Three virtual events kicked off the first of three days of content contributed by the Worldwide Foundation for Credit Unions during “WF Day” at the 2021 Virtual World Credit Union Conference.

Global Giving

At a roundtable discussion on credit union philanthropy during and after COVID-19, national credit union foundation leaders in the United States, Canada, Australia and Brazil said industry financial commitments remained strong despite the pandemic, allowing them to assist member institutions in need throughout the crisis and continue their credit union professional education programs.

But some regions saw a major decline in charitable funding at a time when they could least afford it.

“We actually received our lowest donations in 2020 in comparison to the last seven years,” said Denise Garfield, General Manager of the Caribbean Confederation of Credit Unions (CCCU) and the CCCU Development Foundation. “Our Foundation is very small, but our disasters are huge, unfortunately. And the Caribbean region is plagued almost annually with hurricanes—and this year with a volcano in St. Vincent.”

Participants identified digitization, and economic and mental health recovery from the pandemic as the main areas of support credit unions will need assistance with over the next 12 to 18 months. They also agreed that developing partnerships and providing experiences for supporters are becoming more important aspects of fundraising for the industry.

“We will need support from strategic partnerships and credit unions from all across the country and I think COVID put that off in the distance, but we have a renewed sense of energy to do that very quickly,” said Robert Kelly, CEO of the Association of British Credit Unions Limited (ABCUL).

Bridge the Gap via a Global Gathering

Worldwide Foundation also provided an update on how its initiatives have helped credit unions worldwide address key challenges during its Global Gathering event, a virtual replacement for the annual supporters’ reception at WCUC.

Through four dynamic videos, Worldwide Foundation updated its donors on how its campaign helped bridge serious credit union gaps that exist worldwide through its Bridge the Gap campaign, including the:

• Digital Gap. VyStar Credit Union in Jacksonville, Florida conducted a workshop to help World Council of Credit Unions’ Economic Inclusion Project (EIP) integrate digital credit solutions into their work of helping Venezuelan migrants and local vulnerable populations access formal financial services.
• Safety Gap. The National Credit Union Federation of Korea (NACUFOK) donated more than 60,000 facemasks, which Worldwide Foundation distributed to 40 credit union systems worldwide to keep employees and members safe during the COVID-19 pandemic. Worldwide Foundation also provided grant funding for personal protective equipment to credit unions in Ukraine and the Caribbean as well.
• Gender Gap. In Senegal, World Council’s Gender Lens Investment for Credit Unions Activity continues to develop a toolkit to help local credit unions support women’s empowerment and economic entrepreneurship.
• Leadership Gap. Global Women’s Leadership Network (GWLN) and WYCUP program initiatives continue to respectively help women and young professionals grow into leadership roles across the global credit union community. Both groups will host their own respective Worldwide Foundation days at WCUC next week, with GWLN hosting events on Monday, July 19 and WYCUP hosting activities on Tuesday, July 20.

Worldwide Foundation also introduced a new program—Global Bridges: an end-to-end journey experience for credit unions to leverage that provides staff leadership development, while helping solve global credit union challenges.

Learn about how Worldwide Foundation can craft a global credit union journey for you and your organization by visiting http://www.doglobalgood.org/bridge.

11 earn I-CUDE designation

Over 300 International Credit Union Development Educator (I-CUDE) alumni and enthusiasts also joined Worldwide Foundation Day to learn more about the seven global CUDE programs and to honor the 11 I-CUDE graduates from four countries that make up the Class of 2021.

Worldwide Foundation for Credit Unions reviews all annual I-CUDE applications and approves designation.

“WF Day was all about delivering value to our donors and new audiences by celebrating our global DE peers, updating our donors while having fun and sharing how we will address future philanthropic challenges. It was a great experiment to see what our constituents resonated toward,” said Mike Reuter, Executive Director of Worldwide Foundation.

Follow daily conference activities on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram with #WCUC2021.

The 2021 World Credit Union Conference runs through Wednesday, July 21.