HIGHTSTOWN, N.J. – Credit Union Affiliates of New Jersey has designed a special license plate to celebrate credit unions and to allow New Jersey CU members to show off their pride in credit unions. CUANJ Director of Public Relations Evan Childs said the idea of CUANJ producing and selling credit union pride state license plates was in development for about a year. "The State has come out with license plates for just about every cause, including a local hospital and animal rights, so we decided to investigate having a New Jersey credit union license plate," he said. The license plate, featuring the national credit union brand logo and the "People Helping People" slogan, will cost $25 each. It's a one-time fee. The price, explained Childs, will cover the administrative and production costs for the plates. "No money comes back to Credit Union Affiliates of New Jersey," Childs stressed. CUANJ had the option of going with a $50 plate, but Childs said had it opted for that design, state regulations would have required CUANJ receive legislative approval for the plate because CUANJ could have generated revenue from a $50 plate. "We decided the $25 license plate was the best way to go because it was more cost effective to produce, and there are no additional fees the member and owner of the vehicle have to pay on the plate when they renew their registration," said Childs. Besides, he noted, CUANJ's motivation for producing the plates wasn't to earn revenue, but to promote credit unions. The credit union license plates will be produced by the New Jersey Division of Motor Vehicles. The plates will go into production once CUANJ receives the name of at least 500 members who agree to order the plates. The plates are only available to members or employees of CUs that are members of CUANJ, and employees of CUNA, NCUA or AACUL. The orders are being taken directly by CUANJ which in turn will pass the order information on to the Division of Motor Vehicles. Members can also place their orders with their credit union which will pass the information on to CUANJ. Childs said CUANJ hasn't set a deadline for when it wants to reach the 500 mark, but obviously he said, "the sooner the better." -

[email protected]