This could be the start of something big...

I have a challenge for you. But first a tribute.

Daniel A. Mica, President/CEO
Credit Union National Association

I have high hopes for CUNA’s Personal Finance Initiative (cunapfi.org) as a resource for those in the credit union movement who are working for lifetime financial education. (My thanks to Juri Valdov and the Financial Literacy Task Force for making this happen.)

And I have great expectations for the Personal Finance Interactive (PF Interactive) network and its potential to generate new ideas and partnerships for teaching each generation to be self-sufficient.

I know you’ll come through. The fact that you’ve joined this new financial literacy network marks you as a leader in this vital cause.

And this network can be the tool for spreading the word. That is: To bring you and like-minded advocates together to devise cooperative solutions for improving financial literacy for all ages.

CUNA’s Personal Finance Initiative will act as a clearinghouse for the best educational ideas, tools, and practices. But the real work of improving the way people manage money and credit is up to you and the cooperative bonds that you build with your credit union peers.

So here’s the challenge--well, several, actually.

Get in the habit of visiting the Personal Finance Initiative site regularly, at least once a week, to keep tabs on the latest developments in financial literacy.

Click on the Report what you’re doing tab to help us prove to lawmakers, regulators, and the public that nobody is contributing more for the financial literacy of adults and youth than the cooperative credit union movement. (Hats off, BTW, to the National Youth Involvement Board for its help in compiling this data.)

Recruit at least two other members to the PF Interactive network to help energize discussions and expand and leverage our cooperative pool of knowledge and experience.

Plan to attend CUNA’s first Personal Finance Institute, September 10-12, 2008, at the National Conference Center (in Lansdowne, Va., outside Washington, D.C.), an event designed to help you make your financial education efforts bigger and better. (Bookmark this site and watch for details.)