People Helping People is a phrase we use regularly to describe how our credit union supports its employees, members, and our local community. As we reflect on what UNCLE has accomplished throughout 2022, it is clear People Helping People was at the top of our priorities when celebrating our 65th year in business and this motto has continued to be our goal for the credit union.

As part of our 65th anniversary celebration, UNCLE Credit Union focused heavily on community involvement and service. Our group of leaders and employees contributed over 900 hours of community service as part of UNCLE’s employee volunteer program. These volunteer opportunities included food packing around the holiday season, bringing cheer to hospice patients, collecting food for shelter animals, and many hours volunteering for a variety of professional groups in our industry. Our team is proud to have contributed this many hours, exceeding the organization’s goal of 650 hours of community giveback.

In addition to volunteered time, the organization contributed more than $150,000 in sponsorships and donations to other local charitable organizations, including the sponsorship of Livermore Valley Arts at the Bankhead. While UNCLE has been a proud season sponsor for going on five years, this new sponsorship included the naming of the Bankhead’s art gallery, the UNCLE Credit Union Art Gallery. This art gallery located inside the Bankhead Theater in downtown Livermore features a lineup of unique art themes that rotate throughout the year. The sponsoring of the art gallery is just one example of how our credit union encourages members and employees to give back to our neighboring communities and support the local economy.

Further community support came in the form of events and educational seminars that were held throughout the year. These events included our yearly Shred Fests and Wealth Management seminars, both of which were offered completely free to current and potential members. During our Fall Shred Fest, we partnered with a corporate e-waste company to host the “Tech for Good” event, which asked community members to donate used laptops which are refurbished and given back to our city’s community members in need. Partnerships like these are how UNCLE Credit Union continues to live by our People Helping People philosophy.

In addition to celebrating our own anniversary, we had the honor of sponsoring and attending the 70th anniversary of the Lawrence Livermore Lab Foundation. It is always with great honor to be included in these milestones with Lawrence Livermore National Lab, as our credit union continues to be the preferred financial institution by most laboratory employees.

UNCLE continued celebrating in big ways in 2022 including receiving the Top Workplace designation from San Francisco Chronicle. This is a highly coveted title that many companies and organizations strive for and will continue to help UNCLE grow as we recruit more talented individuals in this current competitive job market.

Among other awards and accolades received by UNCLE in 2022 included “Best Credit Union in the East Bay” by the East Bay Times, and runner up in four categories for the “Best of San Joaquin” hosted by the Stockton Record. Our “Best in East Bay” title has earned us Hall of Fame status, for a consecutive 5-year sweep for the credit union category. These competitions are voted on by readers of each newspaper outlet, and do not categorize companies by size or employee number, which means we are put up against competitors two-to-three times our size—a great accomplishment in itself!

At the end of December 2022, we achieved assets over $734 million and served over 34,000 members. This remarkable growth rate further reinforces our reputation for providing excellent services to our members.

While we know that 2022 has been a challenging year for many, we want to remind our members, employees, and community that UNCLE’s number one priority is keeping your money in good hands. UNCLE has taken every measure to protect each member’s share as we navigate through high inflation, sophisticated scammers, and a potential recession. In doing so, UNCLE also continues to focus on growth within our organization, which will ultimately help us continue to be stronger and resilient for years to come. We support all our members to the fullest regardless of financial circumstances and will continue to do so as we progress along this path together.

Chung Bothwell, JD, LLM
Chairman, Board of Directors