APGFCU Highlights 3 Keys to Choosing Causes to Support

Community involvement is a standard practice at most credit unions, but holding up that pillar of the movement isn’t always as easy as it looks. For many credit unions, the problem isn’t whether to get involved – it’s how to get involved. After all, credit unions have a seemingly infinite number of causes to support and an endless supply of organizations to partner with, which can make it hard to decide where to focus.

One credit union’s story highlights what may be the trick to choosing causes to support. It involves thinking about three things: Problem-solving, proximity and process.

Problem-Solving

Overdose deaths involving heroin have risen by more than 500% since 2007, according to the most recent data available from the National Institute on Drug Abuse. This spring, the Edgewood, Md.-based APG Federal Credit Union stepped in to help fight the problem.

The credit union, which has $1.4 billion in assets and about 133,000 members, partnered with the Harford County Sheriff’s Office in May to host a mobile education unit called the Heroin Overdose Prevention Education House, or H.O.P.E. House, at one of its branch locations. The trailer is set up to simulate a young person’s bedroom and bathroom, allowing parents an opportunity to learn how to see signs of drug use and how drugs can be hidden in plain sight. APGFCU invited credit union members and members of the public to go inside the H.O.P.E. House for two days in May.

APGFCU Chief Marketing Officer Brian Wilcox said the decision to get involved with the cause started with a decision to help stem a crisis.

“Our CEO challenges us to take a look at problems. He’ll even say, ‘When you watch the news, ask yourself when you see a problem: What is the credit union solution?’ That’s the mindset that we have,” Wilcox explained.

“There is definitely a financial component to addiction,” he continued. “Very frequently it takes a tremendous toll financially – not only on an individual, but also their family. We recognize that’s a huge issue, and that is the connection we see with this. We can try to help a family prevent this from happening or know that we’re here, if they end up in dire straits and need financial counseling and things like that.”

Proximity

Credit unions can certainly support national organizations that don’t necessarily have a physical presence in their communities, but looking at what’s going on just beyond their branch doors can help them decide where to focus their community efforts.

“What are the hot buttons in their community? Where can they be of help? For example, the opioid crisis – is this a major issue in their community, or is there another issue?” Wilcox asked.

Opioid addiction has hit many communities across the country hard, but the problem is especially bad in APGFCU’s own backyard. According to recent data from the National Institute on Drug Abuse, Washington, D.C. and Maryland ranked third and fifth in the country, respectively, for the number of opioid-involved overdose deaths per 100,000 people. The situation has gotten so dire that on March 1, 2017, the governor of Maryland declared a state of emergency in response to the heroin, opioid and fentanyl crisis in the state.

APGFCU serves two counties nestled in the northeastern corner of the state.

“We’re in close proximity to Baltimore. We’re not in the city, but we’re in the suburbs and it’s a big issue in this area,” Wilcox said.

Process

Implementing consistent evaluation and decision processes for giving and support can help credit unions avoid flavor-of-the-day causes and stay focused.

APGFCU has a community involvement committee composed of board members, Wilcox said. That committee decides how and where to give a budgeted number of dollars.

“We are careful with the causes that we choose,” he said. “Per our policy, there is an amount that is set, and it’s based on a percentage of the prior year’s assets. It is allocated to that board committee to divide up however they feel is appropriate.” The money is in addition to funds for the credit union’s community outreach and business development efforts.

Being cognizant of the controversy or risk associated with supporting various causes or organizations is also part of the process.

“We’re very conscious of risk,” Wilcox noted. “It’s something that we discuss, and we look to mitigate risk as much as possible.”

Reputational risk isn’t the only consideration; credit unions also have to think about property damage, injuries and other physical risks when they decide which community events or causes to support.

“One of the logistical things that you think of is that this is taking place on our property,” Wilcox said. “We have proper insurance to cover that.”

Although community involvement might indirectly build brand awareness and even boost membership, the financial returns on philanthropic activities aren’t part of the equation, Wilcox said.

“We’re not really looking at it from an ROI standpoint,” he said. “Obviously we’re going to do something that’s fiscally sound, and we have to balance that with everything else, but we really do believe that in addition to giving back to our members through better rates and lower fees, that it’s also our responsibility to give back to the community, especially being a community-chartered credit union.”

Opioids in America

70,237: Total national drug overdose deaths among people of all ages in 2017

47,600: Overdose deaths involving any opioid in 2017

68%: Percentage of overdose deaths involving opioids

45.2%: Increase in overdose deaths involving synthetic opioids, 2016 to 2017

35: Number of states in which drug overdose death rates rose between 2013 and 2017

702,568: Number of people dead from drug overdoses between 1999 and 2017

Sources: National Institute on Drug Abuse, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention