Red Crown School Debit Card Program

All Public School Debit Cards with the verbiage $24,500 donated in 2023.

Since 2017, Red Crown Credit Union has committed to a handful of Oklahoma public schools. Every time a Red Crown member uses their school debit card, Red Crown donates to the participating school.  

Our Debit Card Program focuses on engaging as many schools in our membership field as possible. Initially, Adair and Salina Public Schools were the first two districts that participated, but Pryor Public Schools followed closely behind. Today, we partner with eight schools, including Adair, Salina, Pryor, Locust Grove, Chouteau-Mazie, Sequoyah, Verdigris, and Claremore. The donation that is made to each school allows them to advance the education they provide to their students.  

In 2023, Red Crown donated $24,500 through the program, with each school receiving a different amount based on their card usage. Overall, Red Crown has donated over $77,000 through this program since 2017.

Over the next five years, we intend to expand the program by increasing our partnerships with more schools in our membership field. There is a significant opportunity for growth for all schools. The more cardholders, the larger the donation back to each school! Our members make this program possible, and we appreciate them for being members of Red Crown.

To get your school’s debit card and be a part of the yearly donation, visit www.redcrown.org/debit-cards

Red Crown Helping Small Businesses

Red Crown was able to help local businesses during COVID-19 with the Oklahoma Relief Fund and the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). These programs provided financial support for businesses that were affected by COVID-19.

The Oklahoma Relief Fund was established with the CARES Act. It helps businesses by giving them cash in the form of a grant, which does not have to be paid back. To qualify your business, you must be located in Oklahoma and be affected by COVID-19. Red Crown was the only credit union in eastern Oklahoma to assist businesses with this grant. We were able to facilitate payout totaling $803,838 to 63 businesses. The businesses ranged from independent contractors to a not-for-profit youth theatre program.

The Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) was originally passed under the CARES Act. It authorizes the Small Business Administration (SBA) to guarantee low-interest loans to eligible small businesses. To qualify for this loan, you need to meet the SBA definition of a small business and be affected by COVID-19. In 2020, Red Crown was able to help 91 new and existing members with PPP loans. The businesses we helped were nail salons, nail techs, independent contractors, truck drivers, and larger employers with less than 100 employees.

The PPP loan is still currently available. You can apply until March 31, 2021. If funds are exhausted sooner than March 31, 2021, the application process will stop. The qualification terms are the same as above.

Below are some commonly asked questions regarding the PPP loan.

Do I need to be an existing member of Red Crown?

No, you do not. If you don’t have an account with us, you will be required to open an account. You can become a member if you live, work, worship, volunteer, or attend school in the Tulsa, Creek, Mayes, Okmulgee, Osage, Pawnee, Rogers, and Wagoner counties of Oklahoma.

How do I apply for a PPP loan?

  • Call us at 918.477.3200 and ask for Misty Wooldridge or Aaron Bertoson. They will provide the application.
  • When you first apply for PPP loans we will need your 2019 1040 Schedule C for self-employed individuals or payroll reports for W2 employees.

How can the money be used?

A PPP loan can be used for payroll expenses, utility expenses, rent or mortgage expenses, and certain COVID-19 related expenses. A business or individual must use at least 60% of the loan amount for payroll expenses and the remainder can be used for other qualified expenses.

Can a business apply for PPP more than once? 

Yes, as long as they meet the initial criteria and experienced a 25% gross revenue reduction between 2019 and 2020.

Red Crown is here to help you throughout this process. If you have any questions about the PPP loan, contact us at 918.477.3200 and ask for Misty Wooldridge and Aaron Bertoson.

 

Apps That Will Help You Keep Your Resolution

Have you made a 2021 New Year’s resolution? Some people have given up on making a resolution, but for others, it is a tradition. According to Forbes, only 8% of people end up keeping their resolution and it is typically because they make their goal too broad. Another reason is that they don’t have accountability.

To help you achieve your goal, we’ve created a list of apps that can help you succeed, no matter what it is! From fitness to being productive, we have an app for you.

Be Healthier 

One resolution that a lot of people make is to get healthier and it usually begins with weight loss. My FitnessPal is one of the best apps to help you achieve your goal of weight loss. It makes counting calories super easy, it has a database of over 11 million types of food, you can scan the barcodes on the food items, import a recipe, and look up nutrition. Another cool feature is that there are blogs on the app that give you recipes. And…. It’s FREE! Some features do involve fees, so watch where you click!

If your goal is getting fit, then the Nike Training App and the Peloton App will help you get there in no time! The Nike Training app gives you free guided workouts from Nike trainers. From 10 minutes to forty minutes to an hour they’ve got something for you. You don’t even need a bike to use the Peloton app. This app offers guided workouts from five minutes to an hour and it’s for any fitness level. They offer strength, yoga, cardio, meditation, running, outdoor audio, and more. The only catch is, it costs $12.99 a month.

Save More Money 

Budgets can be a hard thing to stick to or even make. Mint is a free app that will help keep you on track. All you need to do is plug in some of your bank’s information, set your guidelines, and you’re good to go! Mint brings together your accounts, bills, and what you are spending in one area. Using Mint will help you save more money and spend less.

Be More Productive 

Do you want to get more out of the day? Then the Productive App is for you. This app will help you build a routine by setting a goal, tracking your progress, and sends reminders to you. By using this app, it can analyze your productivity progress. You can break down your productivity by what you are doing daily, weekly, or monthly. Using this app will help you build good habits that are life-changing and it will cost you nothing!

Learn Something New 

If your goal is learning something new, Masterclass is the way to go. It is a streaming platform that you are learning from people who are the best in their field. You can learn how to play tennis from Serena Williams to cooking with Gordon Ramsey. The categories they have are arts, entertainment, home, lifestyle, business, food, music, writing, design, style, sports, gaming, community, government, science, tech, and wellness. Each course contains at least two hours of video. You can watch these videos anytime. The app costs $15 a month, and you can cancel whenever.

Conclusion

Resolutions can be hard to keep. These apps can help you be accountable, focused, motivated, and make sure you are not doing it alone. On top of that, they cost little to nothing and will help you stay on track.

MidAmerica Industrial Park Location

 

This image is of a modern-looking Red Crown Credit Union building. The building will be white with an accent of red, black, and gray. This building will be located in the MidAmerica Industrial Park.

Red Crown Credit Union is proud to be opening a new location in the MidAmerica Industrial Park in Pryor, Oklahoma. Our new branch will be in “The District”, a new development with over 32,000 square feet of retail space.

After ten years of providing financial services as the only credit union in Mayes County, this commitment to the MidAmerica Industrial Park was an easy decision for Red Crown. “We are happy to be presented this opportunity to serve the current and future members of Mayes County,” said Mike Moyer, President/CEO of Red Crown.

“We decided to build a location in the industrial park because there is an opportunity to serve almost 5,000 people that work within the park; as well as serve people in the Locust Grove and Chouteau communities,” said Deanne Waguespack, COO of Red Crown.

This branch will be a full-service location with a lobby and drive thru which will give the community access to savings, checking, and lending products.