WASHINGTON-One thing was to be made "perfectly clear," as former President Richard Nixon was wont to say- by CUNA participants in a teleconference call about the trade's mass mailing of Project Differentiation kits to more than five thousand credit unions- this effort has no relation whatsoever to NCUA Chairman Norman E. D'Amours hectoring of credit unions over losing their philosophical True North. The magnetic attraction that guided two separate CUNA committees, CUPEP, (Credit Union Performance and Enhancement Project) and an earlier outreach effort that later became Project Differentiation to the fully integrated package that CUNA just rolled out had a pull whose force was not aided by D'Amours' speeches. "This has been in development for more than three years," assured Pat Brownell, executive director of the Credit Union Foundation, during the call, which also included CUNA President Dan Mica, Senior Vice President of Communications Mark Wolff, Vice President for Political Action and Grassroots Richard Gose and Project D's coordinator Bruce Wheeler. That sore point aside, Project Differentiation's origins are noteworthy only so far as they prove that an idea having value for a limited purpose can indeed come to fruition in a larger context if it attracts support from key players. One of those key players is Mary Cunningham, who was appointed by former CUNA Chairman Buck Levins to chair the CUPEP committee and another is Nancy Pierce, who followed Levins, and structured and embraced the Project Differentiation committee. Both had testy encounters with the Chairman, but continued undeterred to champion Project D as a more suitable way for credit unions to lay down for the world to see just what credit unions are about (rather than D'Amours, favored survey). They wanted Project D to spring from the heart of credit unions themselves, so that each one could make its own `Mission Statement'- thereby defining their own purpose in their own way, rather than have a social mission agenda thrust upon them. That Project D has evolved now into a central element around which credit unions can do so much more pleases Cunningham no end. During the call, all the interviewees stressed how its applications would be woven into the fabric of national awareness of credit unions, while very nicely fulfilling its purpose of improving the CU image at the local community level. The `big picture' was highlighted by Mica when he said, "We will continue to focus our attention on Project Differentiation and hope that all credit unions use this kit to its fullest potential. On the advocacy front here in Washington, nothing can help the movement more than to assure that regulators and members of Congress know the credit union difference and how they serve their communities at large." Perhaps the impact will only be felt during the next "Hike the Hill.' After representatives see and hear a stream of CU folk open up their visits by presenting their Statement of Commitment to Members, the CU identity or persona will become ingrained so deeply in the congressional consciousness that if ever an anti-CU proposal floats by it may be swatted like an annoying fly. That's Mica's hope, and it is shared by Gose, too. "This will define credit unions," he said. "When we are asked, as lobbyists, why credit unions should not have CRA (Community Reinvestment Act) restrictions imposed on them, we can offer concrete examples of how they serve all members, including the `underserved.' We can only cross the t's and dot the i's; we can't tell the story, at least not as well as credit unions can do it themselves." Said Mica: "Good economic times is the best time to do this. So that when bad times may come, Congress will be familiar with the work of credit unions." The kits were initially sent to a control group of CUs with assets of $25 million and up (some 25% of CUs) said Brownell. Results showed that larger credit unions were the first to respond. No one was surprised by that, given the staffing challenge faced by most smaller CUs. The circle has widened now to a total of 5,200 credit unions this year, and the hope is that credit unions will use the materials in their own strategic planning efforts and to help educate staffers (seasoned ones and newcomers alike) and be a tool for marketing to SEG (select employee groups). Blending Project D into CUNA's National Branding Campaign is also a `big picture' approach, and in the future more purposes may be found for it. That's its already proven worthwhile is evident, said Wheeler. "Credit unions that have already completed the process tell us the exercise was well worth their time," he said. And well worth all the time spent in developing the idea, coaxing and cajoling CUNA into seeing the opportunities such a tool might present, Cunningham was asked? "Oh, I'm very gratified," she responded. "I've believed from the start that Project Differentiation should not be a standalone thing. During the Governmental Affairs Conference I was so happy to hear Dan Mica tell attendees how it would be weaved into all of CUNA's initiatives. My yes, I am happy to see it come to its potential." -
caburger@cutimes.com
