"People helping people" is more than a slogan for credit unions. It's the founding story. Read almost any credit union's About Us page and you'll find it: a group of teachers, factory workers, or neighbors who had a financial problem nobody would solve, so they banded together and solved it for each other.

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Yet for many credit unions today, charitable giving has drifted from that origin. It happens reactively, driven by a compelling pitch from a nonprofit or perhaps a legacy program. In our recent webinar, Building a Legacy of Giving: Shaping the Modern Credit Union Foundation, the Acumen Financial Advantage (AFA) team walked through how credit unions can bring strategy back to their giving and build impact that lasts for generations.

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Why Credit Union Giving Needs a Strategy

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For-profit companies get a tax deduction when they give. Credit unions, as not-for-profits that don't pay income tax, don't. That means every dollar donated comes straight out of the operating budget, treated no differently than payroll or marketing.

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Without an incentive, giving can easily become transactional: a line item funded with whatever is left over. The credit unions that give most effectively start somewhere else, by defining exactly who "the people" in "people helping people" are.

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Start With Who You Serve

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AFA encourages credit unions to think of their giving as a bullseye, moving outward from the center:

1. Employees. The people inside your walls every day. Are you addressing rising benefit costs, benevolent needs, and their own financial well-being?

2. Members. Your giving capacity is tied to balance sheet performance. Underperforming assets limit what you can offer members in rates and products.

3. Your community. Including non-members. How does your giving show that a credit union really is different?

4. Executives. None of it happens without talented leaders. Attracting and retaining them is what keeps the whole strategy moving.

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Four Levels of Credit Union Giving

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Most credit unions fall somewhere on this progression:

1. Direct giving. A fixed annual budget line for sponsorships, events, and quick community response. Fast and flexible, but reactive.

2. Charitable Donation Account (CDA). The first step toward giving that is both more strategic and more sustainable.

3. Donor-advised fund (DAF). A place to accumulate and invest giving dollars so you can take time to decide where they will do the most good.

4. Private foundation. A separate, permanent charitable entity with full control and a lasting legacy.

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The CDA: Giving More Without Spending More

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Under NCUA rules, federally chartered credit unions (and many state-chartered ones, depending on state parity rules) can place up to 5% of net worth into a Charitable Donation Account. That money can go into investments normally off-limits to credit unions, such as insurance products, annuities, or public- and private-market investments, which may offer higher potential returns.

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The requirement: over a five-year period, at least 51% of the CDA's earnings must go to qualified charities, currently 501(c)(3) and 501(c)(19) organizations. You don't have to choose recipients up front, and you can give as often and to as many causes as you like.

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The result is flexible. A credit union can use CDA earnings to replace budgeted giving (lowering expenses), to multiply its giving without increasing the budget, or a mix of both. Either way, giving becomes consistent and can contribute positively to the P&L rather than simply costing it.

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One common misconception: you don't need a foundation or a DAF to start a CDA. Don't let those decisions slow you down.

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DAF or Foundation?

Once a CDA is generating meaningful dollars, many credit unions ask what to do with them next.

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A donor-advised fund works like a charitable brokerage account. You can open one quickly, often at low or no cost, through major providers or many league foundations. Contributions count as donated, and the credit union continues to advise how the money is invested and where it eventually goes. There's no annual payout requirement, so you can be deliberate.

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A private foundation is a separate legal entity with its own tax ID, an independent board, and annual legal and accounting obligations. It offers more control, can carry your name, and exists in perpetuity. AFA generally suggests considering a foundation once annual giving approaches roughly $1 million. Foundations can also open doors to new partnerships, new field-of-membership opportunities, and a stronger brand narrative, because the foundation's work becomes the story of why your credit union is different.

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Playing the Long Game: the Charitable Impact Program

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CDAs and DAFs address giving today. But many credit unions plan to be around for 50 or 100 more years, and their giving strategy should reflect that.

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AFA's Charitable Impact Program (CHIP) is designed for that long horizon. It uses corporate-owned life insurance (COLI), an asset class many credit unions already hold, often without a clear purpose. With CHIP, the policy's cash value remains a credit union asset on its own books, while the death benefit above that asset is earmarked for the credit union's charitable mission. Key employees who are insured typically receive their own death benefit, adding a meaningful, no-cost retention benefit.

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Over time, this can create a substantial endowment for a foundation or charitable fund, supporting scholarships, financial literacy, disaster relief, and community partnerships well beyond today's leadership. CHIP and CDAs have separate limits, so credit unions can use one or both.

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From Funder to Fundraiser

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The final step is engaging in the community. Once a credit union understands these tools, it can help its SEGs, local businesses, and high-net-worth individuals establish their own versions, with a portion of that giving directed back to the credit union's mission. It's the model healthcare systems and universities already use: the institution sparks the giving, and the community sustains it.

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Where to Start

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Every credit union is at a different point on this journey, and there's no minimum size. Smaller institutions may start with a CDA; larger ones may take the full path. Most individual projects take about 90 days from decision to implementation.

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Watch the full webinar recording or schedule a consultation with the AFA team to build a giving roadmap for your credit union and your board.