Share Newsletter: Spring 2021

1. Partnering to Advance Safe and Affordable Housing
2. Kindred Charitable Fund 2021 Grant Recipients
3. Make Progress Towards Your Investing Plan
4. Get Cyber Safe: March is Fraud Prevention Month 
5. Members receive $1.1 million! 
6. Banking on the go

Partnering to Advance Safe and Affordable  Housing

Celebrating a leader in affordable housing in Waterloo Region, Kindred has made a $250,000 contribution to MennoHomes’ capital campaign, A Place to Call Home, within a new innovative partnership commitment.

Our agreement with MennoHomes includes the significant capital contribution of $250,000, and it expands our partnership to include financial literacy programming and a commitment to explore other innovative ways to inspire peaceful, just, and prosperous communities. In addition, Kindred is financing part of the construction for A Place to Call Home.

With over 6,000 households on the waiting list, the need for affordable housing in the region is great. Kindred’s partnership with MennoHomes underscores the credit union’s ongoing support for this urgent issue and advances access to appropriate, safe, and financially accessible housing in our community. Housing is considered ‘affordable’ when it costs less than 30% of household income, leaving people with sufficient funds for other necessities, such as food, transportation, and clothing. 

A Place to Call Home will make new residential apartments available to community members who are currently struggling to find adequate housing, including newcomer families. Phase 1, with 48 units, is nearly complete.

Kindred is happy to join other local community partners in this project: St. Paul’s Evangelical Lutheran Church, Parents for Community Living, Compass Refugee Centre (formerly MCRS), and Thresholds Homes and Supports.

Visit mennohomes.com/a-place-to-call-home to learn more about MennoHomes.

We’re so pleased to deepen our relationship and begin a new partnership with MennoHomes as they continue to create more affordable housing in Waterloo Region.

Ian Thomas, Kindred Chief Executive Officer

Introducing the Community Inspiration Framework

Kindred has a unique purpose: cooperative banking that connects values and faith with finances inspiring peaceful, just, and prosperous communities. It’s a beautiful promise, and it’s an aspiration that’s meant to be lived out and experienced. So, what does that look like from a practical perspective?

We invite you to listen to a conversation between Ben Janzen and Amy Zavitz from our Values Integration Team as they share some of the spirit and rationale behind Kindred’s Community Inspiration Framework, a guide to how we bring our purpose to life in the communities we serve. Watch the Community Inspiration Framework video here.

See the framework come to life through Maya Morton Ninomiya’s artwork as she captures the conversation through words and images.

The Community Inspiration Framework is just one way Kindred seeks to inspire! Please connect with your local branch if you’d like to discover how you can be part of living out Kindred’s purpose.

Kindred Charitable Fund 2021 Grant Recipients

We’re pleased to introduce the 2021 Kindred Charitable Fund grant recipients. These 16 organizations will receive a total of $81,000 in funding in 2021, to help them in their work to inspire peaceful, just, and prosperous communities.

Since its inception in 1999, the Kindred Charitable Fund has distributed $1.3 million in support of 163 churches and charitable organizations, impacting people and communities across Ontario.

More information about each group and their valuable community-building work is available at kindredcu.com/KCF2021.

Grant Recipients:

Make Progress Towards Your Investing Plan*

While we’ve just passed the annual RRSP deadline, it’s still early in the year and never too late to get your investing plans in order. Where to start? First, we recommend you meet a member of our Financial Planning Team for professional advice. Beyond that, here are five steps you can take to help boost your savings and achieve your goals this year.

Review your budget

Before you set an investing goal, it’s important to be realistic about what you can save. Make an accurate listing of your total monthly income and expenses (including bills and living costs) to assess what you can reasonably commit to saving.

Make your goal specific

Knowing you want to save more is one thing, but research shows you have a better chance of success if you have a specific goal in mind.¹ If you’re saving for a vacation or other major purchase, for example, determine how much you need to put aside each month so that you save enough by your target date. For longer-term needs like retirement or a down payment on a home, set aside money each month as you work towards an annual savings goal.

Schedule contributions

Once you’ve determined how much to save, the next step is to make consistent contributions. There are many ways to do this, but the easiest is to set up a pre-authorized transfer. In conversation with your financial planning team or through online banking, you can set the amount and the frequency, and the funds will transfer to your savings or investing account on the days you choose. 

