MADISON, Wis.–During the global pandemic credit union commitments to programs to assist member institutions in need and to continuing credit union professional education programs remained strong, but there has been a significant reduction in some charitable giving, according to the leaders of CU foundations from around the world.
During the World Council of Credit Unions’ World Credit Union Conference, foundation leaders from the United States, Canada, Australia and Brazil shared their experiences of the past 18 months as the COVID-19 pandemic spread around the globe. Some regions of the country, noted WOCCU, saw a major decline in charitable funding at a time when they could least afford it.
“We actually received our lowest donations in 2020 in comparison to the last seven years,” said Denise Garfield, general manager of the Caribbean Confederation of Credit Unions (CCCU) and the CCCU Development Foundation. “Our foundation is very small, but our disasters are huge, unfortunately. And the Caribbean region is plagued almost annually with hurricanes—and this year with a volcano in St. Vincent.”
Main Areas of Support
During the virtual discussion, WOCCU noted participants identified digitization, and economic and mental health recovery from the pandemic as the main areas of support credit unions will need assistance with over the next 12 to 18 months. They also agreed that developing partnerships and providing experiences for supporters are becoming more important aspects of fundraising for the industry, WOCCU reported.
“We will need support from strategic partnerships and credit unions from all across the country and I think COVID put that off in the distance, but we have a renewed sense of energy to do that very quickly,” said Robert Kelly, CEO of the Association of British Credit Unions Ltd. (ABCUL).