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Basic Information About Credit Unions

Celebration Ideas

History Timeline

Media Tips

Press Release

Sample Letter to the Editor

Sample Newsletter

Sample Proclamation

Sample Speech

See the historical moments that created our modern credit union movement.
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Statistics: (as of June 2008)
Number of U.S. Credit Unions:	8,243
Consumer Member-Owners:	91.0 million
Assets:	$824.8 billion
Loans:	$566.3 billion
Surplus funds (Cash, government securities and financial institution deposits):	$230.8 billion
Consumer Savings:	$692.7 billion
Capital to Assets:	11.0%

Celebration Ideas

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Celebrate with your Membership

Hold an open house at your credit union and branch offices. Conduct tours and serve refreshments. It's a great opportunity to build relationships with members and discuss your products and services.
Invite your elected officials to a "Meet the Members" day.
Get the word out about the history of the credit union movement by displaying posters and banners in your lobby.
Hold a "guest day" at your credit union where members can bring guests for refreshments and learn more about your credit union.
Let members "meet their credit union" by displaying your employees' photos and biographies and stories of your credit unions history.

Product and Service Promotions

Offer loans or new share draft accounts for the same fees that your credit union charged the year it opened.
Work cooperatively with other local credit unions to purchase outdoor billboard advertising space. Radio and television advertising can be very affordable when a group of credit unions contribute toward the cost.

Focus on your credit union Difference

Organize a fun event to teach your staff and members about credit union history and philosophy. Set up booths featuring information on philosophy and operations. Punch a ticket at each booth and award 100th anniversary merchandise to those who fill their ticket.
Coordinate efforts at the chapter level to produce a historical view of your credit unions in the area. This could be a traveling poster display or a slide presentation to be shown throughout the year.
Sponsor an essay or art contest for young members or your entire membership. A short essay (100 words or less) about why your credit union is special would be appropriate. Publish the winning entries in your newsletter.
Reward employees for exceptional service to members. Recognize members for exceptional service to the community.
Organize an event with your legislators.
Raise money for credit union development. While celebrating at your credit union, consider collecting pocket change for the National Credit Union Foundation or other worthwhile causes. This "little change" can contribute to big changes in worldwide credit union progress.

Community Projects

Plant a tree in a nearby park or on your credit union grounds. Coordinate a local beautification program. Sponsor a community clean-up effort or other charitable event.
Hold a bike safety clinic for young people and donate helmets to needy children.
Adopt a social service agency for the day or week and recruit staff and members to help out with tasks like serving meals, painting, filing, and cleanup.
Hold a fundraising event for "Credit Unions for Kids" or another charity.
Collect business clothes to donate to a local organization that helps people get back into the workplace.
Join forces with other credit unions in your area to sponsor a team for a walk or run for a good cause. Provide members of your team with t-shirts to identify them as credit union staff and members.

Celebrate with your Staff and Board

Hold a special event for staff and board members to celebrate your credit unions history.
Purchase promotional items to give as thank you’s for being part of the success of the credit union movement.

Media Tips

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MEDIA PROMOTION TIPS

The credit union centennial celebration offers an excellent opportunity to promote a credit union while telling members and potential members about the history and impact of credit unions on people’s lives. The following ideas are offered as a starting point for working with the media.

PR Basics

Cultivate relationships with the press – Determine which media outlets are a good fit and work to build relationships with them. A large event, such as the 100-year anniversary of U.S. credit unions, can be an excellent opportunity to become and stay connected with media contacts. Potential options include:

Local newspapers/magazine editors (For larger publications, it may be more appropriate to contact finance and local section editors)
Radio station news editors
Television station news editors
Producers and hosts of radio programs
Producers and hosts of television programs
Trade publications

Do your homework – Begin by researching the various media options mentioned above that are available in your area. Get to know what they are about, the types of stories they cover, their audience, etc.

Never send information to "Editor" and assume it will reach the right person – Call the media outlet to learn to whom it is best to send your story.