Track your progress

One study suggests that tracking progress may be just as important as setting the goal in the first place.² Check online banking or your statements monthly and celebrate the growth you see there. Not only is it motivating to see your progress towards accomplishing your goal, tracking also helps you make adjustments if necessary. 

Maximize your savings

Once you’ve built up some savings, consider putting your money to work. If you’ll need access to the money within a few years, a GIC or high-interest savings account will earn interest without exposing you to market risk. For medium- and longer-term goals, you can seek higher returns by investing a portion of your savings in equities. You should speak to a member of your Financial Planning Team to help you make these types of decisions.  

Following these easy steps can help you commit to your savings goals and improve your financial well-being. Once your plan is in place, you may be surprised at how quickly your habits change and your dollars add up.

Adapted from “Five easy steps to help you achieve your savings resolution,” published by Qtrade Investor.

¹ Houston, Elaine. “What is goal setting and how to do it well.” www.positivepsychology.com. Nov 20, 2019.  https://positivepsychology.com/goal-setting/

² Hirsch, Wendy. “Goal Monitoring: Why it pays to keep your eye on the prize.” www.scienceforwork.com. June 5, 2017. https://scienceforwork.com/blog/goal-monitoring/

* The information contained in this article was obtained from sources believed to be reliable; however, we cannot guarantee that it is accurate or complete. This article is provided as a general source of information and should not be considered personal investment advice or a solicitation to buy or sell any mutual funds and other securities.

Get Cyber Safe: March is Fraud Prevention Month 

In today’s world where everything seems to be connected by the internet, your devices are vital tools and your email address can be the key to your online security. 

When your email is hacked, it’s more than just spam messages to your contact list. Your email address makes up half of the security credentials for most of the sites you access online. So, if you become aware that your email has been compromised, you need to act! 

• Ask a professional to check your device for malware; ensure antivirus software is up-to-date; and, back up your data. 
• Change your email password to a new, strong password. 
• Change passwords on all online accounts with sensitive information. 

Anyone can become a victim of cyber fraud. The two best defences against criminal acts are education and awareness—and that means you need to act so that you can protect yourself. 

SET UP AUTODEPOSIT THROUGH KINDRED’S ONLINE BANKING TO AVOID E-TRANSFER FRAUD. REGISTER TODAY! 

Visit getgetcybersafe.gc.ca for lots of simple ideas for protecting yourself online. 

Want to learn more?
Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre: 1.888.495.8501 | antifraudcentre.ca 
Competition Bureau of Canada: 1.800.348.5358 | competitionbureau.gc.ca 
Public Safety Canada: publicsafety.gc.ca 

Treat yourself and help your community! 

Whether it’s buying yourself a gift from the family shop down the street, ordering your groceries online, or getting takeout from a local restaurant, you can treat yourself and help your community! 

Kindred’s suite of Business and Personal Mastercard® credit cards makes it safe and easy to purchase online or in-store for your essential needs. From Tap & Go®, AutoPay, and Zero Liability fraud and purchase protection, to rewards and cash-back, choose the card the suits you best. 

Members receive $1.1 million! 

Kindred has made Profit Shares payments to members totalling $1,120,000 of our 2020 earnings! That means we’ve shared more than $11 million with our members over the last 10 years. 

At Kindred, we believe in giving back to our members and the communities in which we live and work through Profit Shares. The amount we give each year is calculated based on members’ annual deposit and loan business. All members receive a minimum of $5 in Profit Shares annually. 

Details of your Profit Shares can be found on your February account statement. 

Banking on the go 

Have you always wondered what it’s like to bank on your phone or tablet? Now is a great time to try it out! 

We recently launched the new Kindred Credit Union App, offering a faster, more secure mobile banking experience for personal members. Our new app offers increased speed and stability, giving you fast and reliable services wherever you choose to do your banking. Plus, it reflects the latest accessibility standards, making mobile banking easier for all our members. 

Ready to give mobile banking a try? Use your mobile device to visit kindredcu.com/mobile-app for more details. There you’ll find links to the Apple App Store and Google Play store. Just click to download the new Kindred Credit Union App, sign in with your Access Card number, and start banking on the go! 

Kindred’s Member Contact Centre representatives are also happy to help! Send an email to info@kindredcu.com or call 1.888.672.6728, from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday to Friday. 

Kindred continues to expand our digital banking options, so more Ontarians can experience banking with purpose wherever they’re at!