A Look Back: 2024 DakCU Highlights

Jeff Olson with a snapshot of our 2024 successes and celebrating what we achieved together. 

by Jeff Olson, President/CEO
 
As we reflect on the past year, I’m reminded of one of my favorite quotes by the legendary football coach Vince Lombardi: “The measure of who we are is what we do with what we have.”
 
This sentiment perfectly captures the spirit of our association. While we may be a small organization, we are mighty, and what we accomplished together over the past year is nothing short of remarkable.
 
This year’s annual report is a testament to our collective efforts. It highlights how we’ve worked tirelessly to support and elevate credit unions, ensuring they remain the financial partner of choice for individuals, families, and communities.
 
By staying focused on providing you with the tools and resources you need to thrive, we help make it easier for you to prioritize what matters most: your members. I encourage you to take a moment to explore the full report. Together, we’ve built something extraordinary, and I’m proud of all we’ve achieved as we continue to grow and succeed.
 
State-specific advocacy engagement highlights
During the 2024 South Dakota legislative session, DakCU tracked 17 bills. We testified on SB 134 which was an appropriation to create the healthy forest critical infrastructure relief and grant program and to declare an emergency. Additionally, we sent a letter opposing SB 95 which would exempt one motor vehicle from being taken by a debtor and signed in opposition at testimony.
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This fall, we once again launched our “Pints and Politics” program. These highly successful events are credit union specific and bring our advocacy and grassroots efforts back to the local level – where the heartbeat of all politics lives. Our chapter program brought credit union professionals and state legislative representatives and candidates together for credit union education and advocacy awareness. All told, we traveled nearly 4,000 miles across our two states in just 40 days, and shared the credit union difference with nearly 130 legislators and candidates in 15 different communities.

This past primary and general election cycle we invested just under $52,500 on 153 legislative candidates and on leadership committees. These investments resulted in a 92% success rate in our supported candidates winning in South Dakota and a 100% success rate of our North Dakota supported candidates winning in November. 
 
Regulatory and compliance advocacy and support
In the area of compliance support, we responded to and supported over 210 compliance calls. We currently have 130 Dakota credit union professionals, representing 46 credit unions, utilizing the League InfoSight resource – which is a dues-supported resource for our affiliated members. 46 Dakota credit unions are active users of CU PolicyPro – with nearly 1,200 logins last year. We provided support and resources with 52 compliance-related articles and submitted 10 federal regulatory comment letters on your behalf to the NCUA, CFPB and The Federal Reserve Board.

DakCU hosted quarterly virtual compliance chats for 136 Dakota compliance professionals, including a virtual NCUA “town hall” meeting with Tonya Otsuka. We also hosted quarterly internal auditor roundtables and BSA Compliance meetings this past year.

This year we relaunched and led a group of 12 Dakota Credit Union professionals on our Fall Legislative Hike-the-Hill which was highlighted with in-person meetings with the principal assistant director at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and Nhu-Han Duong who serves as an outreach and policy advisor at the CFPB, specifically within the Office of Financial Institutions and Business Liaison.

During this year's American Association of Credit Union Leagues (AACUL) conference, our advocacy team engaged in a productive half-day session with key representatives from the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA). The NCUA delegation included Mike Dyer, Associate Regional Director in the Western Region; NancyRae Kjelgaard, Associate Regional Director of Programs; and John Kutchey, Acting Regional Director for the Western Region.
 
State-wide Awareness Program (SWAP) continues to be a success
In 2024, we made significant strides in raising credit union awareness among prospective consumers by partnering with the Michigan Credit Union League (MCUL) through their innovative TryACreditUnion.com initiative. From May to December alone, our efforts yielded impressive results:

Gas Station TV (GSTV) ads generated over 1.5 million impressions; Digital newspaper ads surpassed 1.7 million views; Targeted digital ads achieved over 675,000 impressions; Digital and static billboard messages reached an audience of over 7.1 million consumers.

Looking ahead to 2025, we aim to amplify these successes by continuing our digital advertising efforts and expanding into paid social media campaigns. Additionally, we have set a new and ambitious goal: increasing credit union membership across the Dakotas to 40% of the population by 2030.

Credit union awareness, and our collaboration with MCUL, is instrumental in helping break down barriers to position Dakota credit unions as a top choice for financial services. Together, with your help, we are reshaping consumer perceptions and driving growth in the credit union movement!
 
Communications and Social Media initiatives continue to be a value-add
After a second year of utilizing the DakCU mobile app, the feedback has been overwhelmingly positive. Members have praised the platform as an intuitive and efficient way to stay informed, particularly during our in-person events.

Our website also experienced remarkable growth, registering 200,000 views, 60,000 total users, and over 88,000 sessions—an impressive increase from 55,000 sessions the previous year. The digital biweekly Memo newsletter continues to be a cornerstone of engagement, publishing more than 570 unique stories in 2024. The Memo webpage remains the most-visited section of our site as well as having the highest average engagement time per active user of nearly two minutes. With more than 2,000 subscribers, the newsletter’s reach is stronger than ever as we move into 2025.

DakCU’s social media presence also saw substantial growth. On LinkedIn, our content garnered nearly 90,000 engagements, with 303 new followers joining in 2024. Meanwhile, our Facebook audience expanded to over 1,260 followers, generating more than 128,600 impressions, 4,480 likes, and hundreds of shares.

Additionally, DakCU issued 22 press releases and op-eds throughout the year, resulting in nearly 70 unique placements across national credit union outlets and local print publications. These efforts demonstrate our continued commitment to strengthening our communications and broadening our reach within the credit union community.
 
Education and networking opportunities are elevated to new heights
In 2024, we continued with the 7th Annual MonDak Roundtable – now renamed the Roundtable - and expanded it to include Minnesota credit unions. We also hosted a successful Annual Meeting, New Ideas Conference, and Professionals Forum. Additionally, in 2024, we successfully relaunched our Small Credit Union Roundtable.

DakCU continued growing the Sales CU training resource and the DakCU iLead@11 Emerging Leader program with over 20 participants successfully completing the program. The DakCU Summit Crasher program experienced another record-breaking year of applications as this program continues to grow, further demonstrating its growth and impact!

Expanded business partnerships empower Dakota credit unions to grow and thrive
We researched and reviewed over 60 potential strategic partnerships. Adding in student lending and membership marketing platforms, community development, lending and point of sale financing technology, a vendor management platform and a robust cyber security partnership.
 
Foundation is going strong
Thanks to the tremendous support from our affiliated members, the Dakota Credit Union Foundation is stronger than ever returning $78,500 in grants, scholarships, and other aid, including a $50,000 donation to the two Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals in North and South Dakota, to projects directly impacting Dakota credit union members and communities. These endowments support our mission of promoting financial well-being for all by providing financial education technology, financial counseling certifications, community financial education events for youth, and credit union employees professional development, in addition to supporting local CMN Hospitals and CU Aid.
 
Make the most of 2025
Your membership provides you with a range of valuable, dues-supported benefits designed to strengthen your connection with your members. We invite you to explore everything DakCU has to offer as you work to enhance your services. For a comprehensive overview of how we can support you, take a moment to review our digital Membership Matters brochure anytime.
 
As we navigate the evolving landscape of financial service disruptors and industry trends, we remain committed to keeping you informed and prepared. To that end, we host a variety of outstanding educational conferences and professional development opportunities. Be sure to visit the events section at dakcu.org to stay updated on upcoming programs.
 
Thank you for your trust and partnership. Here’s to a successful and impactful 2025!