A cooperative is a member-owned-and-controlled business that operates for the mutual benefit of its members.

Co-op members benefit from better service, high quality products, cost savings on products and services and from their direct control of the co-op business.

Your credit union – and all credit unions – are cooperatives. More than 7,500 credit unions provide financial services to 94 million U.S. consumers.

Cooperatives operate in every congressional district and across all sectors of the U.S. economy, including agriculture, food distribution and retailing, childcare, purchasing, worker-owned, housing, healthcare, energy and telecommunications.

The International Year of Cooperatives marks the first time the United Nations has awarded a business model an "International Year" designation. To commemorate the event, more than 150 leaders from some of the world's largest cooperatives gathered in New York for the official launch on Oct. 30, 2011.

Cooperatives have a huge impact on social and economic development throughout the world. In our country alone, 29,000+ cooperatives generate 2 million jobs and make a substantial contribution to the U.S. economy with annual sales of $652 billion and possessing assets of $3 trillion, according to the National Cooperative Business Association.

Americans hold over 350 million co-op memberships. Worldwide, approximately 1 billion people are members of cooperatives. The economic activity of the largest 300 cooperatives in the world equals the 10th-largest national economy.

As these figures show, cooperatives are a major economic force in developed countries, and they a powerful business model in developing ones.

Credit unions play a substantial role in the global cooperative movement. In 97 countries, close to 186 million people are members of credit unions. Credit unions are prime examples of how the cooperative spirit transforms individuals and advances communities, the first steps toward building a better world. Cooperatives build a better world by putting people first.

Everything we do at Arsenal is done with our members’ best interests in mind. We are motivated by service rather than by profit. Because of our not-for-profit cooperative structure, we share our net earnings with the people who use our products and services – our members – in the form of better rates and lower/fewer fees. By contrast, banks are in business to make money from their customers to benefit stockholders/outside investors.

We also strengthen our community by educating children and adults about personal money management, holding fund-raisers, participating in drives, and providing local jobs.

We’ve come a long way since being organized in 1948 by eight people. Today, more than 22,000 people do business with us, including 2,081 who have joined during the first ten months of this year alone. We’re happy to serve our members and love them as much as they love us!