The President's Perspective

​When we tell our story, we win! Thoughts on our victory in the ND State Senate last week and where we are headed. 

Greetings and Happy Valentine’s Day! 

Someone engaged in politics, I believe it was John Boehner, the former Speaker of the House, once stated that, “Things go slow until they go fast.” Well, that’s certainly how it felt for us here at the association these past two weeks.

Last week, North Dakota credit unions cleared a major hurdle in our attempt to revise an outdated and locked down Field of Membership (FOM) statute that has hampered growth for state chartered credit unions for the past 18 years. Our FOM modernization bill was approved by the ND Senate last Wednesday by a slim 24-23 vote.

The current FOM language came out of bill SB 2263 that was sponsored by and promoted by the banking industry in 2005. The result of that legislation deeply divided our movement and our members, as many thought credit unions had surrendered and gave in to the banks. The end result was the only way for ND credit unions to expand is to merge with another credit union, and this is exactly what happened. Since the passing of the 2005 bill, ND has experienced a 50 percent drop in state chartered CUs from 36 to 18 today, and overall, our credit union numbers have gone from 58 total in 2005 to 32 today.

However, here is what we learned last week: We can win if we tell our story. 
One of the big differences in our efforts in the legislative process as not-for-profit institutions is we are advocating on behalf of our member owners, every day, hard-working North Dakotans.  The banking industry can’t say that. They are advocating for their shareholders. 
 
This leads me to another political quote that I often use, particularly during our pre-election legislative chapter events: “Politics is too serious a business to be left to the politicians.”

I use this quote because it bluntly tells us that we, as a movement, need to be fully engaged in the political process. Last week we prevailed with a very slim majority in the ND Senate. This was a result of our grassroots efforts and our honest approach. We told our story, why a revision is necessary, and how this modernization language is a benefit to all North Dakotans.

We also learned the ND Banks have a good ground game and they were able to persuade lawmakers that they are operating under an “unfair playing field,” even though they have 90 percent of the market share in the state. Unfortunately, many lawmakers are buying it. They went so far as to tell senators last week that we are not regulated the same. This was confusing to some and therefore they voted against credit unions. The banks also did a better job leveraging their personal relationships with lawmakers, and in some cases were much more aggressive and forceful. 

So, for ND credit unions to get this across the finish line we will need everyone – a true “all hands on deck” grassroots effort.

When I hear people say, “I’m not interested in politics or the political process,” they might as well say, “I’m not interested in our future.” If we mean to keep any control over our movement, we must be engaged in advocating for our institutions. When we tell our story, we win. Stay tuned…

Summit registration now open!
It’s official! Registration is now open for our 2023 Annual Summit! This year we are headed to the Delta Marriott in Fargo, ND on May 9 – 10. Stay tuned to the Memo for featured speakers, breakout sessions, and information for Summit Crashers, and be sure to take advantage of best pricing by signing up early.

CUSocialGood and NetGiver officially one entity.
Approximately one year ago, we announced that our platform, CUSocialGood, and NetGiver, a cause-marketing platform which allows members to give to any 501(c)(3) organization without processing fees, were joining together to invigorate and revitalize the credit union impact story. Both organizations have operated with a deep sense of responsibility to serve our local communities and bring awareness to the benefits of credit unions. Last week, control of CUSocialGood was officially handed over to NetGiver. With this partnership and the power of NetGiver and their approach to innovation, CUSocialGood will go beyond the blog site that we launched in 2013 to become the education and advocacy platform we’ve always known it could be. Please continue to share your stories by either logging into your CUSG account or simply email to [email protected]. Plans are in the works to revamp the site, so stay tuned and be sure to check back often at cusocialgood.com to see what’s happening. 

Thanks for all you do, and have a great week!

DakCU President/CEO