The League has been proud to serve Wisconsin's credit unions throughout this difficult time. Here's how we put your membership to work in an unprecedented year like 2020:
1. Political & Legislative Advocacy
- Worked to have AB 2031/SB 925 introduced by Senator Dale Kooyenga and Representative Rob Stafsholt. The bill makes various modernizations to Chapter 186 of state statute – including streamlining incidental powers granted to federally chartered credit unions, no longer requiring notice for ATM placement, clarifying timelines for vacancies on boards of directors, clarifying non-member loan participations, and a limited expansion of credit unions’ use of supplemental capital.
- Advocated for Paycheck Protection Program funding, automated forgiveness, and simplified application processes The League connected Activists directly with members of Congress to raise their concerns and requests. At the state-level, we were leaders in a collation working to ensure PPP loans were not taxable income.
- Coordinated with the Office of Credit Unions to quicken permission for remote notarization and offer guidance for delayed or virtual annual meetings.
- Hosted a Virtual Hike the Hill, giving a record number of Activists an opportunity to connect with the Wisconsin Congressional delegation and NCUA Board Chair Rodney Hood and Board Member Todd Harper. Over the course of the pandemic, The League also virtually facilitated conversations with the DFI Secretary, CEO of WI Economic Development Corporation, state legislators, and Wisconsin Governor Evers.
- Provided a record-amount of financial support for credit union-friendly and strategically important candidates for office in Wisconsin and Washington, D.C. 95% of the dollars sent to campaigns went to candidates that will be in office in January.
2. Regulatory Advocacy
- Submitted 12 comment letters to state and federal regulators in 2020 to emphasize the impacts that various regulatory changes would have on Wisconsin's credit union operations.
3. Compliance
- Updated more than 60 of our 166 ii Releases and published a new release on loan modifications.
- Introduced a series of six monthly compliance webinars during the pandemic, to give credit unions live training on important legal developments and more.
- Published more than 120 Compliance Couriers to address issues as diverse as COVID updates and guardianship accounts.
- Introduced 4 new credit union forms for sale.
4. Education
- Reached 94% of our member credit unions through our Education & Training programming in 2020, an increase from 88% in 2019.
- Hosted over 60 complimentary virtual events since mid-March ranging from HR, CEO, and fraud roundtables, town halls featuring guest speakers with system partners and additional timely education to address the challenges credit unions face as a result of the pandemic.
- Pivoted quickly to re-imagine a number of events to meet current needs under pandemic conditions. As a result, a number of new virtual programs were created in 2020, including our Virtual Leadership Conference featuring international speakers, our YP Be U App/Conference that offered 4 months of continuous learning and networking, our first Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Summit, and two statewide chapter meetings which resulted in over 400 participants.
5. Development
- Continued to support FiCEP, the Enhanced Financial Education Certification Program through The Wisconsin Credit Union Foundation. In its fifth year, more than 260 credit union professionals have earned their Certified Credit Union Financial Counselor (CCUFC) designation and are providing crucial financial counseling to their credit union’s members and communities.
- Raised over $8,000 to help Wisconsin's credit unions better serve their members and communities during the Foundation Fitness Fundraiser. Over 220 participants from across the state moved it for The Credit Union Movement.
- Assisted small credit unions throughout Wisconsin with operational, accounting, and compliance needs. Even in the midst of a pandemic, credit unions have benefited from one-on-one consulting in a virtual world. Along with ad hoc consulting services, credit unions hired The League to facilitate annual Strategic Planning Sessions.
- Dedicated ourselves to educating credit unions in Wisconsin about the value of diversity, equity, and inclusion. Every effort has been made to add components of DEI education into all of the programs we offer, including CEO Roundtables, education and training events, Strategic Planning Sessions, and more. In 2020 alone, more than 1,100 individuals have participated in a variety of DEI-related learning opportunities, and, even in a virtual learning environment, The League was able to offer its first-ever DEI Summit.
- Helped Wisconsinites save over $6.7 million through our prize-linked savings program, Saver's Sweepstakes®. This program is now available at 36 credit unions, with over 8,500 accounts and over 1,400 statewide cash prizes awarded totaling $220,000+. In response to the pandemic, a Summer Relief promotion was launched from April through August to encourage deposits, and balances increased over $1 million during the promotion.
- Endorsed three new vendors through W.C.U.L. Services Corp, including ClickSWITCH, Credit Union Loan Source (CULS), and NetGiver. These partnerships will help credit unions further engage with members and their communities, elevate PFI status, and boost income.
6. Communications & Marketing
- Upgraded commUNITY to a more robust platform with added features to allow members to more easily network, share ideas, and collaborate with each other. Discussion forums for COVID-19 and chapter leaders were also added to support our members as new issues come up related to COVID-19 and chapter meetings go virtual.
- Launched a special COVID-19 Updates email series and COVID-19 resources webpage to support and provide guidance to credit union leadership during the pandemic. Additionally, compiled a credit union response to COVID-19 webpage to actively track how Wisconsin's credit unions were responding.
- Created a Facebook page for The Foundation to broaden the reach and keep supporters of The Foundation more informed about scholarships, grants, financial education, and fundraising opportunities.
- Stepped up our diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts in our communications on social media and elsewhere, including our Black Lives Matter statement.
- Supported CUNA's Open Your Eyes to a Credit Union campaign, which continues to expand awareness of credit unions throughout the state.