With so much of our lives speeding past our eyes daily on electronic devices, the value of a truly functional and efficient website has never been greater.

For that reason, Truliant is pleased to announce the launch of a new website designed to genuinely improve the lives of our 190,000 member-owners.

While many of our member-owners are regular visitors to their local MFC offices, the website is a widely used resource – in 2014 the Truliant.org website was visited almost 6.5 million times – an average of more than half a million visits each month.

The new Truliant.org website, which goes live on Tuesday, March 17, 2015, is designed to give you easier access to the life-improving products and services available at your credit union.

Whether you want to check your balance or apply for a loan, see our great rates or find out about how we’re actively engaging your member community, the new site features a responsive design that will adjust to the device you are using. it’s your. Regardless of the device you’re using, be it a desktop computer, laptop, tablet or smart phone, the site will be displayed fully and comfortably with a newly designed format and intuitive navigation.

Among features of the Truliant.org are interactive online calculators and decision-making tools to let member-owners manage their monthly budgets, explore debt consolidation, check on credit card payoffs, view loan amortization schedules and more.

The teams tasked with the development of this new website have worked diligently to create a website that has your best interest at heart and we took the additional step of performing a usability test with a focus group of member-owners. Their feedback was used to improve the website.

We look forward to hearing your feedback.

Truliant helps support our local communities in a variety of ways, such as scholarships for members. We want to make education costs more affordable. More than that, by helping member-owners continue their education, these scholarships are a long-term investment that improves lives.

There are a few changes in the scholarship process this year. We are only accepting applications online. The application deadline ends February 27.

Also this year, eligible applicants must be high school students entering an accredited college, community college or university.

Current scholarship funds and criteria for entry include:

Fred J. Sarda Scholarships: Applicants must be: (1) a member of Truliant Federal Credit Union, and: (2) be accepted to be enrolled as a full-time student in an accredited college or university.

Clyde O. Padgett Scholarship: An applicant must have a parent or guardian who currently works for Truliant or serves on the Board of Directors.

General Fund Scholarships (Needs-Based): Open to members of any credit union in North or South Carolina, applicants must demonstrate a financial need for scholarship funding. These funds are provided by the Carolinas Credit Union Foundation.

Applicants will be evaluated by the Foundation’s Scholarship Selection Committee based on the following criteria:

Demonstrated academic ability: Applicants should provide official school transcripts; a minimum grade point average (GPA) of 3.0 is required to be eligible for scholarship funding.

Demonstrated writing ability: Applicants must submit an essay, no more than 300 words, on this questions: Identify a world issue that has the biggest impact on your generation and how does this issue relate to your educational pursuits?

School activities: Applicants should list all school activities and explain which activity is most important and why.

Community activities: Applicants should list all community activities unrelated to school and explain which activity is most important and why.

We encourage you to tell others about Truliant’s scholarships and to apply if you are eligible!

This message was originally published in the first quarter newsletter Truliant Federal Credit Union sends with member statements. It was written by Todd Hall, Chief Operating Officer of Truliant.

We hope that you remember 2014 as a year in which we truly gave you, our member-owners, greater access to a better banking alternative. Key among the innovations was a newly introduced branch format that shows Truliant adapting to the current and future needs of our members who expect easily navigable solutions that truly make a difference in their lives.

As you enter our new Member Financial Centers, you’re greeted with a smile, a cup of coffee if you like, and assistance getting where you’re headed. One of the first things you’ll notice with our new more member-centric branch design is a contemporary feel to the space. Our new design is about half the size of our other centers, but retains an open airy feel, while maintaining privacy with frosted glass walls separating the offices to enable more in-depth conversations.

As you roam, you’ll notice digital signage showing more than just the great rates we’re offering, such as our community engagement and sponsorship activities. Your branch may be serving as the drop off point for a food drive or offer applications for one of our scholarships or mini grants.

We’ve removed the traditional feel of the teller wall that once acted as a barrier. We wanted to make your visit a more engaging, collaborative and consultative experience with a service representative who has a universal set of financial skills.

This closer, more personal proximity is vital to helping you feel comfortable as you share your needs. It also helps us have a more engaging conversation so that we can better understand your goals to be able to provide you with the right financial solution to improve your life.

