Written by: Mike Senecal
Edited by: Lillian Guevara-Castro
In a Nutshell: Banks and credit unions are businesses and beating the competition is the name of the game. But that doesn’t quite explain why, in 2019, Wisconsin’s Simplicity Credit Union opened a small branch in rural Neillsville in a little blue house on Division Street — in an area with no credit union within 20 miles. The union has turned out bigger than the sum of its parts. Residents have flocked to the little house with their business in what has become a learning experience on both sides. The Neillsville success manifests Simplicity Credit Union’s focus on education as the foundation of service, earning it our Editor’s Choice™ Award.
It’s hard today to imagine the pervasive optimism of the late 1940s and early 1950s when daily life promised greater prosperity for many Americans.
That was the motivation in 1949 when 13 friends and colleagues gathered in the Saint John’s Church basement in rural Marshfield, Wisconsin, to put $332 in a shoebox and create what became Simplicity Credit Union.
Simplicity was part of a new generation of credit unions built to reach consumers on the outskirts who felt they had just as much justification as anyone to participate in the America of the future.
It worked. Simplicity now manages over $500 million on behalf of 27,000 members in a 17-county area across the middle of Wisconsin.
Growth came organically and through careful mergers. In 2005, the credit union put a mortgage center in Marshfield. Branches in Stevens Point and Plover followed in 2008 with the branch in Plover eventually transitioning into a mortgage center, and another branch in Neenah was added in 2014.
The team leveraged the credit union ethos of people helping people to compete favorably with banks with far greater resources. Competition and innovation energized communities, but the days of a few members pooling resources in a church basement seemed long gone.
The board then decided to try something a little different. In 2019, Simplicity opened a branch in Neillsville, about 30 miles east of Marshfield, in an office with bright blue siding refurbished from a small home. It was the only credit union within 20 miles.
In Neillsville (pop. 2,317), people don’t necessarily think a financial services institution is the best home for their money. But they have responded so positively that, in 2023, the credit union constructed an impressive standalone branch and sold the little blue house to another local business.
As the Simplicity team has introduced many Neillsville residents to financial services through credit unions, it has also, in many ways, returned to its roots. That earns it our Editor’s Choice™ Award.
“The truth is, we’re all trying to do the right thing, and we all sometimes struggle to find our ‘why,'” said Simplicity’s Chief Experience Officer Sarah Arnoldy. “When we got to Neillsville, we really felt like, OK, this is it.”
How a Little Blue House Became a Learning Experience
By roots, we mean the sense of financial purpose only a not-for-profit, member-owned credit union can provide. In 1949, purpose came in the form of a shoebox. In Neillsville, it came in a little blue house.
The credit union and townspeople have partnered to help more residents benefit from financial services. That’s a win for everyone, underscoring the value of maintaining credit union branches in rural communities.
“It just grew and grew and grew,” Arnoldy said. “We know we’re doing something right.”
Team members have introduced many in Neillsville to the advantages of member-owned credit unions. They explain that home equity loans, second mortgages, and other products aren’t out of reach or unrealistic, as they may have seemed, but viable tools for them to use. Even the capability for same-day loan funding has come as a surprise to some.
But good things happen when people help people the credit union way. Members tell family and friends they feel at home at Simplicity, and more keep coming.
Reaching out for heart-to-hearts and teaching the fundamentals has reminded Arnoldy why she got into the financial services business in the first place.
“I’ve been at the credit union for 25 years, competing and building things I hope people will find appealing,” Arnoldy said. “Everyone at Simplicity who has come in contact with the people of Neillsville has come away rejuvenated.”
In giving feedback, Neillsville members credit specific branch employees for getting them to where they are financially. It shows the effectiveness of personal encounters for building productive financial relationships.
The team continued to grow the branch and give members more of what they asked for — including capacity for drive-up banking, which the little blue house lacked.
