Helping Members During the Government Shutdown

This week, I joined the Western States Summit Round Table to talk about what we’re planning at CUNA for 2019, including the latest on the Credit Union Awareness Initiative. After three years of building this campaign and a quarter of our $100 million goal pledged by more than 70 participants, we’re ready to take it to consumers. And we couldn’t be launching at a timelier moment.  

Right now, we’re seeing headlines everywhere about the government’s partial shutdown and how it’s impacting furloughed workers and their families. From the beginning, credit unions, leagues and CUNA have been sharing stories with media outlets on how credit unions are stepping up to help furloughed workers pay their bills. This is the credit union difference in action – it’s moments like these that will support our Awareness campaign once it’s off the ground.  

Members of Congress and the media want to know what credit unions are doing during the shutdown. Continue to share your stories by: 

1. Letting community stakeholders, including local press, know if your credit union is helping federal employees during the shutdown.
2. Encouraging your credit union members who are being helped to share their stories on social (videos are especially great!) and send them to press outlets.
3. Keeping CUNA and your League in the loop – there’s a lot we can do to amplify your credit union’s story in the press AND with Congress.

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

CULAC Fundraising Reaches Record-Breaking $5.3 million

I’m excited to announce that we reached a new milestone in CULAC fundraising this 2018 cycle, raising a record-breaking $5.3 million! We saw a 90% return on midterm election investments with 350 races won, ensuring another credit union-friendly Congress. This could not have been accomplished without a phenomenal fundraising year. With the 2020 elections looming, we are already hard at work so we can continue to support our champions in office.

CUNA Calls on Lawmakers to Enact Funding Provisions

Last Congress, House and Senate Appropriations Committees approved three funding provisions favorable to credit unions, but so far none of these have gone into effect. The issues include clarifying website accessibility standards under the Americans with Disabilities Act, expanding opportunities for small businesses or cooperatives to compete for State Department contracts and clarifying aspects of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act. Our letter to the Appropriations Committees urges leaders to enact these bills for the 2019 fiscal year.

Ryan Donovan: 2019 is About Translating Momentum of 2018 Advocacy Wins

Have you read the Ryan Donovan’s, CUNA’s Chief Advocacy Officer, op-ed that he wrote for the Credit Union Times? It’s a great breakdown of our big advocacy wins in 2018. Check out why CUNA/League advocacy matters for credit unions and see our advocacy goals for 2019.

Project Zip Code Reaches 97 Million Members

In the fourth quarter of 2018, Project Zip Code added nearly 750,000 new members as we pushed to prepare for the new 116th Congress. PZC now reaches 97 million credit union members, directly connecting them to their federal and state legislative districts. This grassroots activation will be invaluable as we push for our 2019 advocacy goals. Thank you to all who recently joined and helped in this effort. I encourage everyone to download the latest version and stay up to date!

Defending Our Industry from Attacks

One issue I want to highlight this week is bank attacks on credit union mergers. Banks feel threatened by our industry’s growth and satisfaction rates, and they’re lashing out at us at every opportunity. We need to be consistent and remind all stakeholders about the credit union difference. See my opinion piece on this issue in American Banker.

Thank you for your continued participation in and engagement with the CUNA/League system. As ever, if you have any issues you'd like CUNA to address, I encourage you to give me a call directly at 202-508-6745 or email me at jnussle@cuna.coop.  

All the best,

Jim Nussle

President/CEO