Lending outside the box

For the Nusenda Credit Union Foundation, good is never enough.

The foundation, which serves as the philanthropic arm of the $2.3 billion-asset Nusenda Credit Union in Albuquerque, N.M., supports a number of causes, such as the Ronald McDonald House Charities of New Mexico, New Mexico Legal Aid and the New Mexico Tech Performing Arts Series.

It also has a number of partner programs, such as Co-op Capital, a microlending program for businesses that is based on evaluating the borrower’s character. The organization works with La Montañita Food Co-op and W.K. Kellogg Foundation, among others, through the program.

All of this contributed to the foundation being selected for the 2019 Herb Wegner Memorial Outstanding Organization Award by the National Credit Union Foundation. Two industry executives will also be receiving the award. The organization will be recognized on Monday during the Credit Union National Association’s Governmental Affairs Conference in Washington, D.C.

Robin Brule is chief community engagement officer, Nusenda CU

“What Nusenda Credit Union Foundation has accomplished with their Co-op Capital Program is an excellent template and prototype for duplication and scale throughout the credit union movement,” John Gregoire, chair of the foundation’s Wegner Awards selection committee and president of the ProCon Group, said in a press release. “Their targets and successes hit right at the heart of those consumers for who credit unions were organized to serve.”

Despite this success, Nusenda Credit Union Foundation is always looking to improve, said Robin Brulé, chief community engagement officer of Nusenda Credit Union and executive director of the foundation.

“We are constantly refining existing resources we provide and examining new philanthropic resources so we can be the best community partner possible,” Brulé said.

The following is an edited Q&A with Brulé.

CUJ: How has the Nusenda foundation changed over time?
Brulé: We realized in 2014 that we wanted to place under one umbrella the causes we’ve rallied around for decades and to formalize our processes so that our community investments in fellow New Mexicans could grow and thrive. … We focus a lot on the mutual leveraging of resources, and we do it in a non-traditional way with our partners. We work on securing grants that aren’t just for us and aren’t just focused on our work, but the innovative work that our partners are doing in New Mexico. We look at the collaborations we have and champion them by growing resources and other forms of support on a holistic, comprehensive level. We find that by thinking and acting in this way, these strategic collaborations reap higher benefits than if we all worked alone.

CUJ: What’s the biggest challenge facing foundations?
Brulé: The big challenge is staying on top of what’s really happening. Solutions don’t come overnight, so we need to stay mindful of how community needs are constantly fluctuating and work on our flexibility in addressing those needs as gaps in service occur. At the same time, we must remain aware of new ideas and innovative thinking, and allocate resources to new solutions that can make the greatest impact in our communities.

CUJ: Do efforts at the foundation level have an impact on membership and loan growth initiatives? How do you measure the foundation’s success?
Brulé: I think we measure the foundation’s success on the success of our partners and the outcomes of our programs. We measure success in different ways, however, because our partners work in unique ways to meet needs and foster change, so the “measurable” are different based on the initiative that’s in place.

Impacting credit union growth initiatives isn’t really our main goal – it may happen because people are more aware of the work we do, the innovative ways we’re doing it or the different things we’ve done. It is about doing well as a financial institution, so we can do well in the communities we serve. … We also focus on causes that our members have indicated are important to them, like education, the arts, the environment, and healthcare. Having those specific directives not only helps point us in the right direction, it garners support from our membership since we work specifically on the changes they wish to see in their communities.

CUJ: Why do you think some of your initiatives, such as the Co-op Capital Program, have been successful?
Brulé: They are successful because we didn’t develop them in isolation. We took the time – months, in fact – to seek out and listen to the needs of a variety of different organizations and select employer groups. We discovered that we needed to be creative and flexible in the way we support programs that serve people in various times of their lives – good or bad. We aren’t out to re-invent the wheel. We look for gaps in the environment where needs are going unfulfilled and where barriers persist and seek out partners who are willing to help us discover innovative ways to overcome them or make them easier to navigate.

CUJ: Most analysts have predicted either an economic downturn or a recession within the next two years. How do events like that impact fundraising and giving at credit union foundations?
Brulé: It means that foundations are going to have to get more creative and get better at demonstrating and sharing outcomes. Even when there’s a difficult fundraising environment, we must stay focused on answering the question, “Is anybody better off than they were before?” We must also consider non-traditional partners and opportunities as a way to leverage funds. During economic downturns, the need actually gets bigger, not smaller. That’s when we must buckle down and get even more practical and resourceful.

CUJ: What’s on the horizon for the foundation?
Brulé: By staying focused and continuing to keep our eyes, ears, and hearts open to the needs of the communities we serve, we hope to bring even more projects and partnerships to scale so that we can be of even more service to the places we call home.

For reprint and licensing requests for this article, click here.
Corporate philanthropy Small business lending Small business CUNA New Mexico
MORE FROM AMERICAN BANKER