Case Study: Excite Credit Union Sammy Rabbit Collaboration

Excerpt from Financial Advisor Magazine

John Hogan, Vice President of Community Relations at Excite Credit Union, has worked to give out more than a thousand Sammy Rabbit books in Santa Clara County, CA and North Carolina, where the credit union is based.

“The goal is to get kids and families saving, building assets, financial security and independence,” Hogan said.

“We distributed over 1,700 Sammy Rabbit books to grades 1, 2 and 3 throughout Santa Clara County. One of our staff members, Aleta Smith, who recently joined our team as a Community Relations Specialist, was able to personally read the books in classrooms. Aleta grew up in foster care and managed to complete college with little debt, using her own financial literacy skills,” according to Hogan who said the credit union has already gotten requests for Sammy books in Spanish and Vietnamese.

“We love the fun and engaging nature that the Sammy Rabbit books bring to the program,” said Hogan, who works with a number of community programs to launch savings programs to help lower-income families.

Background
The collaboration is built around Excite Credit Union’s new and innovative Step Up Savings program. The purpose of the program is to give everyone the chance to build a financially stronger future, so together we can build a stronger community.

The program was launched November 1, 2019. It is offered to families connected to non-profits and low income schools in two of Excite’s market areas: Silicon Valley and North Carolina.

Excite deposits the first $50 to open a child’s savings account and then we match family deposits up to $25 per year. We also make deposits of $25 on the child’s 5th, 10th, 15th and 18th birthday. The account also pays high interest. The combination of these factors makes it a great savings vehicle for education for children.

Excite is distributing Sammy Rabbit books to children as part of the program via schools, non-profits and their branches. According to Excite VP for Community Relations, John Hogan, the combination of the fun books to build great habits and Excite’s contributions to kick-off and support those habits is a powerful incentive for families to start savings accounts for their children’s education.

The Step Up Savings program is off to a great start and has earned print and television coverage in English and Spanish.

San Jose Spotlight reports on Step Up Savings Strategy
San Jose credit union launches program to help low-income students save for college.

A unique partnership between a local credit union and a slew of East Side school districts could help low-income students in Silicon Valley do something many have only dreamed of — save up for college.

Excite Credit Union Chief Executive Officer Brian Dorcy this month announced the Step Up Savings Program, a partnership between the credit union and the East Side Alliance, a group of eight East San Jose school districts, that allows children to begin saving money for higher education by making an initial investment and then matching those funds. READ MORE

Telemundo 48 reports on Step Up Savings Strategy

Integrating Sammy into Excite CU Campaigns, Projects, Events

Excite Credit Union

Sponsors 1st National Dream Big Read
Gifts Sammy Resources to Community Partners as part of its STEP UP financial literacy strategy
Gives Sammy and Santa’s Advice Holiday Resources to kids and families in San Jose, California and Wilmington, North Carolina

Additional Media and Awareness
Media