Find out how the media outlet prefers to receive information – E-mail, fax, and regular mail are all options. For e-mail, find out the preferred format for receiving e-mails (For example, do they prefer the press release to be located in the body of the e-mail or as an attachment).

Develop a media contact list for your credit union based on the information above – This list should be the base for working with the media. For example, it will come in handy when determining if a newspaper might be interested in a press releases or if a particular radio host might be interested in a specific story pitch.

Follow up after you send your release only if you have something to add to the story – A phone call is typically the best way to do this, though it's a good idea to ask your contact how they prefer to be reached.

Don't bombard the media with information – Rather, wait until you have something newsworthy to say, but actively look for opportunities to tell the credit union story.

News Releases

Use the sample press release to build a story about your credit union. Add a local news angle that will encourage the media to cover your event. Are you giving a presentation about the history of credit unions? Educating school children about the importance of saving? Sponsoring a local charity? Tell that story, and explain how it’s an important example of the credit union difference.

After your event, send copies of any photos and submit a follow-up release to your media contacts. Be sure to identify the people in your photos.

Other considerations:

Keep press releases short.
Put the news at the top of the release. Reporters and editors are extremely busy, so they need to know what your press release is about immediately. If they read the first few sentences and still don’t know what your press release is about, it will be thrown out very quickly.
Double check that you have a media contact listed on every press release – Include the person’s name, title, phone number, and e-mail address. This is essential in case the reporter has any follow-up questions. Surprisingly, this vital bit of information is often excluded from press releases.
Read your release before you send it out. Does it sound like an advertisement? If so, rewrite it.
Proofread, proofread, proofread! Remove all typos and jargon. Double check your facts.

Letters to the Editor

Submit a letter to your local newspaper editor that discusses the benefits of credit unions and the importance of the services they provide to the community. Ideally, this letter is sent in response to a newsworthy event in your community.

Outline the things that differentiate credit unions from other financial services:

Commitment to service
Social responsibility
Member-owned and not-for-profit
Role in providing education
Cooperative nature
Volunteer directors
Democratic, one member/one vote structure
Part of a system serving 91 million U.S. members

Be concise and check your newspaper's policy on submissions: four paragraphs is a typical maximum length. Be sure to include your business contact information, daytime phone number, and the title you hold at your credit union.

Radio Talk Shows

Talk radio and radio programming are popular in most communities. Approach the station producer about appearing as a guest on a talk show. Use this opportunity to point out the credit union principles and philosophy and how we make a difference in our members' lives. Call-in talk radio programs can also be a good way to get your message heard.

Press Release

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Date

Media Contact: Name, title, phone number, e-mail address

CELEBRATE 100 YEARS OF CREDIT UNIONS WITH CREDIT UNION

CITY, State - Credit unions have embarked on a year-long celebration in honor of their centennial in the United States and their innumerable contributions to consumer finance in our nation. To commemorate this special milestone, Credit Union invites the community to [brief description of event, time, and location].

The anniversary is viewed not as pegged to a single hard date but encompassing a rolling series of events. For example, the first U.S. credit union, St. Mary’s Bank Credit Union, was organized in Manchester, N.H., in November 1908. A few months later, in April 1909, the first credit union law was passed, in Massachusetts. June will mark the 75th anniversary of President Franklin Roosevelt signing the Federal Credit Union Act of 1934, which established a federal framework for credit unions.

Credit unions are not-for-profit financial cooperatives that were founded to provide an effective and viable alternative to for-profit financial institutions. They are member owned and run and built on a one member/one vote model. Currently, nearly 8,300 credit unions collectively serve more than 90 million members in the United States.

"Today, as we have throughout our history, credit unions like ours are playing an invaluable role by providing stability in financial services to consumers, maintaining a ready source of affordable credit, and offering our members a safe and sound depository for their savings," said [credit union CEO]. "Credit unions are built on a tradition of people helping people-a tradition that continues today and that captures the "Spirit of America"."

For more information about Credit Union’s events, visit Web site/address.

