RANCHO CUCAMONGA, Calif. — Joining in a national push to halt falloffs in league memberships, the California Credit Union League said this week it has formed an Ad Hoc Membership Committee to return disaffiliated CUs back into the organization.

“I'm sending out a letter to one group of our existing members, chapter people and others to start making personal calls stressing the value of league membership and encouraging them to re-affiliate,” said Jeff York, chairman of the committee and president/CEO of the $600 million Coasthills Federal Credit Union, Lompoc.

The 15-member Ad Hoc panel expects to contact 132 California CUs about re-upping their membership with panel members asked to report back their findings by the end of August, said York.

California League affiliations have hovered in the 75% range and “that is really not all bad,” said York maintaining the committee would be satisfied with a 30-50% signup ratio from the disaffiliated group once contacts are made.

The California League's efforts dovetail with a CUNA Affiliation Task Force formally launched two months ago to highlight the dropoff in league dues across the U.S. CUNA officials say the trend in declining membership at some leagues is, in part, due to mergers, shrinking margins, tighter budgets and the high cost of advocacy campaigns.

The disaffiliation problem is slated for discussion this weekend in Boston during the annual summer meeting of the American Association of Credit Union Leagues.