Relationships key to advocacy success

Successful advocacy involves finding common ground with legislators and the shared priority to improve the lives of members—lawmakers’ constituents.

Dana Sisk, president/CEO at $4.3 billion asset size Rally Credit Union in Corpus Christi, Texas, offers insights into effective advocacy and connecting with legislators.

Q: Tell us about your credit union and the people you serve?

A: Rally Credit Union is a community-chartered credit union serving more than 220,000 members across eight counties in South Texas. Rally has 21 branches and 800 employees.

We work to meet the unique financial needs of our members, who are often income- and credit-challenged. Our team is focused on our purpose: Improve lives, drive possibilities.

Q: How do you get involved in advocacy, and why is this important to you?

A: Rally Credit Union has partnered with the Cornerstone Credit Union League and America’s Credit Unions for many years. We support them with corporate and individual financial contributions, and we work to communicate the needs of credit unions to our elected officials and lawmakers.

We’re proud to do our part to support the credit union system, and we believe this is also integral to serving our members.

Q: How would you define your approach to advocacy?

A: Rally’s advocacy efforts are tailored to address the unique financial needs of South Texas consumers, and we strive to tell the story of those members when we communicate with our lawmakers.

We believe advocacy success depends on successfully building relationships with our legislators. We approach them with the proposition that we have shared goals of improving the lives of our mutual stakeholders in South Texas.

Q: What are the top legislative, regulatory, and legal issues you’re addressing now?

A: Rally’s priority legislative issue is always preserving the tax-exempt status of credit unions. Other ongoing advocacy priorities are protecting interchange income for financial institutions, holding merchants accountable for security of member data, and educating lawmakers on the unintended cost to consumers that’s often created by proposed regulations.

Q: What works and what doesn’t when approaching legislators and regulators?

A: What works: Approaching lawmakers with the assurance that we have shared goals to improve the lives of South Texans, sharing personal stories that they can relate to (i.e., the experience of having your identity stolen), and building relationships over time.

What doesn’t work: Using industry acronyms and terminology when talking with lawmakers, approaching them only when we have a specific request, and arguing for causes that we can’t easily explain and tie directly to local impact.

Q: What’s one advocacy win you’ve been a part of?

A: A few years back, a state law was proposed that would allow towing companies to take title to unclaimed vehicles left in their storage lots without notifying lienholders. Leveraging our long-standing relationship with one of our state representatives, Rally was able to educate state lawmakers about the unintended risk of loss to community financial institutions, and our efforts helped prevent the passing of this law.

Rally also partnered with the Cornerstone League and America’s Credit Unions in securing a win for all credit unions in 2023 when we filed suit to gain a nationwide injunction preventing implementation of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s Section 1071.

Q: How do you involve staff and members in advocacy, and why is this important?

A: All Rally employees are offered the chance to contribute to the America’s Credit Unions PAC through payroll deduction. We also encourage our entire team to contact lawmakers when Cornerstone and/or America’s Credit Unions put out the call to do so on urgent issues.

Many Rally leaders play a part in developing relationships with our representatives at the local, state, and national levels, leveraging areas of common interest and involvement to create connections.

Q: What advice would you offer other credit union leaders about participating in advocacy?

A: Get to know your lawmakers before you need them. Attend their events, introduce yourself and share your credit union’s impact in their specific area of representation. Help them understand how we share the same goals of improving our communities.

Educate lawmakers on the difference between credit unions and banks—respectfully, and without criticizing your banking peers.

Q: What’s a good starting point for advocacy?

A: Make a list of your local, state, and national representatives. Sign up to receive their communications, and find opportunities to meet them personally.

Keep a short list of credit union causes that each of them may influence, and be ready to discuss those when the opportunity arises.

Q: What do you like best about the Governmental Affairs Conference (GAC)?

A: Several Rally executives and board members attend GAC each year. The highlight of that trip is always visiting our legislators.

A few of us were at the Capitol in 2018 when Congress allowed the Rev. Billy Graham’s body to lie in honor in the Capitol Rotunda. We spontaneously joined hundreds of people from around the world to wait in line and pay our respects.

Q: Do you have a political hero?

A: I can’t name an individual hero, but I have great appreciation for the advocacy teams at America’s Credit Unions and the Cornerstone League. I’m always impressed by their deep knowledge of pending legislation, their insights into working with individual legislators, and their ability to speak powerfully on behalf of credit unions to any audience.