The Power of Collaboration: Western Chapter Helps to Provide Snacks to Thousands of School Children

I’ve spent much of the week in the Asheville area working with the credit unions in the Western Chapter on a very special video project. The chapter has partnered with Eblen Charities to provide nutritious snacks to thousands of school children in four counties that surround Asheville. (Special thanks to Dana Thompson, Rita Willis and all the people involved who set up the schedule and made time for me!) 

These counties have been hit hard by job losses over the years, and a significant number of students in the school systems there receive free or reduced lunch.

The program designed to help is called Food for Thought, and part of this program involves providing snacks to schools - the idea of the program being that if you’re a kid without enough to eat, it’s hard to focus on schoolwork. Another nice element - anyone who needs it can have a snack, so there’s no sense of shame or embarrassment involved.

The Western Chapter of Credit Unions raises the funds to purchase the snacks, and also serve as distribution points for the snacks. Many credit union people have logged hundreds if not thousands of miles during the school year to help deliver snacks to schools!   

The credit unions are a key player in this program, but there are a lot of other agencies at the table as well making sure that no one goes hungry while at school. More on that in a separate video coming up soon.

In the meantime, here’s a touching story that shows just how meaningful this program has been to one student who attends Clyde Elementary School in Haywood County. This story was related to us by Mikell Clark-Webb of Clyde Elementary School, who was interviewed by Dana Thompson of Mountain Credit Union.

Kudos to the Western Chapter for working together to create such happy outcomes!

Why Was I Dreading This Letter?

As a long-time credit union member, I’ve come to expect that I’ll be treated differently than a bank customer (AKA profit center, but I digress). So why had I been dreading the letter I got yesterday, announcing the reset of my two year ARM?

It’s probably all the news stories I’ve seen - earnings are challenging for banks and credit unions, there’s the fear of job losses, and the increasing loan delinquencies that come in a bad economy. Plus I knew my credit union could “play by the rules” of the ARM and bump up my APR on the loan by one percent, no questions asked (which in the wake of the above headlines, had become my expectation).    

It’s human nature I guess to let go of the truth about our own situation when we see a different (and in this case scarier) reality happening to others.

All across the country, people like me are opening letters from their bank - ARM resets are going up because “by the rules” they can, and credit card & other rates are heading up. All because numbers have to be hit, Wall Street fat-cats have to be pleased, and capital reserves have to be rebuilt in the wake of loans the banks shouldn’t have made in the first place.    

But I am a credit union member, and this is the notice I got in the mail: the APR on my mortgage for the next two years is adjusting DOWNWARD 50 basis points, to 4.75%.

Why is this? Because my credit union isn’t looking out for Wall Street or trying to milk a number - they’re looking out for me. 

It’s just one more - very personal - example of how credit unions are different from banks.  

The Nature of Cooperation

There’s a really outstanding post today on Evolutionary Biologist Olivia Judson’s Wild Side blog on the New York Times web site. Titled A Mutual Affair, Judson’s post explains some of the cooperative relationships that exist among animal species, including the living arrangement of the shrimp and goby (a small fish).

Judson writes that, “The shrimp build and maintain a burrow, which the goby and shrimp live in together. Each shrimp works hard, shoveling sand out of the front entrance like a miniature bulldozer.

“The goby just sits in the entrance of the burrow, keeping guard and warning the shrimp, which is nearly blind, of danger. At any sign of danger — a diver coming too close, a passing predator — the goby darts into the burrow. If the goby zooms in, the shrimp hastily retreats deep inside. And before the shrimp emerges from the burrow, it touches the goby’s tail with its long antennae. To show it’s safe to come out, the goby gently wiggles its tail. When the shrimp is out of the burrow, it keeps one antenna touching the goby. If the goby suddenly retreats, so does the shrimp.”

Judson explains this arrangement as benefiting both parties - the goby without the shrimp has no burrow to retreat to and is soon killed by predators, while the shrimp without the goby will not grow as quickly.

