The League System: Supporting credit unions during crisis
For the past few years, large wildfires have ravaged and devasted California. Just since August of this year, there have been 8,200 fires throughout the state, burning through a record 4 million acres. More than 96,000 people have been evacuated and thousands of structures and communities have been lost.
Credit union leagues exist to serve and support their member credit unions and in turn, their credit unions’ members. Therefore, each time a wildfire or a natural disaster strikes, the California and Nevada Credit Union Leagues sets out to work, immediately reaching out to find out how it is impacting our credit unions and their members. We share information on resources available, such as the National Credit Union Foundation’s CUAid program. We also serve as a conduit of information for non-impacted credit unions to offer assistance, including donating to worthwhile causes.
The CA/NV Credit Union Leagues’ Disaster Relief & Preparedness webpage features information on CUAid grants and an encouragement for credit unions to donate to the program. The page also features a business continuity plan template for sample content credit unions may wish to add to their emergency preparedness plan as it pertains to wildfires and other natural disasters. We provided similar sample content to help in dealing with the COVID-19 crisis.
California and Nevada Credit Union Leagues are not unique in our support of our member credit unions. Leagues nationwide continually step up to help their credit unions when a crisis occurs. For example, after a series of wildfires ravaged the region several weeks ago, the Northwest Credit Union Association’s foundation activated its disaster relief program. Within a matter of hours, they raised more than $100,000 to support credit unions that jumped into action to help their members and employees impacted by the devastation, even as they grappled with their own evacuations, branch closures, and property damage. The Louisiana Credit Union League has stepped up several times in the past few months after hurricane devastation affected several of their credit unions and tens of thousands of members. Among other assistance, LCUL’s Foundation offers disaster grants to credit union employees and support for small credit unions.
These are just a small fraction of the many examples of the ways the League System supports credit unions in the face of adversity. Whether the impact is from a wildfire, pandemic, or economic crisis, the leagues are here to support our credit unions, so our credit unions can focus on their staff, serve their members, and support their communities’ rebuilding efforts.
The California and Nevada Credit Union Leagues are proud members of the American Association of Credit Union Leagues (AACUL) and are committed to collaborating with leagues nationwide to foster the prosperity of the entire credit union movement.
