October 4, 2009 in Blog by Ryan

Learning more about Ontario’s newest credit union

I visited the ACTRA offices last week. The actors’ union founded Ontario’s newest credit union, the Creative Arts Credit Union, which got its charter last year and is launching this year.

Megan and I had met with the CEO Steve Mumford, but he was hired about a year before they were granted their charter.

To get more of the story of the groundwork and another perspective, I set up a meeting with the union’s executive director Brian Topp. Before the eight years he has served so far at the union, he was a senior vice president at Credit Union Central of Canada. That experience made him a key player in the founding of the institution.

Brian described how early on he approached VanCity to see if ACTRA could partner with their then subsidiary Citizen’s Bank of Canada, to offer financial services to union members. They couldn’t come to an agreement, so when ACTRA member Peter Kelleghan approached them to push the idea of an actor’s credit union Brian said his response was: “Congratulations you’re the chair of the committee.”

Brian told me the story over the course of an hour. Steve came in part way through.

They described the process of doing their survey, develping their business plan, getting government approval, and selling investment shares.

Brian emphasized knowing the value proposition and what you want to accomplish.

For them, and he came back to it a few times in the conversation, they wanted a financial institution where “‘I’m an actor’ is the beginning of the conversation and not the end of it.” Many of their members found that banks would not deal with them because they were actors without even considering their finances.

After we talked for a while, they led me to the main floor of the building where they are renovating the office for the credit union and ACTRA member services and, as well, a foyer with an ATM. Even if your organization is virtual, you need physical presence Brian told me, “[...] even if it is a shelf on campus.”

• Talking to Steve from Creative Arts CU 27 Aug 2009