Winning requires unity

Ed Filene, one of credit union’s founding fathers said, “Cooperation is the thorough conviction that nobody can get there unless everybody gets there.”

I’ve always felt like credit unions have something special. I wonder why I hear that credit unions are a “best kept secret,” or why “coopetition” is in our vocabulary.  As the environment around us changes, I see that credit unions are structured to stand together to serve and protect our members and we all must be in it together for this to work.

The Federal Credit Union Act of 1934 established our system, recognizing credit unions' broader purpose. The 1970 creation of the National Credit Union Share Insurance Fund ensured member trust and safety. The 1998 Credit Union Membership Act expanded membership beyond a single bond, enhancing community impact.

In case you didn’t catch it, I haven’t noted anything in the last 27 years.  We have more to do to modernize legislation so we can meet our mission in today’s environment. Right now, we need more participation; we need more people in this industry stepping up their efforts in advocacy. We need to consistently showcase the importance of what we do, beyond banking, that makes us critical to the financial system.

I often hear that credit unions need to stay in our lane. Jamie Dimon recently said something that resonated with me, “Our biggest mistakes happen when people think something is kind of a problem, but they are afraid to raise it in the right room where it might be provocative.” For credit unions I think our scope needs to grow because our purpose remains constant.

Credit unions are member-owned and governed by members. The structure alone ensures that we remain true to the needs of our members and communities and manage the risk appropriately so the rest of our membership can continue to experience the value we offer.

Our not-for-profit model delivers real economic benefit in the areas we serve. America’s Credit Unions has compiled the data, “this tax status delivers a 1300% ROI for the federal government. Credit unions still pay $36 billion in total federal, state and local taxes, and our members paid $2.2 trillion in taxes in 2023.”

As we serve 43% of Americans, credit unions' profits are reinvested to improve technology, service, rates, and are reinvested into our community.  Even for those that we don’t directly serve, we are critical in our communities by creating thrift in banking and partnering with community organizations to improve quality of life. The more we use our strengths and harness cooperation, the more we can focus credit union resources on what we care most about, our members.

Regardless of our asset size, we should be working together to negotiate contracts, explore technology, participate in shared branching, enhance community impact programs, and share expertise and resources. With more intentional efforts like this, the more impact we can have on our communities and on the Hill. Credit unions are doing amazing things, and when we work together for a meaningful cause, the impact is overwhelming.

One great example is Credit Unions 4 Kids, where collectively we raised over $18.7 million for 140+ children’s hospitals to help treat 12 million kids in 2024. Surveys have shown that 66.5% of all bankruptcies were tied to medical issues. I love knowing that our collective impact is significant. It may help prevent bankruptcies, and it directly funds research that saves lives.

The most important thing you can do as an individual is build relationships. Connecting with people and building strong connections in our industry, community, and with elected officials is critical. It’s key to our future success to have people we trust before advocacy is needed.

Get involved in the credit union movement. Connect with your state, regional, and/or national associations. Find out how you can do more to make a difference. Invite elected officials to your branch openings, community impact events, and show how we truly make a difference for our members.

Contribute to Credit Union Political Action Committees (PACs). We need to show our power in numbers, which means answering the call to action anytime our associations reach out for our voice. In addition to making our voice strong, if we all contribute, we will be better positioned with friends in office to modernize our movement.

Advocacy can be achieved in many ways. Every day, we have members who need financial assistance. The service and empathy you provide are life-changing for them, and it’s a great story of advocacy—but you must tell your story.

As an industry, we are getting better at providing meaningful data to show the credit union difference, let’s continue to couple the data with meaningful individual and cooperative stories. So many people put in the work to get us here, and today we all play an important role in advocating for our future, so let’s do it together!