1. Register Your CU by Participating in the Baseline Survey
The first step in the process of assessing the impact of REAL Solutions® is to complete the 2010 baseline survey. This measurement tool gathers information about products & services that credit unions are offering to low-income and low-wealth households. In addition, this tool collects information about how your credit union serves consumers under the "REAL Deal" outreach framework.
2. Calculate Your Payday Loan Alternative’s Impact
Credit unions are offering a wide range of products designed to provide a lower cost loan alternative to existing members and to reach non-members in the community who need access to more affordable options.
If your credit union is offering a Payday Loan Alternative, please use our survey tool to quantify the dollars you've saved members and help us track product features and overall impact. Once you enter your product's data, you will receive a summary page entitled "Direct Financial Benefit to Members" that illustrates the total dollars your payday loan alternative has saved borrowers that would have otherwise borrowed from traditional payday lending outlets.
3. Measure the Impact of Your Tax Outreach Services
By providing members with tax preparation software and assistance, VITA sites, and/or refund anticipation loan alternatives, credit unions are reaching out to assist low-income consumers with securing tax refunds and claiming EITC in a cost-efficient manner.
If your credit union provides tax assistance to consumers, please use our survey tool to quantify the dollars you've saved members and help us track outreach initiatives and impact. Upon completion of each section, you will immediately receive summaries of the total dollars your credit union's outreach efforts have saved those that would have otherwise used expensive tax preparation firms.