Press
Credit unions plan virtual, on-line rally to defend their tax status
Tens of thousands expected to participate in nationwide event Oct. 2
WASHINGTON DC (September 23, 2013) — On Wednesday, October 2nd, credit union members and advocates from across the country will hold a virtual rally in support of the “Don’t Tax My Credit Union” campaign hosted by the Credit Union National Association (CUNA). The physical rally will take place at The Credit Union House in Washington DC between 2:00 pm and 3:00 pm EST. Those wishing join in support or simply watch the streaming events can log on to: www.DontTaxMyCreditUnion.org. A live stream will also be available at The Hill newspaper website.
“Rather than rallying supporters at the National Mall–like so many campaigns do–this movement will rally tens of thousands of credit union members nationwide online,” said Bill Cheney, president and CEO of CUNA. “Our digital engagement has been a tremendous success this year, and we hope that support will culminate with our virtual rally.”
Participants will be encouraged to use the various Take Action tools at www.DontTaxMyCreditUnion.org to show their support via tweets, pictures, vine videos, and emails to their members of Congress, all with the #DontTaxMyCU hashtag. The physical rally at Credit Union House will feature several speakers, including Steve Pociask of the American Consumer Institute.
The event will be moderated by Paul Barry, an award-winning journalist and radio and television personality in the Washington D.C. area, and also will feature remarks by Cheney, Paul Gentile, Bill Hampel, John Magill, and Ryan Donovan of CUNA. Other participates, speakers and interviews from all over the country will join in remotely using video conferencing.
Since launching in May, the Don’t Tax My Credit Union Campaign has enjoyed enormous success. The initiative urges lawmakers as part of any final tax reform plan to preserve the federal tax exemption credit unions receive as not-for-profit, member-owned cooperatives. To date, the campaign has generated over 900,000 messages to members of Congress, 15,000 of which have come via social media.
The “Don’t Tax My Credit Union” campaign employs direct communication from credit unions to their members and supporters as well as web-based and social media channels in order to convey a powerful and sustained message to Congress. Elements include:
- Nationwide action alerts sent by CUNA and leagues to their nearly 7,000 affiliated state and federally chartered credit unions, urging them to engage their consumer-members on this issue and directing them to a range of new resources.
- A web site, DontTaxMyCreditUnion.org, where people can learn about the issue and send an email message directly to their members of Congress
- A Spanish language version of Don’t tax My Credit Union: “No Le Cobren Impuestos a mi Credit Union.” Including a Spanish website, video message, action center, and a Spanish tool kit available at at: www.NoImpuestosAMiCU.org
- Creation of the Twitter handle @CUNAadvocacy and hash tag #DontTaxMyCU
- #DontTaxTuesday – a day in which credit union advocated make a concerted effort to blitz congress with social media advocy. There have been two nationwide #DontTaxTuesdays on July 23, and September 12th. During the second #DontTaxTuesday alone advocates sent 5,000 tweets, 600 Facebook posts and 8,000 messages to lawmakers.
- Congressional Support – Around 60 members of Congress backed the credit union tax exemption status. Several have even expressed their support over social media as a result of the #DontTaxMyCU campaign
- “Hike-the-Hill” – several credit union leagues have also come directly to Washington DC to meet face-to-face with members of Congress on Capitol Hill, urging them to maintain the federal tax exemption.