Living Their Values

When Sunny and Sam McDaniel moved from Chicago to Madison in 2015, they also moved their personal finances from a bank to the credit union. They prioritized working with a local financial institution. 

“We wanted to escape that feeling of anonymity to feel more like a member,” says Sunny. “We're walking the walk by supporting businesses that contribute to our local economy and keep the roads paved and the library bookshelves stocked.”  

It’s the little things they’ve appreciated over the years, from how easy it was to become members to the perks they find especially useful as small business owners. Having access to bilingual tellers, notary services, free coin machines – a luxury compared to the fee-based ones they encountered in Chicago – and free EatStreet delivery all make day-to-day life that much easier.   

In moving their auto loan from their previous financial to the credit union, they valued the payment protection offered with it. “The option to add on life insurance as part of the loan was really an amenity for me because life insurance has not often been a component of my job,” says Sam, who has worked in the restaurant and hospitality industry for most of his career. 

The McDaniels also find the strong branch and ATM presence around Madison to be very helpful – they loved the convenience of walking from their daughter’s preschool to the nearest branch to set up their HELOC. 

“Having always worked in in customer-facing roles,” says Sam, “the little pieces of the member experience have been the most impressive.” 

First referred by friends to UW Credit Union, now the McDaniels refer everyone they know – including their employees. More than half of their workforce at Fortune Favors, a Madison-based nut company the McDaniels co-own in partnership with three families, are UW Credit Union members.  

“We talk to our team here a lot about this: to really, really think more critically about your banking relationship and what you are trying to get from it. The experience at UW Credit Union is more like a partnership with very clear opportunities to make things better for yourself,” says Sam. 

Sunny adds that determining where your paycheck goes and how your money grows, and how that all affects your community, is part of living your values.  

“You’re voting with your dollars, right? What percent of every dollar stays in the local economy when you work with a small business financial versus a multinational or bigger bank? How can that help live out your values and create the kind of community that you want?”

Founded in 1931 on the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus by people passionate about helping people, UW Credit Union is a trusted, steady and strong financial institution committed to serving members and the communities where they live.