WASHINGTON—Credit union leaders trying to have an impact on policy debates must meet with lawmakers and enlist the help of employees, members and directors, advocacy experts said.
In his role as president and chief executive of the $65 million-asset Northwest Community Credit Union in Morton Grove, Illinois, Jose Garcia explained that his involvement with the Illinois Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and Illinois Credit Union League helps him stay informed about the potential impact that proposed legislation would have on the credit union system and gain access to local and federal lawmakers.
"As we do our job as CEOs of a credit union, you want to contribute to the efforts of ensuring that the environment is the best environment it can be for credit unions. … The more you can engage with your legislators, either through official events, through a credit union league or through community events in your local area, the better," Garcia said in a panel discussion hosted during the Credit Union National Association's Governmental Affairs Conference on Tuesday.
Credit union trade organizations have launched campaigns on a national level for increasing consumer and legislative awareness of the nonprofit alternatives to banks and various nontraditional lenders such as
Examples of such campaigns include CUNA's
Though many credit union leaders are passionate about playing a role in their communities, a large number wonder about how best to get started — and how to effectively use their time, capital and other resources.
Robert Michael, president and CEO of the $2.6 billion-asset All In Credit Union in Daleville, Alabama, highlighted how the involvement in CUNA's MAP program helped reduce the potential workload placed on the institution's marketing department and helped executives educate members and the board of directors on numerous advocacy efforts and political candidates that support the credit union industry.
"I think in this industry, we're humble [and] we're the quiet helpers that make things happen, so it's almost contradictory to us to kind of be a little boastful and get attention to ourselves. … But this is the one time that it's OK to do that," Michael said.
While some organizations begin campaigns through outside assistance, others are developing internal programs as the first step for engaging employees and helping promote political interest and involvement.
At GECU in El Paso, Texas, the credit union established an internal committee of ambassadors as an extension of its development program for young professionals that tasks one representative from each department with distributing informational materials on current legislative issues and other various topics to their peers. In doing so, executives found that staff were more informed about the overall significance of the proposals to the credit union system and how they could get involved in enacting change.
"It's really important to have the leadership team at the top, continuing to have that conversation [on advocacy] as well and encouraging each of the department heads to allow the ambassador to talk during their department huddle or their meetings," said Monica Galindo, director of advocacy and consumer affairs for the $4.2 billion-asset credit union.
As agencies such as the
"Getting your story out in many ways, either face to face, through other organizations and even writing articles in your local newspaper — all of those do a lot," Garcia said.
