With the historic philosophy of “people helping people,” credit unions have existed to help people, not to make a profit. As such, earnings are returned to their members in the form of higher dividends on savings and low rate loans. Volunteer boards of directors, elected by the members, govern credit unions. With each vote, members have a direct impact on the administration of their credit union. A credit union's goal is to serve all of their members. Credit unions are owned by their members not by stockholders. Each member gets one vote and an equal say in how the credit union is run.