Marking his first full year as CEO of CUNA, Jim Nussle announced a number of key changes that will be welcomed by member credit unions, especially in the wake of the trade group's recent rejection of recommendations made by its restricting task force.
Among the changes Nussle outlined in a letter to CUNA members include a dues reduction for 2016 and new non-voting membership classes for industry stakeholders beyond just credit unions.
Though Nussle's communiqué didn't detail what the dues structure for 2016 will be, saying only that it would be less than dues were for 2015, the reduction is the result of cost-saving efforts the association has been engaged in, including the 1CUNA initiative that led to a number of big executive changes.
"CUNA has been taking steps to streamline its management and operations," Nussle wrote. "So far in 2015 we've saved $1.4 million in expenses from our budget."
The trade association will also create two new non-voting membership classes. "One for professionals and volunteers and one for system partners and vendors," Nussle wrote. "The goal is to encourage greater individual advocacy at all levels of the CUNA/League system."
The new membership classes at CUNA come some months after NAFCU announced a major membership change of its own:
"The question all of us at CUNA—beginning with me—are asking is this: if our goal is for you to be Americans' best financial partner, then how can we at CUNA and the leagues be your best association partner," Nussle wrote. "We're making big changes, with more to come."
That message of change is distinctly different from the message credit union executives got late last week when the CUNA board
The board voted against what were easily the two most important changes the task force recommended—amending the dual membership requirement that a CU must belong to both its respective state league and CUNA and streamlining the 24-member board to 17.
Nussle touched on one of those decisions in his communiqué.
"CUNA/League interdependence: This is the heart of CUNA's value proposition. It is an unmatched credit union advocacy force that delivers results," he wrote. "CUNA and the leagues have committed to a new level of cooperation in our service to credit unions."
He also reiterated the importance of advocacy. While it has long been a primary focus of the trade association, CUNA has made some changes over the last nine months that go well beyond the renaming of its Government Affairs Committees to the Advocacy Committee.
Indeed, during a press conference Monday, Chief Advocacy Officer Ryan Donovan explained that previously CUNA had four different areas of advocacy that were in separate departments: regulatory, legislative, legal and state-level advocacy. Now, all four of those advocacy functions are working more closely together as they are now reporting up to the same person (Donovan).
Additionally, CUNA has created six issue-based advocacy teams that pull from each of those different disciplines. "We recognize that many issues aren't just legislative issues or just regulatory issues," he said. "It's a more holistic approach to advocacy."
In marking his first year with CUNA, Nussle noted that the changes he has proposed and the board has accepted come as a result of a year of listening to credit unions.
"It's been an exciting and busy year. I've been listening and learning from you about what you want from CUNA. I've heard you," he wrote. "As I start my second year at CUNA I'm impressed about how our system works. However, I'm not satisfied; I know there is more we can do."
