In a recent episode of Credit Union Connection, Tansley Stearns, President and CEO of Community Financial Credit Union, discussed the importance of credit unions as a “financial best friend” and the groundbreaking Backbone initiative. The interview, available to watch in full, delves into the crucial role credit unions play in supporting Americans, especially during times of financial hardship and community crisis.
The Role of Credit Unions in Times of Need
Stearns emphasized that the credit union movement’s roots trace back to the Great Depression, a period when people united to create safe financial havens. In today’s volatile climate, with many Americans experiencing financial pain, credit unions are uniquely positioned to offer support and guidance. Community Financial Credit Union’s recent efforts to aid communities affected by a devastating ice storm exemplify this commitment. Stearns poignantly highlighted that credit unions provide essential support during life’s darkest moments, from natural disasters to personal crises, ensuring that people feel supported rather than isolated.
The Backbone Initiative and the Power of Storytelling
A key focus of the interview was the Backbone initiative, which aims to help credit unions better tell their stories. Stearns acknowledged that credit unions haven’t always excelled at storytelling, often viewing it as secondary to other business needs. However, she stressed that compelling storytelling is a vital business tool that can bring purpose to life and secure a brighter financial future for people. Backbone facilitates collaboration among credit unions, enabling them to collectively share stories that demonstrate their role as a “financial best friend”.
Early Successes and Future Goals
The interview also explored Backbone’s early successes, including features in Forbes and Parents. These publications have highlighted the broader impact of credit unions, addressing topics such as the financial implications of isolation and how parents can shape their children’s financial futures. Stearns called for more credit unions of all sizes and geographies to join the coalition to amplify their reach and impact.
Addressing Challenges and Looking Ahead
Stearns addressed the challenges facing the initiative, particularly the perception of storytelling as merely “cute” rather than a core business need. She urged credit unions to view marketing as an essential partner, akin to investments in technology and branches. The necessity for credit unions to adapt to regulatory constraints and digital advancements was also discussed.
The full interview provides valuable insights into how credit unions can enhance their storytelling, collaborate effectively, and reinforce their role as crucial financial allies. Stearns’s passionate advocacy for the Backbone initiative and the credit union movement’s potential to serve communities makes this a must-watch for anyone interested in the future of finance and community support.
The Backbone coalition keeps growing:
| Cardinal Credit Union (Ohio) | Farmers Insurance Federal Credit Union (California) | SchoolsFirst Federal Credit Union (California) |
| Community Financial Credit Union (Michigan) | FourLeaf Federal Credit Union (New York) | Vantage West Credit Union (Arizona) |
| Credit Union 1 (Alaska) | GoWest Credit Union Association (Washington) | Verity Credit Union (Washington) |
| Ent Credit Union (Colorado) | OneAZ Credit Union (Arizona) | Westerra Credit Union (Colorado) |
| Everwise Credit Union (Indiana) | Palmetto Citizens Federal Credit Union (South Carolina) |
Disclosure: Transcript below is automatically generated
Sarah Snell Cooke 00:06
Alrighty, hello and welcome everybody to the credit union connection. I’m here today with Tansley Stearns, who barely needs an introduction, but I’ll let you know she is the Community Financial Credit Union CEO. Welcome tainsley. Thank
Tansley Stearns 00:19
you so much for having me, Sarah, it’s a joy to be here absolutely before
Sarah Snell Cooke 00:23
we really get digging into the Backbone, which I love. I’ve told you before, it’s like something I’ve been wanting to happen for probably two decades now. But tell us a little bit about what your credit union’s up to and what you’re up to in the credit union. Absolutely,
Tansley Stearns 00:38
Community Financial is really enjoying an awesome year. We’re excited about the fact that we see credit unions as a financial best friend, and that ties directly to the work with Backbone when you think about our history as a movement we were started during the Great Depression, a time when people needed to come together to ensure they had a safe place to trust, to take out a loan, and folks that had resources coming together to ensure that could occur. And we are in a really volatile time when I think there’s a lot of uncertainty, and most importantly, what we’ve learned really since before the election, is that there’s an incredible amount of financial pain that Americans are feeling, and credit unions are uniquely served to do that, and that’s the work that Community Financial is really focused on. Most recently, we had a really devastating ice storm in our northern region, and we’ve been really focused on showing up for that community. We’ve had people tell us that the devastation is worse than a category five hurricane was just there a couple of weekends ago. And you know, what’s so important, I think, for us as credit union leaders, to remember is that in a lot of moments in our lives that are really dark, whether that’s a terrible ice storm or it’s divorce or death or domestic and sexual violence, there’s a financial underpinning that credit unions can be a partner in. And when we stand in in those moments, it’s an opportunity for us to ensure that people aren’t alone or isolated, and that gives us a chance to ensure that people know who we are and that we were intended for community, and to build that community even further.
