The National Association of Credit Union Service Organizations (NACUSO) announced the recipient of its annual Collaboration & Innovation Award at this year’s Annual Conference. Xtend, Inc. a multi-owned cooperative CUSO based in Grand Rapids, Michigan, was given the award in Recognition of Excellence and Innovation in use of the Collaborative Model to deliver critical services to credit unions and their members. By offering an accessible, scalable model that provides measurable value to participating credit unions through both back-office and member-facing services, as well as their openness to help others in the industry to implement a similar business model, Xtend exemplifies the cooperative spirit the industry is built upon.
Scott Collins, President of Xtend, accepted the award at the 2011 NACUSO Annual Conference in Las Vegas on April 27th, stating “We are honored to receive this prestigious award from NACUSO. I think our CUSO’s success is living proof of how strong the collaborative business model is, what credit unions can create when they work together, and that no task is too small for us to handle for one of our customers.” Since coming on board as President a few months after the CUSO formed in late 2002, Collins has built Xtend (a multi-owned CUSO) into a very successful credit union partner providing support to help credit unions become more successful. Whether it is facilitating a multi-state shared branch network or a call center, Xtend helps credit unions of all sizes realize how scale and shared resources through strategic partner relationships can be leveraged to gain access to new markets and improve member service capabilities.
“Xtend truly demonstrates the type of thought leadership and value creation we wanted to showcase through this award,” said Jack Antonini, CEO of NACUSO. “Not only are they growing by serving more credit unions, they are constantly searching for new ways to deliver value and help credit unions increase their competitive advantage through strategic products, services and partnerships.”
Nominations for this award were judged based upon criteria that exemplify how the organization and collaborative model brought value to the firm’s owners, industry and credit union members. Past recipients of this award include Ongoing Operations, Credit Union Student Choice, TMG Financial Services, CU*Answers, Member Business Lending, and CU Direct Connect.
To read more about the 2011 CUSO Collaboration Award or about NACUSO’s approach to facilitating growth in the credit union industry through the use of innovation integrated with collaboration and the cooperative business model, access https://www.nacuso.org