CUNA News
  • LOG IN
  • Create Account
  • Sign Out
  • My Account
  • LOG IN
  • Create Account
  • Sign Out
  • My Account
  • Topics
    • Community Service
    • Compliance
    • Credit Union Hero
    • Credit Union Rock Star
    • Credit Union System
    • Directors
    • Human Resources
    • Leadership
    • Lending
    • Marketing
    • Operations
    • Policy & Issues
    • Sales & Service
    • Technology
  • Credit Union Magazine
    • Buyers' Guide
    • COVID-19
    • Digital Edition
    • Credit Union Hero
    • Credit Union Rock Star
    • Subscribe
    • Advertise
    • Contact
  • Advertise
  • Awards
    • Nominate Credit Union Hero
    • Nominate Credit Union Rock Star
  • Podcasts
  • Videos
  • Jobs
  • Contact

News

Home » Donovan: CUs are well-positioned to tell their story to policymakers
Leadership GAC20 Monday

Donovan: CUs are well-positioned to tell their story to policymakers

Data security is also a priority.

February 24, 2020
Alex McVeigh
No Comments
Ryan Donovan

Stories of the people credit unions help every day matter to policymakers because that’s who they work for, CUNA Chief Advocacy Officer Ryan Donovan told the main hall Monday at CUNA’s Governmental Affairs Conference (GAC). Stories of people credit unions have helped resonate because Congressional staffers, and members of Congress themselves, can also likely identify with what a member is going through and how credit unions have helped.

“There is certainly a place for facts and figures — but everyone has numbers and Congress gets bogged down in them all of the time,” he said. “Credit unions are in a better position than other financial service providers to humanize the impact that decisions in Washington have because the interest of your members aligns with the interest of the credit union.”

Donovan shared his own credit union story, when after packing his car and heading to Washington, D.C. to work as a Congressional staffer, he was told to “go down and join the credit union so you can get paid.”

Donovan became a credit union member that day, he recalled, and he said credit unions have been with him ever since, helping him consolidate debt, buy a house, renovate a kitchen, and more.

He shared several videos on such impactful stories, including one featuring the story of Monica Belz, CEO of Kauai Government Employees FCU, who jet-skied, boated, and swam to get to credit union members after historic flooding in April 2018.

Another featuring Dupaco Community CU Consumer Lending Consultant Supervisor Cindy Hilkin told how the credit union served a member (after being referred by a bank) and helped him build his credit to work toward his dream of homeownership.

“Stories like these show that credit unions are advancing communities and empowering financial well-being. This matters to policymakers because they are interested in two things: their community and their constituents,” Donovan said. “Policymakers want what is best for their constituents and that includes the opportunity for them to be financially secure.”

He also outlined the CUNA/League 2020 advocacy agenda, an agenda that is “reflective of credit unions’ public policy interests and the political environment in which we operate.”

Donovan also urged credit union leaders, when meeting with members of Congress this week, to highlight that data security and data privacy is the “top issue for credit unions in 2020 and it is a top issue for Capitol Hill – it impacts everyone. And we need a national data security standard that applies to everyone. You can’t have data privacy without data security.”

►Visit CUNA News for more conference coverage and get live updates on Twitter via @CUNA_News, @cumagazine, @CUNA, and #CUNAGAC. Follow the conference on Facebook and Instagram, and visit cuna.org/gac for more information.

KEYWORDS CUNA GAC

Post a comment to this article

Report Abusive Comment

Credit Union Magazine: Winter 2022

Winter 2022

Credit Union Magazine’s Winter 2022 issue highlights data-driven marketing, the board’s role in cybersecurity, elder abuse scams, credit unions’ auto lending advantage, and more.
Digital Edition •  Subscribe

Trending

  • House passes CUNA, League-led board modernization bill

  • CFPB issues CUNA-opposed proposal on credit card late fees

  • Key committee leaders supportive of credit union priorities

Tweets by CUNA_News

Polls

Vote for the 2023 CU Hero of the Year

View Results
More

Champion for the Credit Union Movement

Credit Union National Association is the most influential financial services trade association and the only national association that advocates on behalf of all of America's credit unions. We work tirelessly to protect your best interests in Washington and all 50 states. We fuel your professional growth at every level and champion the credit union story at every turn.

More CUNA

  • Membership
  • Contact Us
  • Careers

Resources for

  • Credit Union Advocates
  • Leagues
  • Press
  • Providers

Our Affiliates

  • American Association of Credit Union Leagues (AACUL)
  • Credit Union Awareness
  • Credit Union House
  • CUNA Strategic Services
  • National Credit Union Foundation
GET CUNA UPDATES
© 2023 Credit Union National Association | ADA Compliance Notice & Legal
Email Us