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​DakCU continues active advocacy during the government shutdown while wrapping up fall events and planning for 2026.

By George McDonald, DakCU Interim President/CEO and America's Credit Unions

As the federal government shutdown enters its third week, America’s Credit Unions continues to coordinate closely with leagues and system partners to address the growing impact particularly around the CDFI Fund, which remains largely furloughed. Treasury’s reduction in force notices have paused many CDFI operations, and while a temporary injunction is in place, most staff are still unable to work.

Your Dakota Credit Union Association (DakCU) team is staying closely engaged with America’s Credit Unions and our league partners across the country to keep abreast of what’s unfolding in Washington, D.C., and to ensure our Dakota credit unions remain informed and represented as developments continue.

Advocacy efforts are focused on urging Treasury to quickly restore staffing and resume normal operations once funding resumes. Lawmakers, including Sen. Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) and Rep. Young Kim (R-Calif.), are leading a bicameral effort to highlight the importance of the CDFI Fund, and America’s Credit Unions has joined in support. Targeted outreach is underway encouraging CDFI-designated credit unions to share impact stories and contact key members of Congress. In response to DakCU’s outreach, Senator Mike Rounds and Representative Dusty Johnson have signed on in support of the letter, reinforcing their commitment to the communities served by credit unions and CDFIs.

The message remains clear: a fully staffed and functioning CDFI Fund is essential to community recovery, ensuring that credit unions can continue financing homes, small businesses, and local development in underserved areas. Credit unions nationwide are also stepping up to assist federal employees affected by missed paychecks, offering relief and flexibility during this period of uncertainty. It's what credit unions do. 

Here in the Dakotas, 2025 continues to fly by as we wrap up a number of DakCU events and prepare for what’s ahead in 2026. Last week we hosted a successful New Ideas Conference in Deadwood, South Dakota an engaging, high-energy event filled with new faces, including many first-time attendees. Their enthusiasm made it a truly fun and collaborative experience. Thank you for continuing to send your team members to these professional development opportunities! You can read a recap here. 

We’re already working on plans for New Ideas 2026, which is tentatively set to take place in Bismarck stay tuned for details as those plans take shape.

Today, our Compliance Conference is wrapping up in Bismarck, where participants have been learning from Crystal Streeper of ViClarity, your dues supported compliance partner​, about emerging risks, fraud trends, and strategies to strengthen credit union operations and consumer protections.

And later this week, several North Dakota credit union advocates along with John Alexander and myself, will attend the ND DFI Credit Union Summit (formerly A Day with the Commissioner). Topics will include CECL, IT and cybersecurity, corporate governance, and statewide credit union trends. We’ll be sure to share highlights and takeaways following the event.

Plus, be sure to check out our story about the GAC Crasher program, great opportunities for emerging leaders in our Dakota credit unions to get involved and represent our region on the national stage!

Have a great week and as always, if you have questions or there’s anything we can help with, please reach out to me or your association team.