2010: Our 10th Anniversary

Happy 10^th Anniversary! 2010 is the tenth year that the Permaculture Credit Union has been serving its members, putting the values of permaculture to work with your money.

This is a year to both look back and look forward. We are thankful for you, our loyal members, as well as the visionary founders of the Permaculture Credit Union and all the board members and employees who have contributed their time, talents and resources over the years. Our growth has been measured and deliberate as we have learned how to navigate the requirements of a regulated financial institution using the compass of our shared values. Your donations over the years, and the contributions from foundations like RSF Social Finance, have enabled us to serve more members, provide more loans and more services. Donal Kinney, a current board member and founder, has prepared a history of the credit union that describes these developments in more detail. Additional information on the impact of donating is also available.

We have sought to expand the range of services available to our members and explored ways to work with our community partners for greater reach. We have grown from signature and car loans to offer second mortgages, first mortgages, student loans, and a VISA card. Starting as the first values-based credit union in the nation, we have pioneered sustainability discounts, member directed lending with the Santa Fe Farmers Market Institute and generally provided loans that other financial institutions would not, all while protection the funds you have entrusted to us through good economic times and bad.

Looking forward, we are using this important anniversary to recommit to your permaculture values by “Going Way Beyond Sustainability.” We have set twin financial goals for 2010: to achieve profitability from our own operations for the first time ever, and to kickoff a fundraising campaign to expand our capital base that is the key requirement to allow us to more quickly grow our membership, deposits and loans. We are working diligently to achieve both this year. This will allow us to fuel our own growth, moving us from dependence to self-sufficiency as an institution.

Simultaneously, we are seeking a higher profile as an innovator, leader and partner in the environmental and financial communities. By sharing our innovations like those described above with our peers, we expand our impact. Finally, we have recommitted to continually pushing ourselves to more perfectly embody the values of permaculture by developing new loan programs and services, like a bridge loan program to facilitate agricultural conservation easements, and greening our operations through new online banking services.

On May 6, 2010 we celebrated this past and this future with a public event in Santa Fe. Gunter Pauli, Founder of Ecover and noted sustainability author, provided the inspiration. The complete video of Gunter Pauli's presentation has been posted online. A second video covers the rest of the event describing our 10th Anniversary activities, covering the awards to leading members and the children's poster contest is also available. This video provides a nice summary for members who were not able to be present. We thank you for helping us to celebrate!