Our Story

We sat down some of our amazing Simplicity Teammates and asked them to tell us what they love about their job, their community, and other things that make them happy.

If you’ve already heard the story about how we started with 13 original members and a shoebox in the basement of Saint John’s Church, you’re not alone. It’s something we bring up a lot. It paints a picture of a simpler time, doesn’t it? When the first $332 those original members held in the shoebox could make a real difference in other people’s lives. But it’s so much more than a charming reminder of the good old days. It’s the origin story of a team of Credit Union believers that, with the endless support of their communities, has a history of doing the right thing, even when it’s not the easy thing.

Those first 13 members not only conquered the regulatory challenges, collected those first deposits, and established Simplicity CU, they made a statement that helping was the right thing to do. Our origin story really starts with families in the Saint John’s congregation that weren’t looking for charity, just the chance to borrow a little money at a fair rate and the opportunity to pay back what they owed. In other words, they wanted something a lot of us take for granted. With friends and neighbors who were willing to do the work in 1949, our original membership blazed the path we follow today.

Do the work, even when it’s tough, because it’s worth it. 

Simplicity CU is today, as we were from the start, an innovative, people-centered financial living out our mission to make the complex simple. We now serve nearly 27 thousand members in Central Wisconsin and beyond through seven locations, including three school branches and a dedicated mortgage team.

As our business moves ahead, our team continues to grow and learn. Simplicity CU is represented by some of the best and brightest current and future leaders in our industry. It’s a team that perpetuates the spirit of our founders in everything they do.

What is a Cooperative?

It is a business model structured around seven principles deeply rooted in democracy, economic participation, and sustainable growth of both the business and the community in which it serves. Cooperatives are owned by and operated for the benefit of the people at the heart of each organization, not outside investors.

The cooperative business model is diverse and dynamic in its application in almost all sectors of the world’s economy. Some cooperatives are businesses owned by their customers or their employees, and can be larger companies owned by a group of farmers or independent business owners coming together to scale their operations to compete in a growing marketplace.

When you join Simplicity Credit Union, you become a member-owner of your local financial cooperative.  You have an equal voice. You benefit from lower fees and loan rates. And you can rest easy knowing we're doing our best to make your community a better place.  Because your community is our community.

These are the principles that guide cooperatives everywhere.

• Cooperation. Together Everyone Achieves More.
• Leadership. Drawn to the untraveled path.
• Integrity. Doing the right thing, even when no one is watching.
• Creativity. Dreaming things that never were.
• Dependability. 100%/0  (100% responsibility / 0 excuses)