DULUTH, Ga. — As is the case with many states, Georgia is grappling with low membership growth rates.

To help credit unions increase membership, the Georgia Credit Union League's board of directors assembled a Membership Growth Initiatives Task Force to come up with specific recommendations that aim to achieve system-wide annual net membership growth rates of at least 8%. In 2006, Georgia's CUs added 23,000 members or 0.3% to its membership rolls. Growth has been about 2.5% over the past 20 years in the state, directly in line with CUNA's 2% rate for the entire system.

The task force, which met for the first time in February and released its findings at Georgia Credit Union Affiliates' recent annual convention, came up with two key recommendations for Georgia's CUs: employ an outside, professional firm to develop a message and imagery for a collaborative awareness campaign that would increased CU membership recruitments, create a common identity, develop an image campaign and identify resource requirements to make it a success. The task force also recommended increasing the number and effectiveness of shared service end points through branches and ATMs.