Before hearing Oscar Rivera talk about what Guadalupe CU did for him when no other institution would bother, I didn’t truly understand what REAL Solutions meant, and I say this as someone who works at a credit union that participates in REAL Solutions. Sure, I got the gist, because like any other self respecting Millennial with a burning question, I looked it up to see what it was. Oscar, grand prize winner of the 2010 REAL Member Solutions Video Contest, had a story that helped me to grasp the program’s impact, and its tremendous potential.

In the interest of being perfectly candid, in my preliminary research, my initial reaction was positive but not particularly enthusiastic. Great, I thought, this is what credit unions should be doing. But what’s the benefit for my credit union? Opportunities enter my inbox with comforting regularity, and it didn’t take me long to learn that if I tried to pursue each opportunity, I would never get anything done.  So, how much energy should I devote to this when there are five other opportunities that more directly benefited my credit union?

The revelation I received when hearing Oscar speak was, like most revelations, more surprising because I felt like it should have been obvious to me from the get-go. Credit unions were founded by individuals on the philosophy of providing real, beneficial services to its members, who had no or limited access to banks’ services. They have spread across the world, including to the United States, not only because of its passionate advocates such as Edward Filene, but also because there was a real need and desire for a vacuum to be filled. Today, banks are more accessible and more competitive than they have ever been before. While it’s easy to lament this and see our potential members as harder and harder to attract, it doesn’t speak to the core of what credit unions are and what they do. The same philosophy that has allowed this global movement to prosper for centuries worldwide, will sustain us for centuries more, if we allow it to.

If you don’t believe me, look at the Guadalupe CU, who gave Oscar – a man who had never even used a financial institution before immigrating to the United States from Mexico – his business and subsequent home loans. Guadalupe’s practice of finding viable ways to serve low to moderate means immigrants has provided the tangible benefit of an 18 month-old, completely bi-lingual branch growing its membership by over 350% and becoming their second largest branch in share and loan originations.

So with my newfound perspective I feel that I can answer my own question: “the benefit of Real Solutions and the benefit of credit unions are one in the same!”

(Written by Sean Capaloff-Jones)

Sure there is some lighthearted last minute planning like:

• The Thunderpunch Soundtrack: Shannon Maloney was the first to start the conversation and surprisingly enough it took over a day before anyone announced the need for our theme song to be included. Props to Matt Vance for not forgetting his roots.
• Reminders for A Hostel Stay: See, the beauty of our community is that we’re tough enough to bunk up with 10 in a room and shower with flip-flops on, but smart enough to not go into it blindly. We certainly could not be having such a smooth planning if it weren’t for last year’s Crashers setting the stage.
• Thursday’s Bacon Sammich Breakfast: Bacon. Enough said.

I’m never one to shy away from bacon, cheap housing or music, but it’s the rest of the week that is giving me butterflies like crazy. (Probably more so, because I know I’m not alone.) In a previous post about our group, we saw a glimpse of who is coming and what amazing things we can expect from our Sweet Sixteen, but as Crash the GAC gets closer it’s becoming somehow more powerful.

Our Agenda is jam packed with amazing stuff, not to mention the individual Crasher Sessions. Late nights and early mornings will be the way of the land for our DC adventures. But you can’t say we didn’t warn you, Crashers!

For the everybody else who is packing up for their fancy (and sans-roommate) hotel stay, or gearing up to read updates back home – watch out. Our week will be culminating in an action-oriented session on Thursday where each Crasher is going to be finalizing their project on what they are planning once they get home. It’s likely that their ideas will make you feel warm and fuzzy, but it’s a guarantee that they will be significant.

Looking forward to DC and especially what follows!

Attending a Reality Fair: In addition to Hill visits, some of our Crashers will be helping out at the Reality Fair being hosted by NCUF

Hearing a Member Testimonial: Oscar Rivera, winner of the REAL Member Solutions Video Contest will be a guest speaker

Turning the Experience into Action: The Crashers this year will be finalizing a project during the GAC to work on once they are home. As just about everyone knows, Crashing is a life-changing experience. We’re taking this to heart and having everyone turn what they learn at their week in DC into action.  Keep an eye out for this in the weeks that follow (GAC).

