The owners of a cooperative are called its members. A credit union may only serve its members, which means its members are also its customers. This is different from a bank, whose owners may or may not also be their customers. A bank’s owners are interested only in how profitable the bank is. Because they don’t use the bank’s services they tend not to be interested in whether the bank is serving its customers well.

Being a member of Brooklyn Coop means that you — the people who use the credit union’s services on a daily basis — influence the credit union’s loan and account policies, branch locations, partnerships, and many other governing decisions. Membership means you have a voice. By voting in the Annual Meeting, by running for a seat on the Board of Directors, or by volunteering for the Supervisory Committee, you have the opportunity to determine how Brooklyn Coop serves its customers.

This is why we say that Brooklyn Coop is a grassroots, transparent, and accountable financial institution that prioritizes the financial stability of its members above all.  Join us!

In moving your deposits, also consider moving your loans or other credit balances.  In order for Brooklyn Coop to be successful, it needs to earn enough revenue to pay its bills and to build a reserve cushion so that it can grow. There are three ways to pay our bills: (1) get free money through grants, (2) charge fees, or (3) lend money out and earn interest income. Currently Brooklyn Coop does all three.  We raise several hundred thousand dollars each year to support our lending and account services. Mostly these funds come from the federal or state government; some comes from foundations.  We also charge fees that average about $4.50 per member per month.

Our most critical source of revenue is our loan portfolio, from which we earn about 70% of our income. This is why transferring your credit cards or auto loan or mortgage to Bk Coop is so significant. Moving deposits to the credit union indirectly helps us with #3 because we can use those deposits to create loans.

Among all three options, the most sustainable way to keep the credit union strong is to build a diverse and healthy loan portfolio. Over the past 20 years, Bk Coop Loan Officers have worked with thousands of borrowers in our communities. We have considerable experience in disbursing and servicing loans from $500 credit builders to $3 million commercial mortgages. Our goal is to lend at least 80% of our deposits to immediate and good use.

To Brooklynites that want to invest their dollars into their neighborhoods, and to ensure that those investments are directed towards local economic development, we suggest moving both your deposits and your credit balances to Brooklyn Coop. Ask a Loan Officer how!