Then, it was time for change. The credit union sold the little blue house to nurture a new local business. The brand-new Simplicity branch building (with its drive-up window) symbolizes the credit union’s and Neillsville’s mutual success.
“Handing off the little blue house was cool,” Arnold said. “It says, hey, if Simplicity can make it, other businesses might be able to thrive here, too.”
Building Financial Foundations in Schools
The Simplicity website states that the original Saint John’s congregation members of 1949 “weren’t looking for charity, just the chance to borrow a little money, at a fair rate, with the opportunity to pay back what they owed.”
It’s the same in Neillsville. The more familiar people there have become with Simplicity’s capabilities, the more they trust the institution to do the right thing for them.
Arnoldy said it’s because Simplicity prioritizes personal connections across its communities. The belief that financial access starts with education pervades Simplicity’s approach to service.
Financial Education Coordinator Ashley Landwehr maintains a strong network of education stakeholders. That recently led Loyal Middle School in the nearby town of Loyal to ask the credit union to field a school branch there.
Simplicity maintains school programs at Marshfield High School, Stevens Point Area Senior High, and Marshfield’s Nasonville Elementary School in addition to the new program at Loyal.
“Neillsville is what inspired us to say yes to Loyal,” Arnoldy said. “Some things are a big undertaking, but really valuable.”
A credit union branch in a middle school is a big undertaking because the logistics of allocating and managing people and resources on such a small scale argue against it.
But commitment is commitment. The key is having the patience to appreciate the fruits of your labor.
Simplicity started its school branches in the early 2000s when only about a hundred were in the U.S. Arnoldy has seen elementary-age children she interviewed for branch positions grow up and come to the credit union for mortgages.
“That’s the goal, right?” she said. “You just have to stick with it long enough to see it through.”
School branches provide hands-on experience, but financial literacy programs for students of all ages instill the fundamentals. Simplicity has sponsored the Dave Ramsey Foundations in Personal Finance curriculum at Marshfield Alternative High School since 2019.
In contrast to mainstream financial education in schools, the alternative school environment supports a more practical approach aimed at students planning to enter independence and the work world immediately after high school. The program expanded to Neenah High School in 2024.
“We saw a need and have gotten great feedback from the teachers,” Arnoldy said.
Going Where Needed and Meeting Members Where They Are
Arnoldy said the Simplicity CU board got the idea to expand to Neillsville when the credit union discovered a small contingent of area residents visiting the Marshfield branch.
“We discovered our presence there just by doing some preliminary, boots-on-the-ground work, going out to the community, having lunch there, wearing a name tag, and hearing what people were saying,” Arnoldy said.
In the same way, Simplicity strives to spread the message of financial literacy not just in schools but throughout communities. Many Simplicity team members are certified financial counselors. The credit union’s partnership with GreenPath Financial Wellness extends its capabilities.
Simplicity shares monthly results from GreenPath — unique callers, people enrolled in a debt management plan, and the like — with staff so they understand why they’re promoting the service.
“GreenPath is for those situations where we’re giving a ‘not-yet’ answer to a loan request,” Arnoldy said. “We share our work with GreenPath because it helps people and hopefully puts them in a position where we can say yes down the road,” Arnoldy said.
A recent member focus group revealed Simplicity’s financial education commitment as a draw. For example, area parents with school-age children may consider banking with Simplicity if their child attends a school with a Simplicity branch.
Meanwhile, Simplicity continues to explore ways of reaching members and consumers where they are with the information they need to make the best real-time financial decisions.
However, getting information out in the right way at the right time is a challenge because technology has erased delivery constraints.
“You can’t be in the basement at the library expecting people to show up and listen to you,” Arnoldy said. “You’ve got to meet them where they’re at.”
Arnoldy said there’s more passion for Simplicity team members in finding the right home for the credit union’s brand in a place like Neillsville than in that world of competition with bigger banks.
“We feel like we’re living our mission in Neillsville,” Arnoldy said. “It’s helped us rethink our ‘why.'”