Sarah Snell Cooke 02:18
Awesome. Awesome. Yeah, I keep it a track of what y’all are doing. And so re explain, I mean, you touched on a bit. Re explain Backbone and its purpose, which, of course, seems very fortuitous at this time.
Tansley Stearns 02:33
It’s critically important. Sarah, I know you and I have talked a lot about the fact that credit unions have not necessarily done a great job of telling our story, and I stand in that. And we believe that human beings need credit unions, and the way to ensure that that happens is that we continue to uplift and tell those stories. And you know, when I say that, I believe that one of the challenges we face is just that word story or stories is something I think we connect to our kiddos and the young people in our lives, and we think, ah, that’s not a business need. Well, it’s an exceptionally relevant business need. And I think that the very best storytellers in the world can bring purpose to life. They can ensure that people have a brighter financial future. And that’s really what we’re doing. And one of the other gifts of our space that you know, is collaboration. We talk about it a lot. I think we need to do it more. And Backbone is about us coming together to share those stories so that Americans know they do have a financial best friend.
Sarah Snell Cooke 03:35
And so I’ve seen you a lot in the media, and I’m sure some of your other partners as well, and so talk about some of the successes you all have had. It’s
Tansley Stearns 03:46
been so fun. First of all, we have a really great partner and Bryson Gillette that’s walking with us on this journey and really helping us to hone those stories and gather them under themes. And really importantly, as you mentioned, we have more and more credit unions that are joining the coalition. We have 16 organizations now that have come together, and some of the successes have been in Forbes. We had a really interesting piece that was published about the financial implications of isolation and loneliness. We had a piece published in parents that was about how parents can think about shaping the financial future of their kiddos. It’s really fun to see. So there’s two things Sarah, that we’re really focused on. One is we need more credit unions of all sizes across geography, and we need more of that coverage. And both of those things matter, because the more credit unions, the more of those stories that we can share, and we want this to be vastly more than my voice, and that’s part of what we love about the coalition, is that each credit union, while there are many things we have in common, each of us are doing some unique things, and we want to elevate those stories, because we know across our country, some might see themselves in me, some might see. Themselves and other leaders, and as we share those stories, it gives us more opportunity to be relevant to everyday Americans.
Sarah Snell Cooke 05:06
Yeah, and I think the example you gave, well, both the examples you gave, but particularly London Forbes, what caught my eye, there are so many things, as you kind of alluded to, that have financial underpinnings and credit unions want to sell on rates which, I mean, yes, the rate is important. You must be competitive. I get that. But yeah, instead of, like, selling the minivan loan, you’re selling you’re selling a way for this mom to get to work, to get her kid to school to get her, you know, carpool week at soccer. You know, all the things that that our everyday life as you know, people talk about all the time. You know, people don’t want to drill. They want to hang their picture, you know. So that is the story. It’s um, so, yeah, it’s, as you mentioned. It’s incredibly relevant. And I think even sometimes there are opportunities that credit unions can insert themselves in. That’s one of the things we’re trying to do with the crane connection. Is we have a PR advocacy section trying to get people to raise their hand to speak up with the mainstream media. And so, yeah, I think you all have been doing a great job. I’m wondering, though, what are some of the challenges that you’ve faced?
Tansley Stearns 06:26
You know, the challenges, I think one that I talked about this idea of storytelling, right? I think for some people, they think, Oh, that’s so cute. Tansley, not really something that we need to worry about. And as you know, in credit unions, because we are typically very conservative by nature, for all the right reasons. We need to be stewards of our members money, and oftentimes, just because of the way that we grew up, we’ve not necessarily elevated marketing as a business partner for the organization. We think of it as a nice to have in times that are really going very, very well. We believe that this is a partner for the advanced success of the organization no matter what. And it has to be something that we consistently believe in, the same way that we believe in alcohol, the same way that we believe in digital technology, the same way that we believe in branches. It’s an important and imperative part of the strategy. So I think that’s one, you know. I think the other is, you know, there’s so much to accomplish right now, Sarah, and you know that one, this is a critical time for credit unions. There are a lot of pressures or regulatory constraints. There’s a lot that we need to invest in to continue to stay relevant from a digital and technology standpoint. You know, making those choices is something that every credit union needs to do. And what I’m thrilled about is that we have amazing credit unions from across this country, 16 organizations strong, including a trade association that said, Hey, this is important enough to do, and more that have said, you know, keep us posted, because we’re watching this, and we do think that it matters. And I think every story that’s published Sarah gives us another opportunity to share that story, and for another credit union leader to think, Gosh, that’s something that we need to invest in and be part of.
