Our History

1953 - Our Beginnings - Eight members signed the federal charter to start the Rochester Ukrainian Federal Credit Union. On July 19, 1953 twenty others attended the first member meeting in the Ukrainian Civic Center, 831 Joseph Ave. Rochester, NY. RUFCU was initially organized to serve members of the Ukrainian National Association (UNA) and the Ukrainian Fraternal Association (UFA).

1955 - The credit union had 200 members, $27,000 in savings accounts and had extended $23,000 in loans. A quarterly newsletter called the Credit Union Bulletin was born to aid in communicating with the membership.

1963 - The credit union celebrated its 10th Anniversary with a membership of 1,100 and $800,000 in assets.

1970 - The Credit Union Bulletin went through a transformation in its format and content and its name was changed to the Credit Union Opinion.

1987 - Our New Home - A major milestone was achieved when the Rochester Ukrainian FCU leadership purchased and remodeled a former health spa facility at 824 Ridge Road East in Irondequoit, NY to serve as the credit union's new facility.

1989 - The Rochester Ukrainian Federal Credit Union began publishing a informational newsletter called the RUFCU News as an additional way of keeping members informed about credit union services and special offers.

1998 - The credit union celebrated its 45th anniversary with almost 6,000 members, and assets exceeding $58 million.

2000 - The Rochester Ukrainian Federal Credit Union joined the Rochester Ukrainian-American community in celebrating 100 years of the first arrival of Ukrainian immigrants to the area.

2001- The Capital District branch of the Rochester Ukrainian Federal Credit Union officially opened its doors at 1828 Third Avenue in Watervliet, New York on May 12, 2001.

2003 - Our New Name - As the Rochester Ukrainian FCU grew and expanded its services to other geographic locations coast-to-coast to include branches in Albany, NY and Sacramento, CA and the pending merger with Selfreliance Syracuse FCU, the credit union leadership determined that the new name "Ukrainian Federal Credit Union" would better reflect the national scope of the multi-branch credit union. That same year the credit union celebrated 50 years of service to its members.

2004 - A merger between the Ukrainian Self Reliance Syracuse Federal Credit Union and the Ukrainian Federal Credit Union added over 1900 members and over $16,900,000 in assets.

2005 - The Ukrainian Fraternal FCU in Boston, Massachusetts merged with UFCU as of March 1, 2005. Ukrainian FCU assets exceeded $120 million with membership of 15,000 members.

The Credit Union Opinion quarterly magazine celebrated 50 years of keeping the membership informed and entertained while promoting credit union services, benefits and community news. The Credit Union Opinion started with a circulation of 200 and now reaches almost 15,000.

The success of UFCU continues to be dependent upon serving, unifying and nurturing democratic principles and supporting the cooperative philosophy still present today with people helping people while providing prosperity for generations.

Rochester Ukrainian Board of Directors and Volunteers 1973

The credit union difference began in the 1840s in Germany. Organized by Herman Schulze-Delitzsch and Friedrich Raiffeisen after crop failure and famine had devastated their community, the first “people’s bank” was created to provide credit to farmers. Their early principals of cooperative interdependence, a community-first mentality and a volunteer management structure are still in place today.
      Over the years, credit unions spread to communities around the world. In the early 1900s Alphonse and Dorimene Desjardins started a credit union (caisse populaire) in Lévis, Quebec, Canada. Shortly afterward, Alphonse, along with Americans Edward A. Filene and Roy F. Bergengren, helped establish credit unions in the United States.

As time passed, a desire emerged to establish an annual occasion to acknowledge both the important role credit unions played in creating opportunities for their members and communities and the achievements of the pioneers who laid the foundation for ongoing credit union success.
      On January 17, 1927, the Credit Union League of Massachusetts celebrated the first official holiday for credit union members and workers. January 17 was chosen because it was the birthday of America’s “Apostle of Thrift,” Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790), who early credit union founders believed symbolized “the life and teaching embodied in the spirit and purpose of credit unions.”
      In 1948, the U.S. Credit Union National Association (CUNA) decided to initiate a new national Credit Union Day celebration. CUNA and CUNA Mutual Insurance Society set aside the third Thursday of October as the national day of observance. By then, many more of America’s credit union leaders believed there was a need for an occasion that would bring people together to reflect upon their credit unions’ history and achievements and to promote the credit union idea across the country.       Today, CUNA, with its network of affiliated state credit union leagues serves 90 percent of over 8,000 credit unions in America, which are owned by nearly 90 million consumer members. For more information, visit www.cuna.org.

During the 1950s, CUNA’s World Extension Department provided technical assistance and philosophical guidance for credit union development around the world. By 1964 so many countries had established credit union movements that CUNA’s mission was formally expanded, and CUNA International was launched.
      Each year, new movements joined the credit union family and an increasing number of people were interested in celebrating their uniqueness and unity with a special holiday that could be enjoyed by everyone, regardless of religion, political beliefs, cultural differences or language. By 1971, substantial worldwide credit union progress led to the creation of World Council of Credit Unions, Inc. (WOCCU) to assist others in establishing and maintaining viable credit union movements in countries across the globe. In Canada, Australia, Latin America, the Caribbean, Africa, Asia, New Zealand, Great Britain and the South Pacific, national and regional credit union federations and confederations were established to support and endorse credit union development. To aid in the process, WOCCU created the first “International Credit Union Day” materials that were used around the world.
      World Council of Credit Unions (WOCCU) became the leading advocate and trade association and development agency for credit unions worldwide. It continues to promote sustainable growth of credit unions and financial cooperatives across the globe. As instruments of economic and social development, credit unions have been able to empower people around the world to grow through access to high quality and affordable financial services.
      Today, there are 46,377 credit unions in 97 countries. Together, they are making a difference in the lives of 172 million members.

In 1993, operating under its vision of “Quality Credit Unions for Everyone”, WOCCU with USAID grants and support from Ukrainian National Credit Union Association credit unions in the USA worked together to re-introduce, develop and promote credit unions in newly-independent Ukraine. The Council of Ukrainian Credit Unions of Canada (CUCUC) together with the Canadian International Development Agency also funded programs for credit union development.
      Today, Ukrainian credit unions serve almost two million members organized in over 700 credit unions nationwide. They continue to work with WOCCU, and individual credit unions and associations in Canada and the US on various training programs to help advance the principles of economic democracy and mutual self-help.

To promote, sustain and strengthen the credit union for future generations around the world, WOCCU holds an annual international conference to bring together credit union volunteers, professionals and renowned international leaders to celebrate successes, review challenges, discuss innovative ideas and practical strategies.
      Calgary, Canada hosted the 2007 conference on July 29, attended by over 2,500 delegates from over 60 countries. Leaders from around the world shared experiences and developed connections. The agenda focused on: effective credit union models, building strong credit union associations, serving the underserved, effective volunteer and professional leadership, small business and agricultural lending, reaching the youth market and general membership growth. Representing Ukrainian FCU were Chairman Wasyl Kornylo and Tamara Denysenko, CEO. Attending the event were Canadian-Ukrainian credit union officials including Olha Zawerucha, President, Council of Ukrainian Credit Unions of Canada and Dr. Andriy Olenchyk, Commissioner-Director of the Department of the State Commission for Regulation of Financial Services markets of Ukraine.