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Mapping the River: A Report from 30 Under 30

Filene's 30 under 30 presents research on their product ideas for credit union looking to attract young adults to their organizations.

Executive Summary

Sparks, flashes, and lightbulbs are common metaphors for insight. But insights without effort disappear quickly; they don’t become innovation. Filene’s 30 Under 30 group sees innovation as more than just flashes of insight. Innovation starts small, but it starts somewhere. It begins when ideas and efforts align. Like a river, it grows as other ideas feed into it. It takes time to get to its end. Sometimes it barely moves, and sometimes it roars.

The 30 Under 30 group, a selection of the credit union system’s most talented young professionals, met in Chicago in March 2008. The mandate: to innovate by combining real-world effort with insights from world-class speakers, generating products and programs that will attract young adults to credit unions.

What is the research about?

Ten smaller groups left Chicago, each with the seeds of a project for strengthening credit unions by attracting younger members, younger professionals, or younger volunteers. Following the theme of exploration, each team is named after a major river. Over the next several months, members of the 30 Under 30 group will share their progress with credit union groups nationwide. A final meeting in San Francisco in November 2008 will provide the group a national platform to share polished versions of their proposals with credit union system leaders.

What are the credit union implications?

Some of the insights and implications gathered from the group include:

  • Keeping young adults engaged after high school
  • Retaining young adult employees
  • Serving young adult members
  • Attracting young adult volunteers
  • Advertising strategies

This report is sponsored by PSCU Financial Services.