Kadince Blog

By Jaidyn Crookston | May 24, 2022 | 7 Minute Read

Creating and maintaining relationships in your community is one of the most important things you can do as a bank or credit union community specialist. Your financial institution probably has a wide variety of formal and informal co...

By Jaidyn Crookston | April 26, 2022 | 8 Minute Read

Traditionally, preparing for a CRA exam has been a long, frustrating process. There’s so much to do, and CRA Officers often don’t have the support they need to do it all. Instead of spending week upon endless week preparing for your...

By Jaidyn Crookston | March 22, 2022 | 7 Minute Read

Are you part of a small CRA team? Many CRA departments are made up of only one or two people, and this makes it difficult to get everything done.    You’ve been charged with meeting the credit needs of your community, which means tr...

By Jaidyn Crookston | February 22, 2022 | 8 Minute Read

As a bank or credit union marketer, you know how important it is to attract potential customers to your website. One of the best ways to get people to your website is by ranking high on Google, but this is much easier said than done...

By Jaidyn Crookston | February 01, 2022 | 6 Minute Read

Imagine how hopeless and afraid you might feel if you had no home, no job, and weren’t able to provide for your family. Half a million Americans live this nightmare every single day, including whole families with nowhere to go.  To...

By Jaidyn Crookston | January 11, 2022 | 14 Minute Read

As a bank or credit union employee, you may be required to volunteer in your community each year. You love your community and want to volunteer, but there are just so many things on your plate right now. You’re busy helping customer...

By Jaidyn Crookston | January 04, 2022 | 9 Minute Read

(Don't forget to download the free PDF, "26 Questions to Ask Yourself When Building Your CRA Plan for the New Year." This list of questions will help you think about your CRA program and build the perfect plan to promote your progra...

By Jaidyn Crookston | December 21, 2021 | 10 Minute Read

Are you preparing for your next CRA exam? If you are, or you will be soon, you’d probably love to get the inside scoop on how an examiner thinks about an exam.  Wouldn’t it be nice if you could sit down with a CRA examiner and pick...

By Jaidyn Crookston | December 14, 2021 | 7 Minute Read

Social media is a great way for your bank or credit union to connect with customers/members, build your brand, and raise awareness for a charitable cause.    While you may be able to raise awareness for a cause, it can be challengin...

By Jaidyn Crookston | December 07, 2021 | 7 Minute Read

Courtney Taylor (Senior VP and Community Development Officer at Veritex Community Bank) loves to be involved in her community. She serves on several bank and community boards, and is even a member of our own Kadince Advisory Board. ...

By Jaidyn Crookston | November 09, 2021 | 8 Minute Read

If you’re a CRA officer or community impact specialist, you’ll likely find yourself presenting to a bank or credit union board at some point to build support—and it’s rarely a comfortable experience. ‌ Board presentations are a lops...

By Jaidyn Crookston | November 02, 2021 | 6 Minute Read

If you struggle to engage bank employees in your CRA program, you aren’t alone. Just like most financial institutions, Seacoast Bank used to find it hard to engage employees and spread the word about their community initiatives.    ...

By Jaidyn Crookston | October 26, 2021 | 7 Minute Read

The information in this article came from our webinar with Linda Ezuka of CRA Today, Sue Kocsis from Pinnacle Bank, and Nick Hammerstad from Banzai.  Why is financial literacy so important?Take a look at these statistics: • Worldw...

By Jaidyn Crookston | October 19, 2021 | 5 Minute Read

The ideas in this article came from a webinar with Sarah Baharin, VP, Fair Lending/CRA Officer at North American Savings Bank, and Zina Stankewsky at PCs for People. You can access the webinar recording here.  Banks and credit unio...

By Jaidyn Crookston | October 05, 2021 | 9 Minute Read

‌Most banks and credit unions have some type of email newsletter. But just having a newsletter isn’t the same as having an effective newsletter strategy.    Newsletters are a great way to connect with your audience and build interes...

By Jaidyn Crookston | September 28, 2021 | 7 Minute Read

Most financial institutions, like Machias Savings Bank, are very involved in their communities. Not only do your coworkers spend hours volunteering, but your institution gives grants, donations, loans, and more to support your commu...

By Jaidyn Crookston | August 03, 2021 | 12 Minute Read

The ideas in this article came from our webinar with Janice DeLima from Norway Savings Bank. You can access the webinar recording here.    Many banks are happy with a Satisfactory CRA rating. In fact, many banks don’t even try to ge...

By Jaidyn Crookston | July 22, 2021 | 6 Minute Read

An estimated 80% of banks underreport their community development loans. This means that 80% of banks are under-representing their CRA lending performance, which puts their CRA ratings at risk.     The lending portion of the CRA exa...

By Jaidyn Crookston | July 20, 2021 | 6 Minute Read

Are you looking for ways to get CRA credit for your financial institution? With so many possible activities and so few details about what counts for CRA credit, it can be difficult to figure out which activities will be the most ben...

By Jaidyn Crookston | June 29, 2021 | 9 Minute Read

One of the most important things your financial institution does is connect with potential customers. Recent research has shown that one of the best ways for a financial institution to connect with potential customers is by building...