Occupy Wall Street demonstrations in New York City and acrossthe country continue to grow as organizers seek to keep themomentum going by connecting with credit unions.

Whether they want to be linked or not, credit unions are seen asallies by protestors seeking alternatives to banks.

Organizers with Occupy Toronto said they are seeking out acredit union to park the more than $40,000 in donations they’vereceived. In the meantime, the money is currently stashed away inseveral secret locations, The Toronto Star reported Oct. 29.

The group, which consists of roughly 250 protesters, said it hasbeen getting a steady stream of funds from supporters over the pasttwo weeks. Of the $40,000 received so far, less than $1,000 hasbeen spent, according to the article.

Michael Vessey, one of the persons spearheading Occupy Toronto,told the publication that transparency is important. Thegroup’s various committees do a daily count of the cashdonations.

“More people means more problems,” Vessey said. “There’s allthis money coming in, and we don’t know what to do with it.”

Occupy Toronto is working to set up a credit union account, thepublication reported.

Supporters have dropped off items such as blankets, socks,toothbrushes and baby wipes. A “free store” near the encampmentencourages protestors and those passing by to donate or take whatthey need.

Occupy San Diego is encouraging bank customers to withdraw alltheir funds and move them to a credit union, Ray Lutz, one of themovement’s organizers here, told East County Magazine Nov. 2.

Oakland, Calif., continues to be a hotbed of activity. Mediaoutlets reported persons blocking entrances to Bank of America,Wells Fargo and other banks as Occupy Oakland demonstrators vowedto shut the city down.

Meanwhile, a new poll from Harris showed that while creditunions enjoy best in class customer retention rates, the nation'slargest banks fail to engender the same degree of loyalty fromtheir customers.

According to the poll, which surveyed 2,463 adults betweenOct.10-17, 87% were extremely or very likely to continue joining ormaintaining their relationships with credit unions. Two in five ofBank of America's customers were extremely or very likely tocontinue (40%), as are less than half of JP Morgan Chase'scustomers (46%) and just over half of Wells Fargo/Wachovia'scustomers (54%).

Credit union members are three times as likely as customers ofBank of America to experience a trustworthy relationship (74% vs.25%) and feel valued as a customer (72% vs. 24%), the pollshowed.

If the social media sites are an indication, those who “like”pages related to Bank Transfer Day, which occurred Nov. 5, 50% areforwarding, discussing and chatting on Facebook about the cause,according to Harris. Thirty-percent were doing the same on OccupyWall Street-related topics.

“Customers express their loyalty through their actions, but theunderlying motivation for these actions is rooted in the degree towhich the bank connects with its customers on both a rational andemotional level; which in turn impacts their future intentions ofcontinuing to use and recommend their bank to others,” said CarolGstalder, executive vice president of Market and Customer Insightsat Harris Interactive, in a statement.