By Denise Wymore, Chair of the Board, CU De Novo Collective

I was never much of a science fiction fan, but a friend got me hooked on Battlestar Galactica(the reimagined version where Starbuck and Boomer are now female characters and bad asses).

For those that missed it, here’s the overall plot of Battlestar Galactica: When an old enemy, the Cylons, resurfaces and obliterates the 12 colonies, the crew of the aged Galactica protect a small civilian fleet – the last of humanity – as they journey toward the fabled 13th colony, Earth.

One of my favorite episodes was when Starbuck saw Earth. She knows how to get there, and no one will listen to her. She eventually holds the president hostage (and here is how you know it’s science fiction, the president is also a woman). That would never happen in America! Anyway, with every “jump” they are getting farther and farther away.

Eventually Starbuck is thrown in a cell by the Admiral because they all think she’s crazy. Starbuck laughs and cries, hysterical, screaming, “We’re going the wrong way!”

Two years ago, a group of ragtag volunteers set off on a journey to start and save credit unions, launching the CU De Novo Collective. Our goal was to protect a small cooperative fleet – the last of the credit union movement.

Since then, we have had a few small victories. We met with the NCUA to advise on how to modernize the charter process. We’ve leveraged our collective networks to save a few small credit unions from unnecessary mergers. We created a foundation and received our 501(c)(3)and will launch our first fundraising round in Q1 2024. We are going to raise money for grants that will help small credit unions “cut the cord” and say goodbye to the core processor that has been literally holding them hostage.

But there are days when I feel like laughing, crying hysterically and screaming, “We’re going the wrong way!” Chip Filson summed it up nicely in this recent post, “The Latest Cooperative Score: 3 Wins and 107 Losses.”

And we are not just losing credit unions. Trade associations, both on the state and national level, are merging. Very large CUSOs are merging. What does this all mean?

With every jump, we move further and further from our mission. Where exactly are we going? Where’s a roadmap for the future? What does it look like when we only have 1,000, or worse yet, 500 giant credit unions in America?

Have we lost our way?