Published by the Credit Union Association of New York

nycufoundation
The New York Credit Union Foundation:
Yesterday, today and tomorrow
By Allison Barna, CUDE, Director of NYCUF/Community Development, Credit Union Association of New York
IIN MAY OF 1959, THE CREDIT UNION ASSOCIATION OF NEW
York (then New York State Credit Union League) lost its first
managing director. For more than 28 years, Sidney Stahl held
the position and was also the first, full-time managing director
in the United States. That June, at the League’s 39th Annual
Meeting, a resolution was presented and passed to create a
voluntary Sidney Stahl Memorial Fund “for the purpose of
establishing scholarships to needy and worthy students for
the purpose of fostering better understanding amongst
mankind.”
The Foundation yesterday
The fund evolved into the Sidney Stahl Memorial
Foundation and served as the charitable arm of the League,
tasked with assisting New York credit union volunteers
with their educational and training needs. The Memorial
Foundation specifically provided scholarships to CUNA
Management School, Cornell Management School for specific
Districts (Chapters) and the Wilfred Kerr Scholarship for the
Cornell Management School.
In 1995, the Sidney Stahl Memorial Foundation was
refocused and renamed the New York Credit Union Foundation
to advance the ideals and goals of the credit union movement
in New York State. With an emphasis on consumer financial
education—especially among young people—the Foundation
adopted the mission “to support projects that fulfill the
credit union philosophy of ‘people helping people’ through
education and by providing financial resources.”
Through the years, the Foundation continued to support
that mission (as well as various incarnations of it) through
grant and scholarship programs for education and training,
conferences, outreach programs and technology, as well as
programs to help credit unions provide New Yorkers with
tools to become more financially capable. The Foundation
also began to intensify its focus on youth financial literacy.
The Foundation today
Recently, however, the changing environment and
evolving needs of credit unions led the Foundation’s board
of trustees to re-evaluate the Foundation’s mission and focus.
New Yorkers of all ages and backgrounds are struggling to
manage debt, build savings and plan for their financial
futures, and the Foundation is committed to helping New
York credit unions offer solutions on a local level—while still
pursuing solutions that advance the philosophy of “people
helping people.”
In this spirit, the Foundation has developed and adopted a
new mission statement: “Fostering the financial independence
of New Yorkers through credit unions.” And with this
mission comes a broader scope of services.
The Foundation tomorrow
In addition to grant funding, disaster relief and youth
financial education resources, the Foundation will work to
provide credit unions with resources to reach a broader range
of underserved groups, including youth, Hispanics, immigrants
and low-wealth families. Each of these groups represents
significant opportunities for credit unions and, with its new
mission, the Foundation is committed to helping you identify
and seize those opportunities.
Moving forward, the Foundation will work cooperatively
with the Credit Union Association of New York to foster
existing strategic partnerships with groups like Coopera
Consulting and the Filene Research Institute through REAL
Solutions. The Foundation will also continue to promote
programs like BizKid$, Kid’s Cash Kits and the National
Endowment for Financial Education ® (NEFE ® ) High School
Financial Planning Program ® (HSFPP).
What does this mean for you? After more than seven
decades, the New York Credit Union Foundation, your
Foundation, is here to help you identify trends, reach key
markets and access the resources and financial support you
need to be successful. And as you grow and evolve to serve
your members and communities, so will your Foundation. ■
To learn more the New York Credit Union Foundation, contact
Allison Barna at allison.barna@cuany.org or (800) 342-9835,
ext. 8134.
26 SEPTEMBER 2012 Connection