We are trying to get those messages out through our other credit union champions, to allow us to raise awareness that the kind of work we do is an effective return on U.S. foreign assistance. We’ve had broad bipartisan support over the decades. With any administration coming in, they want to do a review. This is quite a different approach, to totally shake up the system, but our hope is that they’ll take a tough look at the programs that are really delivering value. And we would hope that the kind of broad bipartisan support that credit unions have enjoyed in the U.S. will allow us to also argue that the value that credit unions deliver in many countries around the world is directly in the U.S.’s interest. It helps us build economic stability. It helps us deliver value to the underserved that are part of enhancing global security and financial markets. It’s all connected, right? Even if in the moment we are saying, ‘America first,’ if you look broadly, the evidence is there that these things are good for the American people and a wise investment on the American taxpayer dollar.

WOCCU President/CEO Elissa McCarter LaBorde (sitting on couch, center) with staff from all three of WOCCU’s USAID-funded projects during their annual Project Administrators Workshop (PAWS) last year at the organization’s Washington, D.C. office. (Credit/WOCCU)

CU Times: Will GAC look any different for WOCCU this year? Will you use it as a platform to get your message out?

Instant Insights /

WOCCU’s McCarter LaBorde Reflects on ‘Really Tough’ Fallout From USAID Freeze

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