Judson’s post reminds us that nature (and humankind by extension) is about interdependence & mutuality … cooperation if you will. (OK OK, it’s also about the lion eating the wildebeest, and JPMorgan Chase eating Bear Stearns).  

But credit unions will continue to be strong if we act more like the goby and shrimp, and less like the lion and wildebeest. 

Micro Community Grants Program Shows Power of Partnerships, Collective Philanthropy

If you’ve been to the Team Little Guy blog lately, you may have seen the recent video post about Fusion Warehouse in Anderson, SC. Carolinas Credit Union Foundation head honcho John Slack invited me to go to Fusion earlier this month for the dedication of a children’s center that was funded by a Micro Community Grant.

Fusion has only been open a short time, but it is already making a huge impact on the lives of teens in Anderson County. Young people are flocking to Fusion each weekend to have fun and make new friends. Fusion is also providing life skills training and even job training in trades such as welding … and soon, a service center to teach young people how to perform basic auto repairs and service.

The CCUF grant paved the way for the opening of the children’s play area. It will serve as a safe, fun environment for the kids of volunteers at Fusion, and be a spot for single moms who are studying for their G-E-Ds to drop off their little ones as well.

Beyond the grant, local credit unions are also stepping in to provide support to this wonderful non-profit agency. Upstate FCU in Anderson is opening a student-run branch at Fusion, and will also provide financial education classes to young people.

Our visit and video shoot came when Fusion was closed, which in one way diminishes the overall energy and excitement that must pulse through the place on weekends. Thousands of teens in Anderson County have made Fusion a regular hang out spot. By doing so, some are avoiding negative forces such as gangs.

Of all the things I love about my job and credit unions, stories like this easily rise to the top. Kudos to the CCUF … and to each credit union that is active in its community.

As John Slack often says, credit unions do stuff like this because it’s the right thing to do. Amen to that!

Community Involvement As Brand Building: A Conversation with SECU’s Jim Blaine

One of the things that has always impressed me about State Employees’ Credit Union is that from the standpoint of member service and culture, the credit union acts like a tiny shop. As most people know, SECU is instead one of the largest credit unions in the world, holding more than $15 billion in assets.

This culture of service and absolute dedication to the cooperative philosophy shines through in the credit union, from the membership at the grassroots all the way up the chain through its board and senior management.

Many of the ideas and much of the credit union passion that you might hear from the CEO of a small shop shine through in the few moments I got to spend with SECU CEO Jim Blaine. Jim graciously spent some time with me to reflect on the Herb Wegner Award the SECU Foundation received as the outstanding credit union organization.  

The SECU Foundation has only been around a few short years, but it has already left a tremendous footprint across all 100 counties in NC. The video interview focuses on the Foundation’s scholarship program, which has awarded scholarships to one student in every NC public high school for the past three years or so.

The Foundation has also embarked on some other outstanding projects that are making an impact in NC. Some of these projects are summarized in the video presentation below that we got to see at the Herb Wegner Awards in Washington, DC last week.

The leadership of the credit union views these activities as its advertising campaign. From my vantage point, I’d have to say that it’s clearly working. Every week when the newspaper clippings arrive in the mail, the activities of the credit union and its foundation get consistent mention in papers of all sizes.

The scholarship winners, which are generally pictured with a local SECU representative, get mentioned the most in papers across the State. At the same time, and I don’t have hard stats to back this up — I’d say clearly the newspapers and other media outlets have become much more likely to pick up press releases that come from the credit union over the past couple of years.  

As the notion of a national branding campaign continues to get kicked around, the SECU Foundation has put together an impressive narrative that suggests that collective philanthropy and community building will get the credit union movement a lot more mileage than a national advertising campaign.

What do you think?

Wednesday Morning Update - Our Trek to the Hill!

