NOVEMBER 22, 2023

Tofurky for Twelve ...

The Washington Post had an article on how Tofurky was manufactured - the original vegan substitute for classic Thanksgiving Turkey - created over 25 years ago. Now you can go to the supermarket and buy a lot of meat alternatives, but Tofurky was a “groundblazer.” In the article, Jaime Athos, the CEO of the company that makes Tofurkys, said, “When something’s close, but not quite, it’s worse than being noticeably away from the goal. For us, it's more about, ‘Does it eat well?'"

I thought that is a great way to look at things sometimes. The VACUL Board of Directors just met for its Q4 board meeting. This is the meeting where we traditionally approve the budget, set the goals for the next year and approve our focus for our policy goals for the year.

On the Menu ...

Maximizing and Using League Resources

We have a member call-in in a few weeks on December 12, where we will go into things in more detail as to where we have made improvements and will continue to do so in 2024, but I wanted to focus on a few.

First, I hope you have had a chance to see our new website. We will continue to build it out next year, but hopefully, you will be able to find and use our resources more easily.

Katie Bailey is the League’s new Director of Membership. Her job is to do outreach and engage with credit unions on their needs and connect you to our resources. Please think of her as your concierge. The League is hiring a new consultant to work directly “in the field” to be an extra resource to you as well.

Focusing on Specific Advocacy Needs

Last year we started the League’s Policy Committee to ensure that we are focusing on the right issues for your success. We welcome more members to serve on that committee. If interested, please shoot me a note directly. For the legislative session, we will be focusing on our push to allow credit unions to hold municipal deposits.

Del. Jeion Ward was recently named the Chair of the Labor and Commerce Committee in the House of Delegates, the key committee in the House that considers almost all credit union- and financial services-related legislation. She is a champion of ours and this is a positive development.

Also of note: the League team did a great job with a white paper on the municipal deposits issue. (Password-protected document. Register here if you need a password.)

With both houses of the state legislature being Democratic we expect to be on defense also on a lot of issues. This is true whenever the same party controls - it is not reflective of political affiliation. Our continued opposition to fees will also be a key issue for next year. I made comments recently on this when I testified on the NCUA budget and it will not be going away any time soon!

Continued Opportunities for Learning and Networking

This year we are going to be at The Wharf in Washington DC for our Annual Meeting. If you have not been to a League Meeting in a while, I urge you to attend. We have really evolved our programming and being in DC will allow us to get some unique speakers and have some unique networking opportunities to learn from one another. For small credit unions, please note that scholarships are available. Please reach out to Mary Amyx to apply for one.

Opportunities for Growth and Capital Access

We know that the economic conditions are continuing to tighten, and we continue to look for ways for credit unions to grow and thrive. To that end, for the past year, we have been seeking the ability for credit unions to offer excess deposit insurance in Virginia, and I’m pleased to report we have seen movement on that front.

We expect ESI, the insurer that operates these programs, to start work on entering the Virginia market in 2024. We also have been working on ways for you to access capital.

I am serving in an advisory capacity to a nonprofit called Ecority, which was started by credit unions in a bid to access millions of dollars of grant money that can be used by credit unions for loans for greenhouse gas reduction (think EV cars, home improvements, and more). If Ecority wins the grants, the League will act as an intermediary for the grant administration.

In addition, the League is also pushing for more CDFI funding and for the Fed to extend its bank term funding program.

You know, I have never had a Tofurky. Now that I’ve talked about it, I feel compelled to give it a try …

Thanks to each of you for your support and membership. Thanks, also, to the VACUL Board of Directors and VACUL team for their support of you and credit unions. Happy Thanksgiving!

Sincerely,

Carrie R. Hunt
President/CEO

P.S. How do you Credit Union? I would love to hear from you. Always feel free to shoot me a note or call.