Key dates in the history of U.S. credit unions include:

1908: The first U.S. credit union opens its doors.
1909: The first U.S. credit union is chartered in New Hampshire, and the first credit union law passes in Massachusetts.
1934: The Federal Credit Union Act passes; the Credit Union National Association - the national trade association serving America’s credit unions - is formed.
1969: The number of U.S. credit unions peaks at 23,866.
1970: Congress creates the National Credit Union Administration and the National Credit Union Share Insurance Fund to regulate federally-chartered credit unions and provide federal deposit insurance to virtually all credit unions.
1980: President Jimmy Carter signs legislation authorizing share drafts for credit unions.
1998: President Bill Clinton signs the Credit Union Membership Access Act into law, preserving the ability of credit unions to serve multiple membership groups.
2008: Credit unions stand out as a bright spot amid the housing and credit crisis.

More information about the centennial of credit unions can be found at the Web site of the Credit Union National Association, www.cuna.org.

# # #

Insert credit union boilerplate here.

Sample Letter to the Editor

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SAMPLE LETTER TO THE EDITOR

U.S. credit unions are celebrating their centennial year in the midst of gloomy economic times. Many Americans are hurting, and folks are apprehensive about their economic prospects.

Credit unions wish this weren’t the case, and they are stepping in to help whenever possible. But the current situation is an important reminder that credit unions themselves were founded from adversity such as this, and of their proud history of putting people before profits in order to provide access to affordable financial services to all their members.

The first U.S. credit union was created in Manchester, New Hampshire in 1908 by immigrant textile workers. They worked 10-hour days, seven days a week without benefits or job security. They did not even have access to credit, as many believed workers of modest means to be untrustworthy. For them, economic tension was a way of life.

St. Mary’s Bank Credit Union changed that and made it possible for these immigrants to finally have access to affordable financial services. Workers and families in the community pooled their own resources to provide low-cost loans to one another to purchase and build homes, establish neighborhood businesses, and meet the personal financial needs of the community.

The cooperative business concept, along with an emphasis on public service through a commitment to conservative style of banking has allowed credit unions to be a haven in time of national emergencies for the last 100 years. And even in the midst of the current market crisis, credit unions have been repeatedly heralded as an important source of stability in the financial sector.

Indeed, credit unions remain committed to helping our citizens retrieve the economic power lost during the current crisis, and recover their homes lost because of the mortgage market upheaval. This is not only the reason that credit unions exist – it is also what they do best. And it is this proud, 100-year tradition of being part of the solution rather than the problem that credit unions are celebrating today.

SIGNED: REPRESENTATIVE NAME, CREDIT UNION

Sample Newsletter

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SAMPLE CU CENTENNIAL MEMBER NEWSLETTER ARTICLE

JOIN US IN CELEBRATING 100 YEARS OF CREDIT UNIONS

America’s Credit Unions are honoring their centennial here in the United States with a year-long celebration. Please join your friends here at Credit Union as we commemorate this special occasion with [brief description of event, time, and location].

This anniversary celebration encompasses a rolling series of events that together form the backbone of the U.S. credit union movement. Some key dates in the history of U.S. credit unions include:

1908: The first U.S. credit union, St. Mary’s Bank Credit Union, is organized in Manchester, N.H.
1909: The first U.S. credit union is chartered in New Hampshire, and the first credit union law passes in Massachusetts.
1934: President Franklin Roosevelt signs the Federal Credit Union Act, establishing a federal framework for credit unions. The Credit Union National Association – the national trade association serving America’s credit unions – forms.
1969: The number of U.S. credit unions peaks at 23,866.
1970: Congress creates the National Credit Union Administration and the National Credit Union Share Insurance Fund to regulate federally-chartered credit unions and provide federal deposit insurance to virtually all credit unions.
1980: President Jimmy Carter signs legislation authorizing share drafts for credit unions.
1998: President Bill Clinton signs the Credit Union Membership Access Act into law, preserving the ability of credit unions to serve multiple membership groups.
2008: America’s 8,300 credit unions that collectively serve more than 91 million members stand out as a bright spot amid the housing and credit crisis.