The 120 representatives of NC credit unions have really enjoyed their stay in Washington thus far - and today, the rubber meets the road! Late this morning, our group will head to the Capitol to meet with Senators Elizabeth Dole and Richard Burr - these meetings will kick off our afternoon of visits with members of Congress from NC.

The group is anxious to meet with our elected officials and share their thoughts about credit union regulatory relief. I think our elected leaders also appreciate it when they get the opportunity to meet with “real folks” from back home as well.

In addition to reg relief, the group will be sharing how NC credit unions are returning value to their members and boosting the NC economy. Included in this will be the stories of a few NC credit unions that made year-end dividends and rebates. Combined, these credit unions put more than $750,000 back into the hands of members - many of whom live in small towns in NC that are struggling economically!

Much more to come on our day in DC on the Hill. In the meantime a few pictures are posted on Flickr. Click here to view them in a slide show. Much more to come!

The King & the General Energize GAC Audience

The 2008 CUNA GAC has given NC credit unions a lot to crow about in the past couple of days. Last evening, we watched as State Employees’ Credit Union received the Herb Wegner Award for the outstanding accomplishments of its Foundation. The SECU Foundation, which is only three years old, has already given millions of dollars to support education in NC, health care and human services in the Tar Heel State.

Of particular note are the scholarships that the foundation awards to one student in each public high school in NC each year! The Foundation has also made an interest-free loan to aid in the construction of a housing complex for teachers in eastern NC. This complex has helped teachers come into Hertford County,  a rural and economically stressed school system. This housing complex has been so successful, the Foundation is now in the process of replicating it in other counties!

Today, an accomplishment credit unions in both Carolinas share in hit the GAC stage. Richard Petty surprised the 4,700 person audience by appearing at GAC about 9:30 am. Petty, whose family started the Victory Junction Gang Camp a few years back, praised the more than $1.6 million credit unions in the Carolinas have combined to give to the camp for chronically ill children.

The King also announced the Petty clan is planning a new camp for the Kansas City area - and he called on credit unions to support this new effort.

Later in the morning, retired General and former US Secretary of State Colin Powell brought an optimistic message to the GAC halls. Powell reminded the audience how different the world was in the cold war era in which he served as a soldier, and how the world has so dramatically changed. Powell also told many humorous stories about his time in Washington as Secretary of State.  

The Housing Market Mess … One Family’s Story

 

I was listening to The Story on NC Public Radio Wednesday afternoon (which by the way is an outstanding show) and the first segment focused on the experience of Shawn Howell and his family. Shawn, who lives in Kentucky with his wife and four children,  was deployed to Iraq shortly after the family purchased their dream home.

Long story short - Shawn returned to the US after serving his country only to find out the mortgage was re-setting and as a result of this and other debts, the family would not be able to keep up with the payments. As he tells it, repeated calls to the bank that set up the loan yielded no results. The Powells weren’t looking for debt forgiveness or an outright loan renegotiation, but wanted to work with the bank to restructure the loan payments for a while until the family could get on top of things.

All these pleas were to no avail, and the family ended up losing their dream home. Today, the Powells live in a small mobile home - and two of the children have had to move in with Shawn’s first wife. 

A huge thread in Shawn’s story is that no one would help - because no one at the bank was empowered to help. And so it goes.

I’ve heard so many stories about how credit unions have helped people when they were down - and how when these calls came in, credit union staffers have looked hard for a way to help … not for a way off the phone line.

As more stories like Shawn’s unfold, hopefully we’re all taking the time to listen, and empowering people with the tools to help them solve their own problems. It’s a clear point of differentiation for credit unions, especially now that the economy is slowing.

With so many having already lost or at risk of losing their homes, Shawn’s story is unfortunately all-too-familiar. However, you do get a sense for the unique struggles that military families go though.

Credit Unions Helping Return Millions to NC Taxpayers Through VITA Program

Credit unions are known for offering lower-cost financial services in the marketplace - but their value to consumers and the ecomony isn’t limited to deposit rates and loan products. Many credit unions work in their communities to help hard-working people get ahead in life.

