"I think credit unions everywhere should make more of a big deal about their role as financial cooperatives," explained Jim Blaine, CEO of SECU. "I think the fact that credit unions are nonprofit financial cooperatives should be something they say regularly and they should begin to alternate using the words 'financial cooperatives' along with the words 'credit union.'"

Blaine liked the term 'financial cooperative' in part because it is more directly descriptive than the term 'credit union' which members and the broader public often need to have explained. He also liked it because it emphasizes the connection credit unions have with a broad array of other kinds of cooperatives, which are spread across the economy.

"There is a solidarity among cooperatives, among organizations that are organized for the good of their members which I think we need to tap into more," Blaine said, noting that, as organizations, credit unions have more in common with farm cooperatives, electrical and other utility cooperatives, food cooperatives, and housing cooperatives, than they do with banks and other for-profit financial institutions with which they are usually grouped.

"I think that as a matter of course, credit unions should have other cooperatives as parts of their fields of membership," Blaine said. "If there is a cooperative in your town or area or region, its members should be eligible to be your members," he said.

Frank Pollack, CEO at Pentagon agreed that the idea should be encouraged and that CUs should further the work of the NCBA. "We looked into the organization and found it worth our time and attention and with very affordable dues," explained Frank Pollack, CEO at Pentagon. "We believe they are a good organization with good goals that we can support."

William Briscoe, vice president for Navy Federal, emphasized the group's role in helping credit unions as a reason Navy joined. "They are a strong advocate for cooperative organizations including credit unions," Briscoe said. "The NCBA supports credit unions' tax exemption and credit unions' efforts to provide reasonably priced financial services to all consumers. The NCBA's opinions are respected by many policymakers on Capitol Hill. We believe teaming up with the NCBA makes good business sense for credit unions."

The NCBA assesses dues on a sliding scale running between $500 and $1,500 per year. One of NCBA's challenges, Schwartz explained, has been to decide how to assess dues across such a broad spectrum of different cooperatives. Asset size might make the most sense for credit unions, but likely wouldn't work as well for housing cooperatives, he explained.

Schwartz believes that there is a lot of room for credit unions to continue to grow their identities as financial cooperatives. He stressed that the association's commitment to fostering solidarity and cooperation among cooperatives across a variety of fields and even internationally was key to NCBA's existence. "Being a cooperative is one of the things that unite all these different organizations across such a wide variety of activities," Schwartz said. "It goes to why they are organized, why they exist and who is supposed to benefit from their existence," he said.

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