Advocacy Programs & Events

Jam the Unicam

It’s the political event of the year for state legislative affairs. Whether your credit union is federally chartered or state chartered, what happens in the Unicameral has an impact on your members. Did you know that over 50% of the members of Congress, and five of the past six U.S. Presidents were previously state lawmakers? Of Nebraska’s congressional delegation, one Congressman and both U.S. Senators were previously state lawmakers!

This event is traditionally held in Lincoln at the beginning of each year to coincide with the start of the legislative session. Nebraska’s credit unions will learn more about the legislative issues that are before the State Legislature and how they will impact them and their members. It also serves as an opportunity to meet with our elected representatives in Lincoln. It is critical to the future of credit unions that our lawmakers at the state and local levels understand and appreciate the credit union difference. Remember, one day your local mayor or state senator could be voting on the credit union tax-exempt status in Congress. How he or she votes will largely depend on the relationship they’ve had with you and your credit union over the years prior to them being elected to Congress.

2026 Jam the Unicam Presentations:

Holly Spiczenski Miguel Clarke
Julie Cayse Phil Drager
Kelly Lammers

2026 Jam the Unicam Handouts:

Project Zip Code

Project Zip Code (PZC) is a secure CD-ROM program that counts your credit union members and matches them by congressional district, state legislative district and county. These numbers are uploaded to CUNA’s Project Zip Code website and combined with data from credit unions nationwide. This data aids in federal and state advocacy efforts, and is useful to credit unions interested in ATM expansion or shared branching.

Your information is completely secure with Project Zip Code. In fact, only the number of credit union members is transmitted to the Project Zip Code website and member data cannot be viewed by anyone outside your organization. The master census that results from credit unions running PZC helps demonstrates the strength of credit union membership across the nation. You can view PZC totals for your credit union, state or league and design your own PZC reports at the PZC Website.

Trips to DC

The GAC—CUNA’s Governmental Affairs Conference is the only credit union governmental affairs conference of its kind. Usually scheduled for a week in late February, this annual event offers the opportunity to network with peers, hear from key legislative and political leaders, and experience a variety of breakout sessions on credit unions’ hot issues. There is nowhere else where you can gather with over 5,000 credit union leaders. The GAC also offers the largest exhibit hall for credit unions, with a wide variety of products and services for your operational needs.

Hike the Hill

Hike the Hill is a grassroots program sponsored by CUNA and the state leagues to provide credit unions with the opportunity to visit Washington to educate decision makers on credit union issues. When credit unions participate in Hike the Hill, they demonstrate that credit union support has a real face, real concerns, and real stories of how credit unions affect the lives of working Americans.

The 2018 Hike the Hill is not yet scheduled, but details will be available in late spring. It is usually in mid-Summer and includes congressional visits, as well as a reception as the Credit Union House.

For more information on attending either of these events, contact Brandon Luetkenhaus, NCUL Chief Advocacy Officer.

Hike @ Home

Being involved matters in building relationships: this is a simple yet true statement, and being involved is powerful. Credit unions are keenly aware of the benefits of being involved through the relationship that is fostered with members. Time energy and resources are dedicated to face-to-face member service experience, and marketing is focused on reinforcing the trusted relationship. This same philosophy is needed with legislators.

As credit unions face a variety of legislative initiatives that could impact the way credit unions provide services to members, the relationships that credit union activists have and are developing with legislators could prove to be very important. Being involved and connected matter and is key in achieving goals, this connection is just as important with legislators; it is vital to build relationships and to be involved with individuals who are elected to make the decisions that impact the credit union industry.

Legislators need to hear from credit unions so they are informed and willing to support and protect the industry and members we serve. Nebraska Credit unions have been working hard to do so through meeting with legislators at the Governmental Affairs Conference (GAC), Hike the Hill events in Washington, D.C. and now since all politics is local we are announcing the new Hike @ Home Program.

The Hike @ Home Program aims to have Nebraska credit union advocates connect with federal and state legislators here in the state. This program will provide credit union activists an opportunity to work on building relationships with elected officials to benefit all credit unions for years to come. The only way for credit unions to influence legislation that is introduced is by being involved.