A vision is the plan for the future, a declaration of what is being sought through wisdom and purpose. Each of our 28,000 members hold a vision – whether verbalized or held in their heart – and our vision at GreenStone is to be their partner through it all…to be rural America's first choice for financial services.
This report provides an annual opportunity to highlight our steps toward that commitment, and while there’s plenty to commend our members and teammates for over the last 365 days, our vision remains and propels us forward with a solid foundation rooted in members, teammates and financial vigor to continue building onward.
A strong 2023 was possible as a result of those deep roots; it was another important year to not only celebrate being your first choice, but our efforts to continue to be here for years to come. GreenStone ended with $285.0 million in net income for 2023, just above 2022’s record of $284.6 million. This is the result of new members choosing GreenStone as their financial services provider and joining with existing members who choose to continue to work with GreenStone, all together producing owned and managed loan growth of nearly 8% next to a solid, profitable year for both crop insurance and tax and accounting services. That growth comes alongside equally important strong credit quality and operating efficiency rates.
While you could consider these numbers important all on their own – because they are outstanding – they are only a part of what makes this cooperative your first choice.
These results are what provide the ability of your cooperative to continue to deliver back to you patronage matching last year’s record! $120 million of that profit, just over 40%, is put right back in our members' hands through our Patronage program. It is a significant benefit of choosing GreenStone as your first choice, but it’s only one reason our members feel extremely satisfied with their cooperative - 96% satisfaction to be exact. As highlighted in the coming pages from just a few member representatives, the reason for that satisfaction is different for everyone. In the end, we believe our culture of people first is what not only drives people to GreenStone, but more importantly, what provides that superior experience and makes them want to continue to choose GreenStone as their first choice partner.
The people in that culture aren’t just our customers; we have always believed that to be our customer’s first choice, we first need to be our employees’ first choice. We strive to provide a culture of inclusion and engagement, along with the support and challenge in a career backed with recognition and compensation. Just as the needs and desires of our members evolve, the way we preserve and mature that culture to motivate and accommodate our employees must adapt as well. For some, GreenStone had always been their vision for first choice employment, for others, it’s been a welcomed surprise, and with an employee engagement score that rivals the 90th percentile of all companies, it’s an important aspect we credit for helping make your cooperative special.
Our employees aren’t just important partners to our members. They bring important contributions to the hundreds of communities and organizations around us that positively impact our members. Focused on pillars of education and support for youth, members, and the communities where both our members and employees live, thousands of hours and dollars combine to be a first choice resource for farmers and consumers alike. We began 2023 with the same vigor to achieving our vision as we hold onto today. Our commitment to you is to remain steadfast on our values and mission, all aligned to keep growing in our vision of being rural America's first choice – your first choice – for financial services! Thank you for your partnership!
Best wishes for the remainder of 2024,
Edward L. Reed Travis D. Jones
Chair of the Board Chief Executive Officer
This article was originally published in GreenStone's 2023 annual report. You can view the annual report in its entirety here.
