Increasing Political Giving
"Money is the mother's milk of politics."
Providing financial support for candidates must be an important part of our plan. In the 1998 election cycle, political action committees run by the bankers contributed nearly seven times the amount to federal candidates than credit unions did. And that does not include individual contributions or fundraising efforts. If we all do our part, the grassroots power of the Credit Union Movement cannot be matched by the bankers, but we must have enough money to be competitive.
Your credit union should make a commitment to increasing its political giving to its state PAC, to CULAC, the national credit union PAC run by CUNA, and to individual candidates. In addition to making your own contributions, there are some easy steps you can take to increase your political giving:
Sign a permission agreement with your league A signed permission agreement will allow you to participate in all the fundraising activities that your league has to offer both for the state PAC and for CULAC.
Implement Deduct-A-Buck
CUNA and your league have designed an innovative program called Deduct-A-Buck which encourages credit union members to sign up for a periodic automatic account deduction of a pre-set amount each month, quarter or year directly from their account. These funds are sent to your state league and/or CULAC for use in supporting elected officials who support our issues. Deduct-A-Buck has been approved by the Federal Election Commission.
Participate in league fundraising activities
Your league may know of a number of fundraising programs that have proven to be legal and effective. Credit Unions who have signed permission agreements can participate in federal fundraising activities.
Sponsor and attend political fundraisers
Join the finance committee for a candidate from your area and help plan fundraising efforts for the campaign. Or, sponsor your own fundraiser for a candidate.
