"PACs are the most direct way that we can help candidates who are helpful to credit unions," Trey Hawkins, CUNA's vice president for political affairs, said.

NAFCU takes a similar approach, according to Dan O'Brien, the trade association's director of political affairs.

"We try to help those people who can have the most impact," he said. "It's building a relationship."

Patrick LaPine, president/CEO of the League of Southeastern Credit Unions, added, "What it's really about is getting access."

In the fall, CULAC – as CUNA's PAC is known – sent out a quarterly newsletter stating its fundraising goal for the 2016 election cycle was almost $2.33 million. According to its report filed with the FEC at the end of January, CULAC had raised almost $2.6 million and still had more than $1.2 million on hand.

Much of the money came from state and regional leagues, which operate their own PACs and then send the money to CULAC to contribute to candidates.

As one might expect, credit union PACs are most generous to members and candidates they identify as friends, and those who have the most sway over legislation that concerns the industry.

For instance, CULAC contributed $10,000 to the reelection effort of Rep. Pete Aguilar (D-Calif.), a former mayor of Redland, Calif. and former employee of the $960 million Arrowhead Central Credit Union in San Bernardino, Calif. NAFCU gave Aguilar $1,000 so far this year.

CULAC also contributed $10,000 to Rep. Brad Sherman (D-Calif.), who has been recognized as a longtime supporter of credit unions and recently spoke at CUNA's Governmental Affairs Conference, where he called for an extension of the NCUA's examination cycle.

The committee also contributed $10,000 to House Financial Services Committee Chairman Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas) and $5,000 to his leadership PAC, the Jobs, Economy and Budget Fund. At the same time, it contributed $5,000 to the ranking Democrat on the committee, Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.).

NAFCU contributed $1,000 to Hensarling and $5,000 to Waters this year.

CULAC will not contribute to a candidate unless the league in that candidate's state agrees it is a good idea, Hawkins noted, adding that CULAC will only contribute to one candidate in a particular race.

NAFCU has a committee of credit union professionals who decide which candidates to support, O'Brien said. That committee considers factors such as the viability of the candidate, he said, adding that if a candidate has served in the state legislature, the committee takes the candidate's state record on credit unions into account.

Unlike some PACs, credit union committees tend to be more bipartisan. For instance, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, CULAC contributed $511,350 to Republicans and $498,000 to Democrats.

By comparison, the American Bankers Association PAC contributed more than $747,000 to Republicans and about $250,000 to Democrats this year. Independent Community Bankers also followed that pattern, contributing almost $325,000 to Republicans and $117,250 to Democrats.

"The two parties have an interesting and complicated relationship with credit unions," John McKechnie, senior partner at Total Spectrum and former CUNA political action director, said. "In my experience, credit unions are well-served by cultivating support on both sides of the aisle – Democrats and Republicans may have distinct reasons for supporting credit unions, but in the final analysis credit union friends can be found across the political spectrum, and that's a testament to the broad appeal of the credit union message."

CULAC's contributions included $15,000 to the Democratic and Republican National Committees, as well as the House and Senate political arms of the two parties. Those committees distribute spend money for candidates separately from CULAC.

When PACs spend, they receive access in return. Take the case of Rep. Tim Derickson (R-Ohio), who is running in the Republican primary for the seat formerly occupied by former House Speaker John Boehner, for example. CULAC made a $200,000 independent expenditure for media advertising on Derickson's behalf.

On Dec. 15, 2015, Derickson tweeted, "Great to sit down with Credit Union members here in Butler County today – great conversation!"

Derickson is a state legislator who has worked closely with the Ohio league, Hawkins said. He said CULAC is the only financial services PAC that is involved with independent expenditures. He added that PACs are limited to contributing $5,000 to a candidate's primary campaign and $5,000 to the candidate's general election campaign, but there is no limit on independent expenditures.

"We see CULAC as one of the stronger PACs," Patrick Harris, vice president of government relations for the Ohio league, said.

Last month, the Alabama Credit Union Association, an affiliate of the Southeastern league, endorsed Senate Banking Chairman Richard Shelby (R-Ala.) for reelection, following a Southeastern league vote. As chairman of a powerful committee, Shelby has the power to sway legislation affecting financial institutions.

"He really understands the regulatory burden," LaPine said. "He had our endorsement on his campaign website."

And Shelby has reaped rewards from going to bat for credit unions – CULAC contributed $10,000 to his campaign and NAFCU contributed $3,500. LaPine said last year, the Southeastern league also held a reception on Shelby's behalf.

The Southeastern league supported Shelby's effort to bring more transparency to the NCUA's budget process, financial institution examination fairness and efforts to raise the CFPB's examination threshold to exempt more smaller-asset-size institutions.

For credit unions, supporting House and Senate candidates is not enough; state legislatures also hold a great deal of sway over their futures. Therefore, many leagues have separate, Federal PACs for supporting House and Senate candidates, as well as state committees, which in turn support state candidates.

For instance, the Ohio Credit Union Legislative Action Committee contributed some $71,000 to local candidates this year in advance of the state's March 15 primary. Most of the money goes to state legislative candidates, but the committee also makes contributions in local races, such as a city council contest that involves a credit union ally.

Harris said his league has attempted to set up meetings at credit unions with state legislature candidates in an effort to emphasize that there are credit unions in the candidates' communities.

Credit unions in Alabama and Florida have state PACs as well, according to LaPine.

To contribute to candidates, credit unions must raise their own money since they're not allowed to make corporate contributions to PACs. That's spurred state leagues to switch to fundraising mode – for example, some leagues encourage credit union employees to contribute to their PACs through payroll deductions. In addition, CULAC established an online fundraising program that allows donors to make a one-time or recurring contribution to the PAC.

State leagues also choose fundraising strategies that are specific to their communities.

"What works in Alabama may not work in Florida," LaPine said, adding that his organization attempted to find alternatives to the traditional golf outings that many organizations use to raise money.

"In Alabama, we do a quail hunt," he said. In other instances, state leagues held deep sea fishing outings, he added.

NAFCU also has a matching program in which the trade association matches the first $100,000 in contributions to the PAC with a contribution to Children's Miracle Network Hospitals.