One such community project is the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program, administered in partnership with the Internal Revenue Service. The VITA program allows qualifying taxpayers (Less than $40,000 in household income, or $20,000 income for single filers) to have their taxes done free of charge. (The free tax preparation is available to everyone, member & non-member alike.)

The gem in the VITA program is the assistance that families get in receiving child tax credits and earned income tax credits. These credits enjoy wide bi-partisan support in Washington, and for good reason: they return money to people who need it, helping them to in-turn escape poverty.

State Employees’ CU and Local Government FCU have partnered with the IRS to offer VITA services to qualified NC residents in all 216 of their branches. The result so far in the tax filing season, with two months to go - more than $6-million in tax credits returned to taxpayers, and an estimated $700,000 in savings on tax preparation fees!

In the video, Deanna Yates of SECU received benefit from these tax credits after a tough 2007. A young married mother, Deanna lost her job last year and the family had to dip into their savings. This was a real setback, since their savings fund was being built up for a down payment on a house.

Deanna’s working again, and with the tax credits coming her way through VITA tax preparation, the family has put money back in their credit union savings account. Their home ownership dreams are again getting closer to being fulfilled.

Kudos as well to Truliant FCU (also detailed in the video), Duke University FCU and the NC Press Association FCU for also participating in VITA. (Edit to add that Carolina FCU in Cherryville is also offering VITA.) It’s a great program, and hopefully more credit unions will look into it in future years.       

A Tip of the Cap to the Video Age & Team Little Guy

It’s early on a Saturday morning, and here I sit drinking coffee and getting ready for the day ahead. And what a day it promises to be! More on that in a second, but this post has its roots in a short meeting I had with some really smart people last Fall.

In October, Kim Bohannon (the League’s Compliance Goddess) and I sat down with John Radebaugh, Eric Gelly and Dan Schline and proposed that we buy a video camera and some editing equipment to help the League tell its story in a new and more compelling way. I must say that it was an easy sell to make - John, Eric and Dan immediately saw the value in what this could bring to the League’s communications toolbelt.

We also saw it as a way to bring to life the people in credit unions who are busting their tails to serve their members every day. It’s one thing to read about the impacts credit unions & credit union people are having - but words can sometimes fall flat. And frankly, we (meaning stat geeks like me) can sometimes beat people up with big numbers and refined talking points, and lose sight of the impacts those numbers are having in people’s lives.

But when you can see & hear the impact a program or a product has — when you can get a flavor for the passion of credit union people … and how that passion helps members in turn unlock their own potential … you get a larger awareness of just how special the credit union movement really is.

In a few days, I’ll be posting a video here which will show a handful of credit unions that are serving as Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) sites statewide. (Edit to add that this video is now up on the blog.) Even though it’s not central to their missions on the product front, and an added workload for staff, this group of credit unions is helping thousands of lower-income tax filers in NC get millions of dollars in refunds from the government through the Earned Income Tax Credit — and many of these folks had no idea they qualified for the EITC!

In the meantime, I am leaving in a few minutes to head to the tiny hamlet of Lewisville to videotape some of the Team Little Guy runners as they compete in a duathlon. This group of runners, which hopes to raise more than $100,000 for the Carolinas Credit Union Foundation this year, is tuning up for the Cherry Blossom Run in DC in April, and the Blue Ridge Relay Race in September. (Edit to add that a video recap is now posted on the blog at http://teamlittleguy.com/2008/02/17/video-recap-of-the-lewisville-duathlon/.)

The TLG runners are a fun group to be around, and they love raising awareness of credit unions and the Foundation through the TLG mantle. If you’d like to follow their progress, check them out on their blog at www.teamlittleguy.com.

TLG also has a Twitter page and the Foundation has a Facebook group that relays TLG info, if you’d like to keep up with them there.

In the meantime, it’s time to drain the coffee mug, shower up and head west with the camera to watch these guys. Run Little Guy Run!