Advocacy in Action: Advocacy Has to Be Part of Our DNA
By DCUC Staff —
We cannot be effective advocates if advocacy lives only in the CEO’s inbox. It has to become part of how our credit unions work, how we prepare our people, and how we listen to members. In other words, it has to become part of our organizational DNA.
That is the thinking behind “Making Advocacy Part of Your Credit Union’s DNA: From the Boardroom to the Teller Line,” the guide DCUC recently sent to our membership. Developed in response to requests from member credit unions, it offers practical ways to make advocacy part of everyday life.The starting point is not another committee or a bigger travel budget. It is a conversation.Does your board understand the issues affecting your ability to serve members? Do new employees learn why advocacy matters? Does a teller know where to take a concern that keeps coming up? When someone offers an idea, does leadership explain what happens next?A teller does not need to memorize bill numbers. A director does not need to become a lobbyist. But everyone should understand the mission and know that their experience matters.Start by including advocacy education in board orientation and annual development. Introduce it during hiring and onboarding. Revisit it through short refreshers and team conversations. Give employees opportunities to learn, ask questions, and share what they see in their daily work.Then make participation practical. For appropriate educational and issue meetings, provide preparation, coverage, mentoring, and reasonable support. Offer other learning opportunities for employees who cannot attend. Keep personal political participation and contributions voluntary.Most importantly, listen and respond. A suggestion box is not a feedback process. Employees deserve to know whether their concern led to an internal improvement, needs more research, or belongs in a broader policy discussion. Explain decisions, including decisions not to act.DCUC can help keep those conversations going. You do not have to produce every update yourself.Weekly Watch brings together the week’s advocacy activity. Driving the Week looks ahead at the issues and activity we will be watching. Our new monthly advocacy summary memo provides material for board packets and leadership discussions.DCUC’s ALERT magazine, policy updates, and action alerts offer additional ways to keep directors and employees informed. These are free resources you can share throughout your organization. Choose something relevant, bring it to a team meeting, and ask, “Are we hearing anything like this from our members?”The guide also includes a starting plan, sample language, and answers to common questions. Use what fits your credit union. Begin with one change you can maintain, then build from there.Please reach out to me at [email protected] to learn more, request the guide, or discuss how these resources could help your team.Effective advocacy needs more than an occasional trip or an urgent message. It needs informed people, regular conversations, and leadership that follows through.When advocacy becomes part of how we hire, train, listen, and serve, it stops being someone else’s responsibility. It becomes part of who we are.
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Originally reported by DCUC.