As true today as when they were founded, credit unions are not-for-profit, democratically controlled, volunteer-run, member-owned cooperatives that provide an effective and viable alternative to for-profit financial institutions. They exist to serve these members rather than to make a profit. Unlike most other financial institutions, credit unions do not issue stock or pay dividends to outside stockholders. Instead, earnings are returned to our members in the form of lower loan rates, higher interest on deposits, and lower and fewer fees.

Please remember to join us on [celebration date] as we honor our history and our most important asset: our members. For additional event information, [insert contact information or credit union Web site].

Sample Speech

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CENTENNIAL AND BEYOND

We celebrate our centennial year today in gloomy economic times.

Many of our citizens are hurting. Many are apprehensive about their economic prospects.

We wish this were not so...
...But, my friends, perhaps this is the time to remind ourselves the cause that brings us here today – and to which we are all committed – was itself a creature of adversity.

The first credit union in the U.S. was created in 1908 by textile workers in Manchester, New Hampshire. The majority were immigrants. When the whistle blew, most family members headed up the hill… including the older children.

They worked 10 hours a day, seven days a week. There was no social security. No workman’s comp, no job security. No access to credit.

(Back then, workers of modest means were w

idely believed to be untrustworthy)…

For them, economic tension was a way of life.

...Certainly not the kind of environment one would expect to give birth to an ideal that, 100 years later, would still be celebrated for its uniqueness…
...and for its logic.

How we got from there to here is worth recalling. It’s part of our legacy… and our inspiration. After that, I’d like to chat about the really significant part of our 100-year birthday celebration.

That is – what we should be doing the next 100 years.

Any cause eventually is defined by its response to crisis… For the fledgling U.S. credit union movement, the test came fairly soon. The Great Depression hit just 20 years after its creation.

Like the banks, the credit unions were mauled by the grim economic circumstances during those difficult years. Some credit unions closed.

But the credit union ethic that stresses service rather than profit – still a radical concept back then – proved to be as practical as it was moral. It still is.

Most crises in our financial services sector result from indiscreet risks taken by institutions in pursuit of profit. (Sadly, the evidence is there in today’s headlines).

Inherent in our emphasis on public service is a commitment to a conservative style of banking.

The Great Depression was a brutal test of the resiliency of the credit union model. It passed. The number of credit unions rose during the worst days of the crisis. In fact, some students of those painful years believe the Depression may have helped the credit union movement by stimulating the cooperative idea in the U.S.

The observation was made during the darkest days of the emergency. Industrial stagnation was spiraling. Unemployment and bank failures had reached record levels. At this point, the competitive system itself came under attack.

Critics hammered business for its selfishness and lack of public concern.

(..Sound familiar?)

..At the same time, other commentators praised the cooperative business concept.

Congress must have been impressed. In 1934 it enacted legislation that made credit unions a permanent fixture in the nation’s financial services system. The 1934 Federal Credit Union Act permitted chartering of credit unions anywhere in the United States. It allowed credit unions to incorporate under either state or federal law. The sweeping statute replaced a patchwork system that was as archaic as it was inefficient.

That same year, the Credit Union National Association was created. CUNA gave us a national organization to promote political goals and business efficiency. CUNA’s emergence, as much as anything in those early days, was an example of the maturity of our credit union community. It acknowledged that we had reached the point where an advocate was needed in the councils of government, and a structured system was needed to improve business efficiencies.

I believe that in the past 75 years, we justified the confidence implied in the 1934 law. Credit unions have been a safe haven in time of national emergencies. We helped serve the financial needs of military and civilian members during World War II, and the aftermath. [Mention your CU’s SEGs, communities, etc., and what your CU has done to help them]. Our system has been an important source of stability in the financial sector.

We were not affected by the Savings and Loan crisis in the 1980s. We avoided the sub-prime market mess that is causing so much pain today.

And we were there when non-financial disasters hit. Credit unions raised $3 million for Katrina hurricane victims, soon after its trail of wreckage and hardship. In some cases, the credit union grants were the only help available for those poor people during the early days of that disaster. [Mention your CU’s personal and/or monetary contributions to help victims of Katrina or other disasters, or other examples of community involvement/assistance].