A number of our new locations also include freestanding 24-hour drive-up ATMs. Gone are the days of withdrawing more money than you need. Now, you can get the exact bill denominations you want and see them listed on your receipt, or your check deposit image. For added convenience, these new ATMs even let you deposit up to 50 bills without an envelope

Our soon-to-be-launched website is a key in our evolution to the ever changing environment financial institutions face. It incorporates a responsive design that automatically adapts to tablets and smart phones. Calculators and decision tools help you manage monthly budgets, debt consolidation, credit card payoff or loan amortization and more. You can also access reviews and robust content related to Truliant’s convenient products and services that help you achieve your goals.

Member-owners can use their mobile devices to unlock a range of services that formerly ate up time and travel. You can deposit a check with your smartphone through EasyDeposit. Want to pay your part of the rent? Use Popmoney® to send it with a text. Need your account information in a hurry? Get alerts about your account balance through our Tru2Go app. Did we mention that Truliant processes more than 400,000 mobile transactions every month? If you haven’t tried it, go to your app store to download our free Tru2Go app and experience the time-saving convenience.

Further in 2014, we streamlined the more common financial paperwork of applying for a consumer loan with the incorporation of DocuSign. This service allows you to electronically sign binding loan documents and to gather signatures from other parties that you need, using your computer, tablet or smartphone. Security is ensured through customized questions designed to be answerable only by the true signee. Tamper-proof, unalterable, paperless transactions give you the ability to conveniently store your documents electronically.

Now the receipt of your loan funds is no more than an internet connection away. There are no shortcuts to creating lasting relationships. They’re created before, during and after your interactions with our staff. By creating dynamic change in the way we interact, we hope to earn your membership for a lifetime and become your financial partner to help you build a strong financial future.

The ways to interact with us continue to evolve with technology enhancements, but we will always be here to listen, understand and provide guidance as we stay true to our mission of improving your financial life.

Truliant President and CEO Marcus Schaefer wrote this message for our quarterly newsletter released in January.

We all need a predictable partner who has our best interest at heart, today and tomorrow.

It seems that many companies that serve consumers have turned a new leaf as we emerge slowly from the economic crisis. They realize that most consumers now get it. Companies who demonstrate a sincere interest in the well-being of their customers stand a better chance of securing their business than those who use the traditional product push approach.

In short, these companies have tried to hone “caring,” “community” and “engagement” as marketing tactics. I’m sure the individuals on the front lines who actually serve the customer are delighted with this direction. After all, we all live our lives in communities with children, friends, neighbors, and co-workers with whom we genuinely want to be connected.

There are differences between those organizations that have read the consumer “tea leaves” and hope to take advantage of an opportunity, compared to those who have a core value system embedded in their very structure. The opportunistic one may change, but eventually may revert back to their less consumer-friendly practices.

The consumer may also forget the hard lessons of the recession, its causes and the primary culprits who made them vulnerable, once again, to poor choices. A Federal Reserve Governor recently remarked that the consumer has now recovered a “considerable fraction” of their lost wealth because of the recovery of the housing market.

Interesting how those who drove the subprime mortgage debacle, which led to the economic collapse, seem to have recovered more than “fractionally” with the help of the U.S. taxpayer. We’re even starting to see some of those questionable practices return as some financial institutions reach for even greater profits.

Truliant is a member-owned financial cooperative that is driven by our mission to improve our members’ lives. We have never deviated from this course. Others, who actually participated in creating the crisis, may try to reinvent their brand as consumer-friendly innovators to an inattentive consumer, while we work to reinforce our differences in our brand.

When difference in products and service derives from structure (member ownership), history (62 years of member focus) and core values (improving member lives), it will always trump repositioning as a marketing tactic. Our members cannot afford to relearn the lessons of the economic crisis. You can’t continually rebuild after missteps and still reach long-range goals that include your children’s education, a comfortable retirement and helping elderly parents, among others. We all need a predictable partner who has our best interest at heart, today and tomorrow.

As we promote our ability to provide relevant guidance and advice for you to make decisions based on your long-range needs, you’ll likely sense the difference. We may help you reconsider the size of a mortgage obligation or even a car loan in the context of your overall goals. Or, we may help you decide to reposition savings and investments to achieve better or safer results over time.

As you evaluate your personal balance sheet and income statement in the years ahead, we hope you’ll credit some of the good decisions to your partnership with Truliant and our talented staff. There is no confusion on our part about the credit union’s mission, our role and the measure of our success: members who are making progress towards or have reached their financial goals in life.

Let’s be real. Making and keeping New Year’s resolutions is hard. Very hard. Especially since many of us procrastinate when making them until after the year’s biggest eating and spending holiday. It’s not surprising that losing weight is at the top of resolution lists.

