Celebrating Our 90th Year
From our humble beginnings to becoming a cornerstone of community support and financial services, we continue to write our story.
Founded as the Cedar Rapids Teachers’ Credit Union in 1935
On April 8, 2025, Corda Credit Union celebrates 90 years of serving people who have roots in Iowa.
The credit union was originally founded in 1935 when a group of 11 Cedar Rapids teachers formed a financial cooperative where they each put up $5 of their own money. Named the Cedar Rapids Teachers’ Credit Union, the group lent these deposited funds to their coworkers in a not-for-profit, trustworthy manner.
As the years passed, the credit union’s name was changed several times to reflect the evolving membership. In 1982, we became Linn Area Credit Union and purchased our first building on the SW side of Cedar Rapids. Five years later, we changed to a community charter to allow anyone living or working in Linn County the option of joining.
In the 1990s, we made big strides to serve our growing membership. We built our Blairs Ferry Rd NE branch and continued to make technological investments to better serve our members, including launching our first website and introducing online banking. We expanded our membership in 1999 to include anyone living or working in Linn or surrounding counties.
As a response to the floods of 2008, we founded the Teacher Store to give back to educators in the communities we serve. The nonprofit organization continues today, reinvented as a mobile unit that travels to area schools to fulfill its mission of providing free classroom supplies to K-12 teachers. Corda Credit Union continues to be its primary source of financial support, a nod to our roots and testament to our ongoing commitment to educators, children, and our communities.
In 2014, we expanded our field of membership once again by adding 14 neighboring Eastern Iowa counties to bring the total number of counties we serve to 22.
On May 6, 2024, Linn Area Credit Union became Corda Credit Union. “Corda” is the Latin word for hearts. As a credit union that is proud to serve our state’s families and communities, we keep our heart at the center of who we are — in both our name and our actions. Our excellence in member service and satisfaction was recognized in June when national media company Forbes ranked Corda Credit Union as the fourth best credit union in Iowa.
“For 90 years, Corda has been deeply committed to providing strong financial solutions and community support, with expertise and compassion,” said Paula O’Rourke, President and CEO of Corda Credit Union. “We firmly believe that when our members and our communities thrive, we all thrive — building a future we’re proud of and achieving dreams together.”
Corda Credit Union is slated to open a branch in Johnson County in late 2025. The North Liberty expansion will be Corda Credit Union’s first location outside of Linn County. The credit union currently has three branches in Cedar Rapids and one in Marion.
From our humble beginnings 90 years ago to becoming a cornerstone of community support and financial services today, Corda Credit Union continues to write its story – one of unwavering dedication to our members, our employees, and the broader community we serve.
