Readers of this paper might have noticed that many of our Ukrainian credit unions hold their annual meetings in February and March. They’re all members of the Ukrainian National Credit Union Association, which reported at its own most recent annual meeting, held June 8-10, 2017, in Washington, that as of March 31, 2017, assets of the 13 UNCUA member credit unions had grown to a total of $3.224 billion, while member deposits increased to $2.741 billion. UNCUA notes on its website that the Ukrainian American credit union movement in the U.S. “exceeds 100,000 family memberships primarily concentrated in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Ohio and Illinois.”
In our area, five of these institutions are particularly noteworthy, not only for their size (in terms of assets and members), but also for their largesse: Self Reliance New York Federal Credit Union, Selfreliance Ukrainian American Federal Credit Union, SUMA Yonkers Federal Credit Union, Ukrainian Selfreliance Federal Credit Union and Nova UA Federal Credit Union. They support the endeavors of major organizations like Plast Ukrainian Scouting Organization and the Ukrainian American Youth Association, as well as smaller groups like the Carpathian Ski Club (i.e., its annual family-oriented ski races) and the Ukrainian Journalists of North America (its professional conferences), and many, many more organizations and projects.
Closer to our own hearts, we must note that three of these “kredytivky,” Self Reliance New York, Selfreliance UAFCU and SUMA Yonkers, provided funds for Svoboda’s and The Ukrainian Weekly’s digitized archives of all issues published since their founding, respectively, in 1893 and 1933; moreover, the New York credit union continues to support upgrades to the newspapers’ websites. Self Reliance New York also happens to be our top supporter, annually donating thousands of dollars to help us continue our work as the Ukrainian community’s top newspapers.
The largest Ukrainian credit union asset-wise, Self Reliance New York, which is based in New York City, also has branches in Kerhonkson, Astoria, Uniondale and Lindenhurst, N.Y. It’s known for its major donations to institutions such as The Ukrainian Museum and the Ukrainian Catholic University. The 2017 annual report of this credit union’s Board of Directors and Management proudly notes: “On the strength of our 2017 financial performance, the credit union contributed $1,181,858 to our youth, cultural, religious, educational and humanitarian organizations.” Yes, that’s over $1.1 million.
Selfreliance Ukrainian American FCU, whose home office is in Chicago, has three other branches in Illinois and three more in New Jersey – one of them very close to our editorial offices. Its glossy annual report contains many photos of this kredytivka’s work with and for the Ukrainian community, and Board Chairman Michael Kos cites “community expenses” of $452,150 for the year 2017.
SUMA (Yonkers) FCU, which has branches in the states of New York and Connecticut, reports that during 2017 it “paid out $3.5 million in dividends to its members on net income of over $1 million.” In addition, “SUMA was pleased to have been able to return $270,000 to our community, continuing the proud tradition of supporting our civic, religious, cultural, youth and charitable organizations.”
At the Philadelphia-based Ukrainian Selfreliance FCU, which has branches in Pennsylvania, as well as in New Jersey, Board Chairman Roman Petyk sums up the kredytivka’s accomplishments in the 2017 annual report: “Our profits, and grants from our foundation, generously support our community organizations. Our members benefit from loan rates that are consistently among the lowest, if not the lowest, in our region, while our depositors earn interest at rates that also lead the region in the returns they offer to our savers. Our bipartisan political engagement initiatives have promoted a new and deeper level of engagement in our community with elected officials in Washington, D.C.”
Nova UA Federal Credit Union, previously known as Self Reliance (NJ) FCU, is headquartered in Clifton. Dr. Michael Lewko, the credit union’s chairman, writes in his 2017 report: “We remain committed to our legacy of supporting the community. We have once again given out over $100,000 to various causes, including the community churches, youth and civic organizations. The credit union continues to be a proud supporter of benevolent and charitable fund-raising events in support of Ukraine as it experiences ongoing Russian aggression on the eastern border.”
These mainstays of our community – the oldest of which have well over six decades of service – deserve our appreciation and our support via credit union memberships. Are you a member of one of our 13 “kredytivky” in the U.S.?