CUNA affiliation strengthens the movement

League-member credit unions receive more than just state-level support from their League for their dues dollar; they’re supported by CUNA, one of the strongest voices shaping politics, regulatory issues and public opinion. And that really matters to the nation's 7,300 credit unions serving 94 million members.

Nick Kessenich, CEO of Members First Credit Union, Madison, and a member of CUNA's Small Credit Union Committee, explains several cooperative efforts that helped his credit union. His remarks are featured on CUNA's collaboration webpage.

"Our national trade group helps all credit unions thrive," said League President & CEO Brett Thompson. "The scope of what CUNA does is so vast, it's almost overwhelming. Leagues could not accomplish what they do without CUNA. Every credit union is touched by what they, and in turn the Leagues, do to fortify our united movement."

For example, in 2012 CUNA:

• Operated Credit Union House in Washington, D.C.

• Advanced member business lending legislation

• Protected credit unions' tax status

• Testified 19 times in the 112th Congress

• Spoke at 7 Congressional hearings on regulatory issues

• Educated Congresspeople on the need for supplemental capital

• Held 75 in person or phone meetings with regulators and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB)

• Submitted 64 comment letters to help shape regulations

• Provided weekly regulatory advocacy reports and NCUA Board meeting summaries

• Held more than 300 meetings with legislators from both parties

• Attended over 1,000 political fundraisers this election cycle

• Captured pro-CU news coverage on Fox News, Bloomberg radio, Huffington Post, U.S. News & World Report, Associated Press, NBC News, CBS Morning Show, Washington Post, USA Today, Wall Street Journal, Yahoo! Finance, Bankrate.com, and more

• Maintained the SmarterChoice.org (CU-finder) site, that saw 303,343 visits and 168,286 successful searches

• Published Credit Union Magazine to keep 40,000 subscribers abreast of top industry issues

• Posted thousands of articles on CUNA's NewsNow to share daily news

• Offered compliance resources online that were visited 2.2 million times

• Managed Councils on Marketing & Business Development, Technology, Finance, Lending, H.R. and Operations that serve 5,500 members from 1,625 credit unions. The Councils have awarded 71 scholarships totaling $178,000, held 15 virtual roundtables and offered a library of 300 white papers sharing best practices

• Offered training through 17,960 certifications & designations, 6,866 registrations for webinars and e-Schools, 23 eBooks/courses and 7 iPad courses, and CPDonline courses that helped staff and directors complete 126,774 online exams

CUNA shares its impact each year as part of its Power of Association brochure, and has begun sharing quarterly reports to share more specifics on what it is helping credit unions accomplish. The third quarter update elaborates more on the above achievements.

Read about the value of League Membership at www.theleague.coop/membershipmatters.