Seven Core Principles

There are currently seven co-operative principles that stand behind the philosophy of credit unions world wide. TEUCU embraces those principles and they form the key rationale for our operations.

The principles are:

• Voluntary and open membership
• Democratic member control
• Member economic participation
• Autonomy and independence
• Education, training, and information
• Co-operation among co-operatives
• Concern for community

How They are Applied

Voluntary and Open Membership - TEUCU is open to all persons in the community willing to accept the responsibilities of membership.

Democratic Member Control - Through its elected Board of Directors, TEUCU is an organization controlled by its members. Accountable directly to the membership, TEUCU’s Board actively participate in setting policies and making key strategic decisions to ensure that the best interests of the general membership are always at the forefront. All members have equal voting rights; one member, one vote, to ensure a system of equality and to prevent special and/or controlling interests. We actually care what you think. Not only do you have the right to vote for your representative at the Annual General Meeting (AGM), we ask your opinion through on-line surveys, in branch and event evaluations and one on one interactive sessions. We encourage you to talk to us and we strive to be honest, fair and responsive if things do not go quite the way you expected. Click here for information.

Member Economic Participation - Times have changed and we have adopted a market based pricing philosophy however, the surplus arising from operations (after ensuring appropriate reserve levels are maintained for future viability) are distributed among members in proportion to their participation with the Credit Union, in the form of either patronage refunds or bonuses, community support initiatives or directed to improve or establish additional services required by the members. To see what we’ve done with the surplus lately, click here.

Autonomy and Independence - TEUCU services are intended to improve the economic and social well-being of its members. We focus on the unique needs of our members and our community and set a strategic direction based on this purpose.

Education, Training and Information - We actively promote the education of our members, officers and employees (as well as the public in general) in order to ensure that you not only make the right financial decisions but that you also make wise decisions in other areas of your life to improve your well being. Through our newsletters, on-site ask “The Expert Days” and a bevy of on-line tools,not to mention knowledgeable staff, we want to ensure a viable self-help environment.

Cooperation among Cooperatives - We work with our partners to bring you the economies of scale necessary to improve our competitiveness, quality, pricing and breadth of products and service offerings.

Concern for the Community - We are committed to improving the economic, social and environmental conditions of the communities in which we operate and we have a sincere interest in this cause. Back to Our Imprint.