HIGHTSTOWN, N.J. - The New Jersey CU League Board of Directors voted unanimously to support and provide the initial $30,000 investment to jumpstart the small CU initiative.
“The league believes this is important because small credit unions are a vital segment of the movement,” said Paul Gentile, president of the league. “Here in New Jersey we have over 90 credit unions under $10 million in assets, so it’s very important for our state.”
The Small Credit Union Initiative will provide specific support to credit unions under $20 million in assets that agree to participate in the initiative. Initially up to 10 credit unions will be able to participate, with more being added as the success of and demand for the initiative grows.
“The goal of the task force is to help small credit unions, who want the help, to find ways to grow so they can be around for years to come,” Gentile said. “We are looking for small credit unions who are committed to finding ways to meet members’ changing needs 10 or 20 years down the road. We are looking for small credit unions who are ready to accept the help from others, and who want to succeed.”
The league’s investment is designed to help existing small credit unions, and is not designed to try to start new credit unions. “There are a few community development credit unions in the early states in New Jersey,” Gentile offered. “The league is assisting them in various ways, but the small credit union task force is not designed to start small credit unions, it is to help existing small credit unions survive and thrive in the future.”
The task force now plans reach out to state and national foundations, corporate credit unions and larger credit unions to provide the remaining funding necessary to advance the initiative.
“This small credit union task force has teeth,” Gentile said. “There will be things small credit unions will have to achieve to get through the program, such as doing a strategic plan, a Bank Secrecy Act training session. They will have to complete certain VAP, Merit and STAR modules. The funds will be used to pay for these different training initiatives.”
Another key to the program is a member survey, Gentile said. “Members will be surveyed to find out how satisfied they are with the credit union,” he explained. “That will be early on in the process, and then a follow-up membership survey 18 to 24 months down the road to see how things have progressed. The funds will cover the two surveys, as well.”
In order to participate in the initiative, credit unions must agree to commit to the initiative for those 18 to 24 months. The credit union must also state that it is committed to ensuring that the credit union is viable and meeting the needs of its members 10 to 20 years from now, and that the credit union is willing to accept help to ensure that happens.
In return, the initiative will provide at no cost to the participating credit unions: the member satisfaction surveys, a peer analysis of the credit unions, board governance training, a strategic planning session, self-study training courses, special educational discounts, regular in-person field staff-support, and networking among the other participants.
The taskforce is in the process of formulating a timeline for the initiative and is expected to recruit credit union participants soon.
In addition, the New Jersey CU Foundation approved a grant of up to $10,000 to support the small credit union initiative advanced by the New Jersey CU League Small Credit Union Taskforce.
“This grant supports one of the key objectives of the Foundation–to support the growth and development of New Jersey credit unions,” said John DiNofrio, chairman of the NJCUF, in a prepared statement. “The foundation board is happy it could help fund an initiative vital to the future success of credit unions in New Jersey.”
