06/10/2026
In the early days of the 1980s, a group of local organizers embarked upon a divestment campaign. They went to bank after bank, and credit union after credit union, looking for a partner who would commit to divesting its assets from the racist and oppressive Apartheid regime in South Africa. When not a single financial institution accepted the call, those organizers said to themselves - "Well, I guess we are just going to start our own credit union."
Those organizers became the cofounders of Cooperative Federal, which received its federal credit union charter in February 1982. Since then, economic cooperation, solidarity, and social responsibility have been at the heart of our work. Instead of investing our members' money in corporations that harm our communities (see first comment), we keep it all here in Syracuse—creating homeowners, supporting small businesses, and making sure that all people have a safe, trusted place to access banking services.
Together, we're strong. Come join us! 💜➡️ https://coopfed.org/join
