It's A Wonderful Life: The Credit Union Story

I love the movie, It’s a Wonderful Life. You probably saw this popular holiday classic several times on TV last month. I like it because it reminds me so much about the importance of credit unions and how we all need to do a better job telling our stories. (Yes, I do bleed credit unions).

 

The main character of the movie is George Bailey - a man who constantly sacrifices his own dreams for the benefit of the community. When his father dies, he finds himself in charge of the family business – Bailey Building & Loan – an organization which loans money and helps people build affordable housing in town. It is the only business in town not owned by the movie’s evil nemesis Old Man Potter, a banker who sees people as dollars signs instead of human beings. Instead of doing a better job serving customers, Potter spends the entire movie trying to plot against the building and loan to make a bigger profit. Sound familiar? This is one of my favorite scenes in the movie, because it reiterates the importance of financial alternatives, especially during a recession:

 

 

 

 

There’s another equally important scene in the movie in which Potter causes a run on the Building and Loan as George and his new bride are on their way out of town for their honeymoon. George and his wife use their honeymoon money to provide temporary loans to customers while educating them on the importance of keeping their money where it is:

 

 

 

 

This is what we do as credit unions every day. We are our members’ financial partners. We help them fulfill their dreams. We take chances on people who need a break. We help our members when they need us most. So why aren’t we telling them these things?

 

In the midst of a recession, when so many financial institutions are tightening their belts to clean up the economic mess they’ve caused, credit unions continue to be part of the solution. We have money to lend. We want to help people. We have helped people, and we should be shouting it from the roof tops.

 

That’s what a credit union in Roanoke, Virginia did. Last year, when banks were going out of business at lightening speed, Member One Credit Union launched this billboard:

 

 

 

The campaign generated millions just in the first month and differentiated this credit union from everyone.

 

Don’t have money for a billboard? Put member testimonials on your website and marketing collateral. Ask members to write something positive about you on their Facebook pages. See if they’ll write a letter to the editor of the local paper about you. Arrange for an article to be written about a member whose home you saved from foreclosure by another financial institution. Offer free financial literacy sessions and publicize them at public venues to draw non-members, too.

 

Almost anything that helps consumers in a bad economy will serve as a reminder that there are still George Bailey’s in the world who are ready to help the little guy. And because we work in the credit union movement, it is a wonderful life.

Comments

[Southcheesehead]

I absolutely love this post! It's so true and the parallels of that movie with what we do in CU land is incredible. Thanks for the reminder and Happy New Year thinking huge!

[Mark]

@Southcheesehead: Thx for your comments and kind words. When explaining how a credit union works to consumers, we can always say, "It's like in the movie 'It's a Wonderful Life.'" Happy New Year to you as well!