Our Commitment to Creating a Diverse & Thriving Community

I’m reaching out to all of you with humility and vulnerability. As a credit union, we feel the collective pain of our nation and recognize the long overdue need for each of us to search our hearts and take action to create a diverse and thriving community.

These past few weeks have been heartbreaking. As a white woman in a position of influence, I’ve struggled with what to say and how to say it. How can I possibly understand the pain and struggle black people experience? The answer is - I can’t. But I can listen. I can learn. I can grow. And as a leader at Canopy Credit Union, I can commit to leading our team to implement long-term, lasting change and be a part of the solution that puts an end to racism of any kind.

Canopy Credit Union is and will continue to be, a place for ANYONE who wants to grow their financial possibilities. We are committed to maintaining our efforts towards financial inclusion through our Community Development Financial Institution designation. We pledge to actively look for ways to implement improvements internally with our staff and lending department, and externally with our members and community.

As your credit union we will:

• Acknowledge there is more work we can do immediately and long-term and move forward with integrity.
• Encourage and listen to the ideas and opinions of our minority community members.
• Develop effective practices to promote diversity and inclusion for our employees and members.
• Implement more diversity, equity and inclusion training for our staff by hiring a diversity & inclusion trainer to lead a workshop with our staff and commit to these training sessions every year.
• Provide additional resources for staff to learn and grow. This will include offering a book club focused on diversity, equity and inclusion topics and inviting representatives from local organizations working for racial equity and inclusion to share at our staff meetings. 
• Analyze our products, services, and lending practices and make any necessary changes to ensure we’re providing equal access to all.
• Support more local organizations and programs who are advocating for racial equity and serving underserved populations like Spokane County United Way and the Spokane County Bar Association Free Lawyers Program.
• We will continue looking for local organizations to support who are actively working to end racism in our community.
• Continue to have meaningful, difficult, and necessary conversations to ensure these changes are implemented long term.

At Canopy Credit Union, we strive to be an agent for change. We believe in the financial empowerment of our community, and we will continue serving you in the compassionate and kind manner you deserve.

Thank you for your patience and grace as we undoubtedly will stumble and learn as we go. We will provide you with updates on our progress along the way.

Sincerely, 

President/CEO