CUNA has pledged $1 million to become the lead sponsor of a $3.3million legacy capital campaign to expand America's Credit Union Museum in Manchester, N.H.

The trade group's contribution, announced Feb. 17, launched thepublic phase of the campaign

About 18 months ago, America's Credit Union Museum initiatedwhat it described as the quiet phase of the capital campaign, whichraised $600,000 from credit unions, individuals and otherorganizations.

With CUNA's $1 million contribution, the museum's goal is to raisean additional $1.7 million by 2017.

The quiet phase was held to create momentum for the public phaseof the legacy capital campaign, Stephanie Smith, executive directorof America's Credit Union Museum, explained.

The effort will hit the road to increase awareness about themuseum among the nation's credit unions and to ask for theirsupport.

“We'll be going to different credit union league meetings,including the GAC, to tell the story of the credit union museum andto explain why it is so important for all credit unions to supportthis initiative and to have a museum,” Smith said. “I think it'simportant to maintain the roots of our movement so that the futureleaders understand why the credit union movement came about and whyit's so important.”

The legacy capital campaign will expand the museum's footprintwith a new 900-square-foot research center and add 400 square feetof new exhibit space. The funds also will be used to renovate theexisting museum, including upgrading its conference facilities andadding a sky walk that will connect the museum to the researchcenter.

The museum opened in 2002 in a three-story, three-family housewhere the nation's first credit union, the St. Mary's CooperativeCredit Association, made its first transaction in 1908, accordingto America's Credit Union Museum. The building belonged to JosephBoivin, who founded the cooperative with the help of MoinsignorPierre Hevey and Alphones Desjardins.

The first and second floors of the museum feature exhibits aboutthe U.S. credit union history, including artifacts and documentsbeginning in 1934 from the Estes Park conference that created CUNAand the 1934 Federal Credit Union Act, which enabled credit unionsto be established in all states. The third floor houses an85-person capacity meeting and conference spaces.

The legacy capital campaign will expand the museum's footprintwith a new 900-square-foot research center and add 400 square feetof new exhibit space. The funds also will be used to renovate theexisting museum, including upgrading its conference facilities andadding a sky walk that will connect the museum to the researchcenter.

CUNA'S $1 million contribution will give it the naming rights ofthe research center, which will house the credit union industry'shistoric archives, including documents, books and other papers,according to America's Credit Union Museum. In addition to beingthe industry's central research library, all of the library'sdocuments will be digitized, making them accessible online.

“Conserving and promulgating credit union history is consistentwith our mission of supporting, protecting, unifying and advancingthe credit union movement,” Jim Nussle, CUNA's president/ CEO, said in a preparedstatement. “CUNA is proud to participate in this project, which hasthe potential to ultimately preserve for future generations theroots and growth of the credit union legacy in America,particularly as we strive to achieve our system vision of'American's best choice for financial services.'”

America's Credit Union Museum hosts about 50 student and creditunion events annually. A rendition of the research center workspaceis seen here to the left.

Smith said the museum needs more space for its archives and manyother papers such as founding documents, original ledgers,legislation, anniversary memorabilia, and other artifacts thatcredit unions from around the country want to donate.

“We plan to hire professionals to archive all of thisinformation and to pull out important pieces of the credit unionhistory, preserve them and make them available to everyone,” Smithsaid. “I think it is important we preserve those pieces that dotell a story.”

Smith also said she hopes the expansion and renovation willattract more people, credit unions and other organizations to visitthe museum and hold events there. America's Credit Union Museumhosts about 50 student and credit union events annually.

Nathan Saller, SVP for strategy developments and memberexperience at the $1.1 billion Workers Credit Union in Fitchburg, Mass., said credit unionshold their employee training sessions at the museum because it canbe a very powerful experience.

“The reason we are called a movement goes back to the way wewere founded and the way our values were developed,” Saller said,who also chairs the museum's marketing committee.

“Once people take a walk through the museum, it reallycrystalizes that in their hearts and minds,” he added. “They areable to, in a very tangible way, experience the difference betweencredit unions and other types of financial institutions. They seethe stories and why the credit union movement was founded. We don'twant to lose that because it is the foundation of ourdifference.”