In our brief history, credit unions pioneered important innovation in financial services, including: direct deposit, interest bearing checking, surcharge-free ATMs, and shared branching networks. [May want to mention your CU’s own innovative services here].

I tick off this list with some pride... but also with humility. We have been lucky – maybe blessed is a better word – to have the right people at the right time in our history. And we have the advantage of an accommodating format.

And a cause that inspires, makes people want to roll up their sleeves and get cracking.

Because our system worked for 100 years does not necessarily mean it will work for another 100 years.

Credit unions in the future will survive and prosper, but they will be different. The system will change to meet the challenges of a new century – and changes in technology and markets.

You can expect continued consolidations. Instead of 8,000 credit unions, there will be fewer institutions, some of them larger. Member recruitment under the new streamlined format will be crucial. We must adapt to a new demographic profile that includes a burgeoning Latino population and other new ethnic Americans.

We also must improve our technology to woo more of our youthful customers who conduct so much of their financial business online and by telephone.

[Add in any of your CU’s recent, future plans to improve technology].

CUNA’s challenge and that of the state leagues is to convince Congress and regulators to approve compatible laws and regulations to make the transition into this new era as smooth as possible. We also must help guide members into this new environment.

And we must continue to convince regulators that they must avoid onerous regulatory burdens that will weigh down rather than lift up our system.

This means making a case not only before Congress but also the states. This new world to which we are headed will demand that institutions are nimble, agile, and quick.

Of course, some things in our next life will not change. You can expect continuing pressure from Congress to make our services available to the underserved in our market.

That’s okay. It’s a challenge we welcome. When credit unions pass up the opportunity to spread the gospel among potential members, then we are all in trouble.

[Add in any of your CU’s recent, future plans to improve technology].

(This next section in gray can be used if appropriate in your market. Otherwise, please skip down to the section below it.)

However, we will stress to both Congress and regulators that credit unions also must continue serving a broad sector of the consumer public. And that the experience gleaned from doing so helps us do a better job of helping that narrower band of the underserved citizens.

Also, my friends, expect bankers to resume their assault on our tax status after the current tensions calm down. I suspect most bankers have accepted… or at least are resigned… to our presence after 100 years. But there is a hard core within the ABA whose preoccupation with this is of near obsessive intensity.

And they pay their dues.

And they will be back.

But we absolutely, positively, cannot afford ever to be complacent on this issue. Our tax status reflects our cooperative, not-for-profit structure—the heart and soul of our system. It has helped us provide low-cost services for millions of consumers – services that they otherwise could not afford.

Over the years, with the help of our friends in Congress, we blocked these self-serving moves by our opponents in the banking industry. But this is no time to be looking at our stats.

In politics, the most important battle is always the next one.

Now... a few parting thoughts.

We are in the midst of one of our worst economic crises in 80 years. Credit unions can help in the recovery by doing what we have been doing the past 100 years – by remaining strong.....and committed.

That’s how we help our citizens retrieve the economic power lost during the crisis, and recover their homes lost because of the mortgage market upheaval.

[Can include any personal stories of how your CU has helped member(s) during the current market crisis].

Also, we must not forget the U.S. credit union system is part of an international family. We have an obligation to pass on the cooperative spirit. One way we can do this is by promoting the credit union ethic in agricultural communities that have been deserted by banks in South America, Russia, and China. And by exporting technology and knowledge to these countries.

Summed up, every dynamic organization must evolve to remain relevant. This is especially crucial in financial services where innovation every few years seems to rewrite the manuals. We must constantly re-examine our systems and our goals.

And, of course, all of this must be done while preserving the credit union philosophy. My friends, we have a long history of being part of the solution… not the problem.

We must preserve and cherish it.

Don’t worry about the competition. We keep the dream alive by remaining true to the cooperative ideal… and by keeping the trust of our members.

That’s also how we celebrate the gift that was bequeathed by pioneers like Edward Filene, Roy Bergengren, Dora Maxwell, Louise Herring, and by that small band of immigrants in New Hampshire 100 years ago.