By Kyle Frick
At Mid-Oregon Credit Union, we’ve never shied away from advocacy, and since CUNA rolled out its Member Activation Program (MAP) at the 2015 CUNA GAC, we’ve found it’s a great way to activate our members. Our CEO, Bill Anderson, was at the very first MAP meeting, and saw how we could use it to advance the credit union message in a positive way.
We like to think it’s about relationships, not rhetoric. When we go out to our members, we’re not trying to be inflammatory, we just want to highlight the differences of the not-for-profit, cooperative financial system.
We try and make sure our communications are pro-credit union, pro-credit union member and pro-consumer, because that’s who wins when credit unions are able to operate in a more favorable environment.
Some Great Results
Mid-Oregon has participated in almost every MAP campaign to date, and we’ve seen some great results, including an above-average open rates click-through rates.
MAP is one of those tools we have that we use to differentiate ourselves from the banks. We’ve found that if we give them a good cause, and the information we’re acting on as well as our rationale, they’re more than willing to help, because it’s their cause too.
Going forward, this helps foster a deeper connection between the member and the credit union, because we come to see that we value what they value.
We want more small businesses to access capital. We want consumers to access safe financial products and stay far away from the predatory lenders.
Helping Elected Officials
While MAP participation is helpful for credit unions and their members, it’s equally valuable to elected officials.
Because what it comes down to, is when we’re sitting across the table from our Senator or representative, our MAP participation gives us the ability to give them hard data on what their constituents care about.
For example, when we were meeting with elected officials in the last Congress, we touted the importance of legislation that would raise the member business lending cap.
That allows us to show these policymakers that there is tangible support from the people that elect them for our efforts to secure regulatory relief for credit unions.
That’s the kind of grassroots efforts that politicians pay attention to, because they know that having lots of members doesn’t mean as much if they’re not activated. And we’re walking into their office, showing them that our members are activated.
Stand Tall
That way, when the opposition has that seat on front of them, our support numbers still stand tall, as the policymaker has seen our data about just how important regulatory relief for credit unions is.
After all, what’s the biggest advocacy group you can think of? Maybe the AARP, with around 37 million members? Or the NRA, with about 5 million members?
How about the sound of 105 million credit union members nationwide telling their elected officials that they want better access to competitive rates, consumer-friendly products and affordable services?
Kyle Frick is vice president of marketing at Mid Oregon Credit Union in Bend, Ore.