Charitable Donation Accounts through CUNA Mutual Group

CUNA Mutual Group (CMG) offers an investment opportunity for credit unions that can also help support charitable partners, including Credit Unions for Kids (CU4Kids). Charitable Donation Accounts allow credit unions to yield a higher return on their investment than most other offerings. In fact, last year found a 127% increase in the CDA!

In return for the higher return, credit unions must donate a minimum of 51% of the investment profit to a registered 501(c)(3) organization.

John Pesh, Director of Executive Benefits at CMG says, “Together, cause marketing and a CDA can give your credit union new ways to have a bigger impact on your community to help further establish your credit union’s status as a leader and reputable place to do business.”

CUNA Mutual Group has 5 key ways to make your CDA investment as successful as possible:

1. Believe wholeheartedly in the cause. Connect with a cause that your board, management and employees are passionate about, giving everyone a reason to be enthusiastic about participating in fundraising and other volunteer activities.

2. Align with a non-profit that supports your mission. Know your community’s greatest social concerns and build partnerships, perhaps even branch by branch (as long as the overall campaign is coordinated centrally).

3. Forge a formal partnership, including marketing. Make your cause marketing a formal partnership and work together with the non-profit on specific goals. Share one another’s marketing platforms to increase awareness of what you’re doing together. Focus on social media to tap into those who are active in the cause you’ve chosen and prompt other organizations to add their weight and credibility to your cause marketing efforts.

4. Do more than donate money. A key to differentiating your credit union is by engaging your entire staff in volunteer activities to augment monetary donations. This shows that your interest in the charity is sincere. It also leverages your best asset – your employees – as goodwill ambassadors.

5. Show a clear impact. After you’ve identified an important need, written a clear strategy for meeting that need, and engaged your resources, including your staff, document your results through various channels including articles, social media posts, video and more, detailing information such as how much money was raised (comparing to previous years, when applicable), number of volunteers with photos from the event, and comments or thanks received from community members. This can be the cornerstone of your cause marketing efforts – nothing speaks more eloquently or persuasively than positive results.

“Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals has been a very proud partner with CUNA Mutual Group for a long time through events like the Cherry Blossom Run, and others,” says Nick Coleman, Director of Strategic Partnerships at CMN Hospitals. “We are thrilled to help promote Charitable Donation Accounts as an opportunity to raise more funds for Credit Unions for Kids and the 10 million children our partner hospitals treat each year.”

To learn more about this opportunity visit CUNA Mutual Group’s website by clicking here.

CUNA Mutual Group has been a great supporter to Credit Unions for Kids and Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals through many different campaigns, including the Cherry Blossom Run. 

To learn more about Credit Unions for Kids, click here.