Some things that we’ll be seeing again:

• Crazytown Hazing: We actually mean loving initiation into our Crash family. Every Crash somehow grows and develops into a mind-blowing experience with awesome people and we have no doubt know it will happen again.
• Thunderpunch: Of course we’re sticking with the same amazing title of this shindig.  Outside of the name and that it will be stellar, there are quite a few changes for this year’s partay.  You can read about details so far by clicking here.

You’re invited to join some of the best and brightest young minds in credit unions for a free webinar.  Rehash The Crash: They came, they saw, they crashed the GAC, will detail the recent Crash The GAC experience of a group of under 30 credit union professionals .

Due to tight travel budgets and registration fees, most credit union employees under 30 have limited access to amazing learning and networking opportunity like GAC. Crash The GAC was created as a low-cost solution to solve this problem.  Crash participants were a diverse cross-segment of Gen Y, ranging in age from 22 to 30 and holding a variety of industry skills from marketing, lending, branch management and community outreach.

The webinar will take an in-depth look into how the crash came about, the “crashers” experiences and their unique perspectives and opinions on the future of the credit union movement.

Rehash The Crash will feature the following crash participants: Brent Dixon, Robbie Wright, Matt Vance, Kelli Martin, Ken Worthy, BradenYoung, Mackenzie Snyder & Kelsey Balcaitis.

Webinar Details:

Date: Tuesday, March 30th.
Time: 1:30pm PST
Cost: FREE
Register: http://rehashthecrash.eventbrite.com/

Dapper Model Credit: CU Swag and PTP New Media Founder James Robert Lay.

The year was 1991 and US financial markets were reeling from the continuing Savings & Loan crisis. Taxpayers were forced to accept a huge government bailout of the offending institutions, while healthy banks and credit unions were subjected to several onerous new regulations. The Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery and Enforcement Act (FIRREA) had become law. Among other things, FIRREA consolidated regulatory oversight of S&Ls into the Office of Thrift Supervision. It also set new minimum capital requirements for banks and thrifts and expanded the scope of Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) reporting.

While credit unions had pretty much been left out of these new regulations, the banking lobby was working overtime to ensure that credit unions be punished for their prosperity and general good deeds. They insisted that the NCUA was too soft on credit unions and couldn’t be counted on to effectively supervise. The only way to ensure that credit unions maintained appropriate levels of safety and soundness, they argued, was to put them under the control of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. In addition, they pleaded that credit unions were not living up to their mission of serving people of modest means and therefore, needed to be subject to CRA rules. And by the way, the credit union tax exemption just had to be abolished, in order to “level the playing field.”

Up to this point in history, credit unions had very limited lobbying power and were practically invisible when compared to the well oiled banking machine. While credit unions represented the interests of millions of consumers, they had never mobilized these members into an effective lobbying force.

That was all about to change. In February of 1991, in conjunction with that year’s CUNA Governmental Affairs Conference, Operation Grassroots was unleashed. Operation Grassroots, as the name implies, leveraged the power of the people. No longer would credit unions and their members be silent on Capitol Hill. Credit union professionals, volunteers and members were invited to a rally on the grounds of the US Capitol and at hundreds of local rallies in cities and towns across the country. In addition, more than 6 million individual member signatures on petitions would be presented to Congress. Each member of Congress would be given the petitions from credit unions in their district.

As a young credit union executive, I was very interested in attending the rally in Washington, but didn’t have much opportunity. Only the CEO and a few board members were budgeted to attend the GAC each year. At the time, I was also beginning to grow in my career. I was finishing up my 3rd year at the Southeastern Regional Credit Union Management School (SRCUS), where my classmates had elected me President of the Class of 1991. In addition, I was just a few credits short of my Certified Credit Union Executive (CCUE) designation. I was active at the Chapter level, attending each monthly meeting and assisting with program development and fundraising activities.

While our Chapter was organizing a local rally in Charlotte, NC, we also decided that we should charter a bus and carry up to 45 interested people to Washington for the rally at the US Capitol. This would be for people like me who wanted to attend, but didn’t have the time or money to spend several days in DC. I immediately purchased a bus ticket and contacted family friends who lived in Washington, to see if I could crash with them for one night. Once they agreed to put me up, I submitted a vacation request to the credit union. I didn’t tell anyone where I was going, only that I wouldn’t be at work for a few days.

