Heather Anderson Almost every credit union in America has the same basic story about its early days.

It goes something like this: Back in the mid 20^th century, a volunteer ran the credit union out of a cigar box during lunch breaks at the school/plant/facility/office. Those who have made a career out of credit unions have heard this story so many times, it's hard to imagine a credit union organizing and growing any other way.

Until now.

Equality Washington, a gay rights organization headquartered in Seattle, launched an indiegogo campaign Nov. 17 to raise $50,000 to fund a credit union.

If you're not familiar with indiegogo, it's one of the original online crowdfunding platforms, launching more than 200,000 campaigns since 2008. It's so big, it's already live with Apple Pay. (And your credit union probably isn't – so don't turn up your nose.)

Equality Credit Union would be an online credit union and would provide deposit and lending products, including business loans. It would also provide specialized financial education for the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community.

Imagine the tax and retirement planning complications a gay married couple faces with all the discrepancies between state and federal law, and even among federal agencies. For example, gay marriages are recognized for immigration status and federal employee benefits. However, the Social Security Administration only recognize marriages that are valid where the couple lives, so gay spouses aren't eligible for spousal benefits in most states. The rule also applies to Medicare, bankruptcy filings and benefits under the Family Medical Leave Act.

According to the group's indiegogo site, 13 states and the District of Columbia have passed laws prohibiting credit discrimination based on sexual orientation. However, there is no federal law that consistently protects LGBTQ people from credit discrimination.

For folks who remember the cigar box days, the idea of a gay credit union probably sounds pretty radical.

However, the fundamentals of credit union organization couldn't be clearer.

There's clearly a demand for specific financial services for this group, which is united by a common bond.

And historically, credit unions have been the last resort provider for financial services to those denied services elsewhere. Oftentimes in our movement's history, that reason for denying services was discrimination.

It's no surprise these present-day credit union organizers turned to social media to organize, promote and even fund their new cooperative.

Most of the manufacturing plants that provided today's credit unions with their first members have closed. Increasingly, employees telecommute from home rather than gather together in large office facilities.

Those who do work in large facilities don't remain with the same company for their entire careers. Yes, once a member always a member, but if that common bond is severed, you're just another bank.

Society's common bonds have changed, but the ability of people to join forces has not.

Social media's ability to connect with people instantly, without geographical limit, opens up a whole new world of human bonding. Rather than bond over a workplace, or even a physical community, people can now bond over shared ideas, experiences and causes.

Given how much time people spend connected to these communities, those bonds can grow to be as strong as those forged 50 years ago in the plant breakroom or teacher's lounge.

This change will eventually lead to the legislated elimination of the common bond requirement for membership. Associational FOMs are already under scrutiny for departing from the spirit of the law.

However, more and more Americans don't qualify for membership the old fashioned way, so something has to give. I think associational common bonds will attract more controversy first, as they are increasingly used by existing credit unions to provide a backdoor to growth. But they will also be used by organizers to form new credit unions like Equality CU.

Eventually, changes in our society will prompt Congress to act and either radically rewrite field of membership laws or do away with the membership requirement altogether.

Eventually could be an awfully long time, though. For now, it's intriguing to watch the pioneering Equality Credit Union use social media to unite, promote, organize and fund its credit union.

What do you know, it turns out social media is good for something after all.

Instant Insights /

Social Media Is the New Cigar Box

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