-year project studying current trends for how credit unions can respond to members’ desire for greater financial services innovations that meet their needs and their communities’ needs today while also exploring the general state of innovation across the credit union system.
The ’Most Pressing Challenges’
“By engaging in our work, we’ve watched credit unions expand their capacity and capabilities to rapidly innovate, expand their digital footprint, redefine their value proposition and mine for continued growth. Credit unions are showing up for their employees, members and communities while finding opportunities to grow and lead within the financial services sector,” said Filene’s president and CEO Mark Meyer. “The focused longitudinal research and incubation Filene conducts around the most pressing challenges faced by this industry would not be possible without the forward-thinking innovation mindsets of our Inner Circle supporters.”