By Ray Birch
COLUMBUS, Ohio—Saying the current system of credit union chapters in this state must evolve to serve the changing needs of CUs, the Ohio Credit Union League is launching a new networking system.
Beginning Jan. 1, Credit Union Outreach Alliances will be in place across the Buckeye State and none of the current 15 CU chapters will exist, the league explained. Many of the roles a chapter served in the past will be formally offloaded to the league, which has been working in concert with the chapters on all of their efforts over the years.
Patrick Harris, director of legislative affairs, explained that an Alliance’s sole purpose will be to conduct meaningful outreach at the local or regional level. “Each alliance is asked to do one outreach initiative a year,” said Harris.
Outreach efforts will focus on increasing the overall financial knowledge of the community, such as providing youth with an opportunity to graduate from college with less educational debt, and supporting organizations that provide vital services to underserved populations in the community.
An Alliance will have a steering committee made up of local CU representatives from league members and meet as needed, as initiatives dictate.
Much has changed, explained Harris, since credit union chapters were first formed in Ohio in the 1940s.
“But the chapters have stayed the same,” said Harris. “We are looking at chapters and asking if they are still providing the same value they did over the past several decades. It’s the evolution of the chapter system. And we are very proud of the chapter system, which has contributed a great deal to the growth credit unions in Ohio.”
Two Years Of Research
The league has dedicated the last two years to carefully making decisions, overseen by a Chapter Structure Task Force comprised of credit union representatives from across the state, led by Jennifer Ferguson from Bay Area CU in Oregon, Ohio.
“As I explained, the task force looked at the essential question: whether the current chapter structure is still viable,” explained Harris. “And the answer they came up with is that there is still value in credit union groups getting together, talking and networking. However there are things the league should be taking 100% off chapter plates. This is a fresh, new approach the league is taking to extensions of the league/CUNA system.”
The task force decided that chapters’ legislative and professional education duties should now fall exclusively under the league. “This allows an Alliance to focus specifically on outreach.”
Laura Busque, director of membership engagement, said the task force was seeing CU interest in chapters eroding, as has been the case in many states.
“Over the years attendance has declined,” said Busque. “There was less interest in what other chapters were doing. We even saw some people meeting at networking events outside the chapters. Chapters were losing a little of their purpose.”
The concept of having an Alliance tied closely to specific counties or local areas—the rule with chapters—is gone, said Busque.
“An Alliance does not necessarily have to be tied to an area of the state,” said Busque, indicating that the Alliance structure will be fluid. “This means that in a year from now we could end up with possibly four defined sections of the state served by Alliances. And instead of having two credit unions working on the same project we could have 120.”
Busque said that commitment forms to be part of an Alliance are due to the league by Oct. 31, and OCUL expects to begin the year with 10 to 12 Alliances.
New Virtual Community
At the start of the year the league will also roll out its online community to support Alliances and CUs statewide and encourage greater collaboration. The virtual community will offer league members of all asset categories and geographic locations an opportunity to engage with their peers.
“One of the things we heard from our members is that they don’t have the time anymore to leave the credit union during business hours or their families in the evening,” said Busque.
Not only will the online portal make it easier for Alliance members to connect with their counterparts who play similar roles in their credit unions, it will also make Alliance projects visible to all. “If you want to be part of an Alliance outreach project, you can do that online,” said Busque.
The change in Ohio comes at a time when across the country many credit unions are asking whether the CUNA and league structure, in their current form, effectively serve the needs of their CU members. CUNA has created a 12-member task force to study its structure and governance.
“I am excited like everyone to see what comes out,” said Harris. “I know CUNA will make the right decisions.”