On July 12, 1972, seven educators created a “collaborative effort of the five area schools served by the North Franklin BOCES to provide a savings plan for all employees.” This effort became North Franklin Teachers’ Federal Credit Union with the vision of ‘Not for profit, not for charity, but for service.’ Initially, one needed to be a school employee or family member of a school employee to become a member. In 1976, we were awarded the Thirst Honor Award from the National Credit Union Association (NCUA) for our success in stimulating savings among small savers.
We expanded our Charter in 1983 to allow a more diverse Membership and became North Franklin Federal Credit Union. That same year we established our first stand-alone office on Washington Street in Malone, NY and hired our first paid employee as the Manager/Treasurer of the Credit Union. Two years later, we hired our first Teller as we reached one million in assets. Our Membership grew to 1,000 in 1986 and we hired our second teller to better assist our growing Membership. In 1988, we temporarily moved across the street to the Post Office to construct a larger space for our growing Membership.
In 1989, we hired our first Loan Officer to provide superior service to our Members. The next year we moved into our completed office at 8 Washington Street. With our Membership continuing to grow, we purchased the adjacent property on Main Street to construct a larger home base. In 2000, we finished construction on the larger building. In 2020, we broke ground to expand our building and became one of the leading credit unions of our asset size and expanded our Charter to allow more North Country residents to join our financial family.
In 2021, we became TruNorthern to reflect our dedication to the northernmost counties in New York. From our beginning in 1972, we have been driven to provide financial services at the best economical rates and in the most convenient manner for our Members. It has been our mission to deliver quality service by providing support through a variety of products and services while remaining fiscally responsible and supportive of our local, hometown community.
TruNorthern Federal Credit Union serves 5,100+ members with assets over $80 million and is open to those who live, work, worship, or attend school in St. Lawrence, Franklin, Clinton, and Essex counties in Northern New York State.
