A people first economy Initiative
Keep your money close to home!

There are nearly 90 community-based financial institutions in Michigan. Yet they only hold 20% of total assets. Moving your money to a local financial institution will lead an economy grounded in local ownership, create generational wealth, and build equity.

BY KEEPING YOUR ASSETS IN COMMUNITY-BASED FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS, YOU ARE ALSO CONTRIBUTING TO THE SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS. WHAT ARE THESE?
We’re rebooting the conversation during the month of April! The Good For Michigan and Local First programs will be shining a light on financial systems during Financial Literacy Month. Join in by sharing these graphics and using #MoveYourMoney #BankLocal and #PeopleFirstEconomy. To download any of these images, right click and save it to your computer. On mobile, tap and hold on the image and save the graphic to your photos.
Don’t forget to tag @goodformi and @localfirstwestmi
Financial Equity is Being Held Hostage
How Local Financial Institutions Put People First
Why Keep Your Money Close to Home
Move Your Money - It's Good For Michigan!

People First Economy Podcast: Move Your Money, Part One
This September we bring to you a two part mini podcast series on People First Economy's Move Your Money Month. In part one, we invited Derek Peebles from the American Independent Business Alliance to talk about the importance of localism and place-based financial systems.

Why we need black-owned banks
NPR's The Indicator from Planet Money takes a look at why the #bankblackmovement and why something like banking actually plays a critical role in America's racial disparities.

Fighting Monopoly power: Banking
Community banks are rapidly disappearing in the shadow of federal banking policies that have spurred consolidation and allowed megabanks to dominate through a business model that is primarily extractive in nature.

FDIC 2020 Community banking study
Since the 2012 study, community banks have proven to be resilient. Relative to noncommunity banks, community banks have had faster growth in return on assets ratios, higher net interest margins, stronger asset quality, and higher loan growth rates. Community banks have continued to demonstrate this strength during the COVID-19 pandemic.

People First Economy Podcast: Move Your Money, Part two
This September we bring to you a two part mini podcast series on People First Economy's Move Your Money Month. In part two, we invited Elissa Sangalli from Northern Initiatives to talk about CDFIs and the work that Northern Initiatives does to make an impact on communities around Michigan and parts of Wisconsin.

Why millions of people are now tapping credit unions for loans
It's not surprising that many Americans have received loans in the past year given record low interest rates, but research shows that credit unions tend to lend more than commercial banks during times of crisis. That's because their mission is to support Main Street, unions and the local communities they serve.
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Learn more about LMCU’s investments on Mighty Deposits
Learn more about Bloom Credit Union’s investments on Mighty Deposits