Sarah Snell Cooke 08:16
Yeah, and I’m not going to put you on the spot to name all 16, but I do. I would love to get a list and include it in the show notes. So, yeah, I think one of the points that you made is that, you know, we’ve not been great at telling our story. And again, it could be in part because people do see it as that not or is that fiction as that childhood type story versus, you know, a brand story, which is really what every credit union probably does. They just don’t talk about, you know, they already do the thing. They already know.
Tansley Stearns 08:50
It’s who we are. It is absolutely who we are. And, you know, I think part of the unintended consequence of Backbone that I’m really proud of is that, as we share these stories, that that is something, whether someone joins the coalition or not, I hope that they see the peace and Forbes, they see the peace in parents, and that strikes them to think, oh gosh, we’re doing that too, and what if we shared that? And even if they’re not a part of this, although I hope they will be, I do think that us continuing to hone that skill, because it is a skill. Storytelling is something that takes time, energy, effort, investment, shaping, and when we get good at that as a movement, it will make all credit unions stronger, which, at the end of the day, is a win across this country for Americans. Yeah,
Sarah Snell Cooke 09:39
as you said, time, energy investment, I think especially when times are a little financially rough, that’s when we tend to pull back on our marketing and communications versus that’s when our members need us the most, and even our non potential members. You know that you can add more members? Course, this is really credit unions are counter cyclical, and so they really have an opportunity to shine and grow and keep themselves relevant. So, yeah, I could. I’ll shut up. This is your interview.
Tansley Stearns 10:13
Great. I’m thrilled. You’re excited about it. I think, to your point, the the opportunity now is even if resources are constrained, coming together is one of the ways that we elevate all of our work. And I think that this is a moment in time for us to be coming together, that unity really matters. People need credit unions today. They need a financial best friend, and US ensuring that every American knows that they can have that financial best friend is something that we need to all come together on. And the more we do that, the more that people will be aware and that helps every single credit union. It
Sarah Snell Cooke 10:52
does absolutely so what’s next? Sarah, well, we’re
Tansley Stearns 10:56
going to continue telling this story. I’m really grateful to you for having us on because, again, every credit that participates matters, and we’ve got lots of stories that we’re continuing to share. We’re also, again, as I said, really gathering those stories around themes, and so thinking about those themes and the ways that they are really important. You know, financial deserts is one of those. You know, thinking about these moments of crisis and really challenging times like the ice storm. You know, there are oodles of stories around those themes that we can continue to gather and share out. And again, another one of the reasons Backbone is so powerful, Sarah, is that, you know, if, if, as one credit union we’re talking about, for example, this ice storm situation, you know, a reporter might not be as interested, we hope they are. And sometimes it seems like, well, it’s just one credit union, when we’re saying, Gosh, this is how we handle this ice storm here in Michigan and in California, Redwood Credit Union. This is how they handled the fires. And on Long Island, this is how Four Leaf handled a hurricane. And these are the ways credit unions show up for communities, right? That’s a really rich story that a reporter will want to share,
Sarah Snell Cooke 12:04
right, exactly. And I think putting yourself in that reporter’s mindset, stepping out of your credit union mind, your credit union brain, the four walls, and really trying to put yourself into if I were just a member of what would I want to know about my credit union? Right? Right? So anyway, as I always do, I’m gonna allow you to give your final thoughts about the interview. Anything else you wanted to talk about, go for it. Well. Thank
Tansley Stearns 12:31
you, Sarah, I would just say, please consider joining us at Backbone. We’re so thrilled to be doing this. Work together. Collaboration is a gift of our space, and it’s only a gift if we’re doing it. And please share your stories. You know, this is a moment in time, I think, always and particularly right now. So many people are financially vulnerable, and we have an opportunity to come together and be that financial best friend. Let’s make that a reality and make 2025 the year the credit union. Heck, yeah. Alright.
Sarah Snell Cooke 13:01
I appreciate your time. You have a great rest of
13:03
your day. You too, my friend.
13:04
Thank you.