Early on the morning of February 27, 1991, dozens of Charlotte area credit union folks gathered at the designated spot and took our seats on the bus. After a brief stop at a local grocery store to stock up on refreshments, we headed out on the eight hour ride to Washington, DC. Upon arrival, while everyone else was checking into a hotel, I hailed a cab and took the 5 mile trip to see my friends. They provided a wonderful dinner, lively conversation and a comfortable bed. The next morning, I took another cab to the US Capitol, where thousands of credit union people were beginning to gather.

Each state’s delegation had a sign identifying where they were from, just like you see at political party conventions. I wandered through the crowd for about an hour, greeting several friends from SRCUS who were also there. Eventually, I made my way to the North Carolina delegation. There were hundreds of NC credit union folks present, many of whom I didn’t know – yet. One of the first people I made contact with was my CEO. He was surprised to see me, but supportive. He seemed impressed that I was willing to spend my own time and money to support credit union issues.

All told, there were more than 15,000 enthusiastic credit union supporters on the grounds of the US Capitol that day. There were speeches by CUNA executives and board members. Several politicians also addressed the crowd, pledging support for credit unions. They were clearly impressed by the sheer number of people who had descended on Washington to plead the case for credit unions. From that day on, the relationship between credit unions and Congress has been improved. For the most part, they understand that we strive to improve the financial well-being of our members and that we represent the only thing more important to them than money: Voters. Lots of voters who are willing take a stand to make their voices heard on behalf of their credit unions. Credit union professionals and volunteers also began to realize the importance of political involvement. No longer could the fate of the movement be left to chance. We needed to take our lobbying efforts seriously and not allow bankers to speak for us on important issues.

As we look at the issues facing credit unions in 2010, we’ve got many of the same pressures that we had in 1991. Financial institution failures and taxpayer bailouts create anxiety among our elected officials. In order to appease their angry constituents, Congress proposes and passes lots of new laws. Regulators enact new regulations to show that they’re being tough. Bankers never miss an opportunity to tell Congress how unfair our tax “subsidy” is. It’s up to us to keep the pressure on Congress and the NCUA to hear our voices.

In addition to the thousands of credit union professionals and volunteers representing our interests at the GAC this year, there will be 20 amazing young people who have signed up to “Crash the GAC.” These folks want to make a difference, but don’t have the clout to garner budget dollars from their credit unions. They’ll be staying at a local Hostel, thanks to a generous sponsor, eating modest meals and attending GAC sessions on scholarship. In many cases, they’re paying expenses out of their own pocket. They’re doing it because they believe in the mission of credit unions. They’ll be joining their state’s delegation during Hill visits, because they are learning the power of political involvement. When you see them, be sure to offer your encouragement. We’ll need their passion and commitment for many years to come.

On your mark, get set go:

The ladies and gents at CU Swag & PTP New Media are sponsoring Crash the GAC tshirts for our group.

The Predicament:

We need a caption for the tshirt. And since you’re funnier and more clever than us, we want it to come from you.

The Intense Deadline:

Because of printing requirements, the contest ends at noon CST tomorrow. Winner will be chosen Thursday, and the design will be finalized and sent to the printer on Friday. Bam!

The Prize:

Writer of the winning caption will receive a $25 gift certificate to Threadless.com.

Update! The winner will also receive 5 free shirts from CU Swag.

How to submit:

Leave a comment here, send us a reply on Twitter to @crashthegac, or send Brent an email at brentd [at] filene [dot] org.

Readysetgo.

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UPDATE: Go vote now – http://www.crashthegac.com/2010/02/vote-on-your-favorite-t-shirt-caption/

In order to be eligible for the scholarship, applicants must…

• …be registered to crash with us through the Eventbright site.
• …work for a credit union or league, be under 30 years old, and be a member of CUNA.
• …nab a testimonial from their supervisor or CEO
• ….send a personal account of their involvement in the credit union movement, and
• ….answer the question, “What do you and your credit union hope to take away from the experience?”

Down the line, we’ll share some of these stories, testimonials, hopes and other goodness.

Also: In the next week I’ll post a list of the Crashers so we can all get to know them a little better, pinch their cheeks, and so on.

It’s going to be an awesome group.