On the other hand, some resolution overachievers like Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg do find time to keep theirs, from swapping hoodies for shirts and ties, to learning Mandarin Chinese.

From a financial institution’s perspective, while folk singer Woody Guthrie may have placed “Save Money” at number 22 in his famous list of resolutions, an oft quoted University of Scranton study of resolutions shows most Americans place it at number three.

That study also adds that only about 8% of people are successful in achieving their resolutions.

This New Year, we offer a well-rounded collection of tips for making and keeping your resolutions – plus an extra one for having a fun New Year’s Eve.

1. The American Psychological Association recommends making small, realistic resolutions that focus on replacing unhealthy behaviors one at a time. They add that you should have someone to tell about your resolution, which will make you more committed since you’ve publicly invested yourself in them. But, don’t beat yourself up if you don’t attain it, you’ve got a whole year in front of you.

2. For parents, the American Academy of Pediatrics offers a long list of resolutions for your kids from preschool to high school age that are worth checking out. They range from resolutions to avoid being bitten by keeping your fingers and face away from other children’s mouths, to agreeing not to use a cellphone or send text messages while driving.

3. If you’re an adult, 2015 would be a good year to save more money for retirement, regardless of whether it’s your resolution or not. Earlier this year, a Harris Poll indicated that a third of middle-class Americans don’t have enough to retire on. About 19% of respondents had no retirement savings at all. While respondents expected to need about $250,000, the median savings for retirement was $20,000, down from $25,000 in 2013.

4. Before taking on your resolution, have some fun. If you’re looking for something to do this New Year’s Eve in some of bigger cities where Truliant has a presence, this one’s for you. Here’s a few links for fun things to do in Charlotte, Richmond and the Piedmont Triad on December 31.

5. My own personal tip is that if you’re planning to work out more this year, don’t get discouraged by the crowds at the gym in January. I’ve been a member of the William G. White, Jr. Family YMCA here in Winston-Salem, N.C. for about eight years. The first week of January can be troublesome for finding a machine, or a lane in the pool, because it’s when everyone joins or starts working out again. If you want to start working out in January and you want to avoid the crowds, try working out in the morning. The big January crowd usually slims down by the end of the month.

And finally, here’s a list of the top ten New Year’s resolutions, per the University of Scranton study referenced at the top of this piece. They are, in order: Lose Weight, Get Organized, Spend Less and Save More, Enjoy Life to the Fullest, Stay Fit and Healthy; Learn Something Exciting; Quit Smoking; Help Others in Their Dreams; Fall in Love, and Spend More Time with Family.

My own personal resolution for you, if you haven’t already, is to join a credit union!

Best wishes for a wonderful 2015.

Have you heard what Truliant Federal Credit Union is doing for the ninth holiday season in a row? The credit union is partnering with WXII-12 and the Second Harvest Food Bank of Northwest North Carolina to help “Feed the Need” for families in its 18-county service area this holiday season.

About 160,000 people seek assistance every week from food banks across North Carolina and about 75% of those households had to chose between buying food or heating their homes. A $1 contribution to the Food Bank will provide seven meals for local families! The Triad area has some of the highest level of food insecurity in the nation, but you can help!

Thirteen local Truliant Member Financial Centers (MFC) are serving as locations where you can drop off non-perishable food items or make a financial contribution. Donations will be accepted now through December 17. Your help will make the holiday season brighter for families right here in the Triad. Donate money or non-perishable food items at the following locations below:

Asheboro MFC: Village Market Place, 1055 E. Dixie Drive, Asheboro
Burlington MFC: 2564 Kirkwood Drive, Burlington
Clemmons MFC: Tanglewood Commons Shopping Center, 4100 Clemmons Road
Elon MFC: 1205 University Drive Suite 114,Burlington
Greensboro, Friendly MFC: 6912 Downwind Road, Greensboro
Greensboro, South Elm-Eugene MFC: 2914 Elm-Eugene Street, Greensboro
High Point MFC: 4006 Mendenhall Oaks Parkway, High Point
Kernersville MFC: 500 Pineview Drive, Suite 117, Kernersville
Mebane MFC: 1801 South Hwy 119, Mebane
Winston-Salem, Truliant Way MFC: 3200 Truliant Way, Winston-Salem
Winston-Salem, Whitaker Square MFC: 1985 Peace Haven Road, Winston-Salem
Winston-Salem, North Point MFC: 7780 North Point Boulevard, Winston-Salem
Winston-Salem, Victory MFC: 893 Liberty Street, Winston-Salem