January 2007     

The Doors are Now Open!

Finally, it's here! And it's yours. What we - together - do with it, will measure the advance of freedom in the 21^st century. "It," of course, is the Freedom21 Federal Credit Union. The National Credit Union Administration issued Charter Number 24777 on September 5, 2006, thereby creating what we believe to be the very first Federal Credit Union conceived and established expressly for the purpose of advancing the principles of freedom.

The Freedom21 Federal Credit Union is governed by exactly the same laws and regulations that govern every other Federal Credit Union. We have every advantage that every other credit union has, and it is entirely up to us to determine how we may use these advantages to advance the principles of freedom in the 21^st century.

Here are the Basics:

The National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) regulates all Federal Credit Unions. Every credit union must have a sponsoring organization, approved by NCUA. The Environmental Conservation Organization, (ECO), is the approved organization that sponsors the Freedom21 Federal Credit Union.

This means that only ECO members are eligible to become members of the Freedom21 Federal Credit Union. The financial services offered by the Freedom21 Federal Credit Union are available exclusively to its members. There are three categories of ECO membership which qualify for membership in the Freedom21 Federal Credit Union: Individual member; Organization member; and Business members. An ECO member may immediately apply for membership in the Freedom21 Federal Credit Union. At this time, there is no additional fee to become a member of the Freedom21 Federal Credit Union.

Joining the Freedom21 Federal Credit Union

Federal law requires all financial institutions to obtain, verify, and record information that identifies each person who opens an account. Therefore, your application to join the credit union must be completed on the form provided. The application must include a copy of a government-issued photo ID, such as a driver's license. And, the application must be notarized. These extra precautions are largely the result of the U.S.A. Patriot Act.

If you have access to the Internet, you can visit the website at: www.freedom21fcu.org and download and print the application forms. Or you can call the Freedom21 Federal Credit Union office at: 731.625.2121, and we'll send you the complete application package. Along with your completed application, you must deposit a minimum of $10 to open your share account. Once your account is opened, you may add to the balance, or open a share certificate account, (CD), whenever you wish.

The first purpose of the Freedom21 Federal Credit Union is to provide a safe place for members to save money. The Federal Government insures each individual account up to $100,000. These deposits are used for loans to the credit union members. Because federal credit unions are not required to pay federal taxes, interest rates paid to members tend to be a little higher than commercial institutions are able to pay, and interest rates charged for loans tend to be a little less than commercial institutions can charge. From the interest earned on loans provided to members, operating expenses and reserve funds are deducted, and the balance returned to the members as dividends.

Initially, the Freedom21 Federal Credit Union will offer share accounts, share certificate accounts, and begin granting loans to its members. As the credit union grows, additional services will be offered, and by the end of the year, we expect the Freedom21 Federal Credit Union to offer a broader range of financial services to its members.

The purpose of the Freedom21 Federal Credit Union is much more than just providing financial services to its members. It is designed to help defend and advance the principles of freedom through a growing army of organizations who share this goal.

The Freedom21 Federal Credit Union is not a silver bullet that will automatically dissolve obstacles to freedom. Nor is it a magic pill that will assure that the principles of freedom prevail in public policy. The Freedom21 Federal Credit Union is simply a legitimate financial institution that individuals and organizations may use to help overcome the most serious problem freedom fighters have always had: finding adequate financial resources.

In more than 20 years of public policy advocacy, organizations - large and small - have come and gone. Grand schemes and promising projects have soared, for a while, and then run out of steam. A common constraint that has limited virtually all efforts to advance the principles of freedom, is the ongoing lack of financial resources.

The Freedom21 Federal Credit Union consists of individuals, organizations, and businesses that value the principles of freedom - as enshrined in the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution - as the foundation of self-governance. This common belief is the launching pad for ideas and activities to more firmly plant those principles into public policy at every level of government - and to help public policy makers avoid the erosion of these principles, which minimize freedom.

One of the more important lessons learned during 20 years of policy advocacy, is that more positive results can be accomplished when people work together, than when they work alone. Another extremely important lesson learned, is that no single person, nor organization, has the right answer to every question, or the right plan for every campaign. The Freedom21 Federal Credit Union is designed to benefit from these lessons learned, by requiring nothing more from its members than a commitment to help advance the principles of freedom, while encouraging maximum flexibility among programmatic opportunities.

Background:

In order for the Freedom21 Federal Credit Union to provide the assistance so desperately needed by the entire freedom movement, it is essential that everyone understand how to use it - and use it wisely.

Again, the Freedom21 Federal Credit Union is a not-for-profit organization chartered by the federal government to promote thrift, and the prudent use of financial resources among an identifiable group of people who share a common cause. The sponsoring organization that applied for the Freedom21 Federal Credit Union Charter is the Environmental Conservation Organization (ECO).

ECO was first organized in 1988 in Chicago when Henry Lamb assembled a meeting of 17 national organizations who objected to proposed federal policy that would allow the agencies of the government to simply declare privately owned "wetlands" to be the jurisdiction of the federal government - without any consideration of their private property value. The organization's name was selected to suggest that "Conservation: wise use of natural resources" is the essence of environmental protection.

Over the years, radical environmental organizations have redefined "conservation" to mean "preservation: no use of natural resources," and ECO is widely - and correctly - seen to be a "Property Rights" and "freedom" advocacy organization. Without apology, ECO believes that environmental stewardship begins with the privately owned property, and is better cared for by owners, than by agencies, committees, stakeholders, or fund raisers and lawyers for professional organizations.

As early as the 1992 publication of the U.N.'s Agenda 21, ECO's members, and Board of Directors, realized that the campaign to advance the principles of freedom had to be expanded. The decade of the 1990s was particularly active within the United Nations. The Clinton/Gore Administration nationalized the U.N. Environmental Agenda with the creation of the President's Commission on Sustainable Development (PCSD).

ECO's initial response was a National Conference held in Reno, in 1993. Organizations such as the American Farm Bureau Federation, the National Cattlemen's Association, and the U.S. Sheep Industry Association, grappled with the massive implications of "sustainable development" policies established administratively, without respect or concern for private property rights.

Along with the 1992 Agenda 21, produced by the United Nations, two new international treaties were also introduced: The Framework Convention on Climate Change; and the Convention on Biological Diversity. These treaties were presented to the world during a global environmental celebration that almost assured their ratification. The Climate Change Treaty was offered as a completely "voluntary" treaty, so it would not be blocked in the U.S. Senate. It was easily ratified. The very first meeting of the treaty partners, however, authorized the addition of the "Kyoto Protocol," which would be a legally-binding requirement to reduce energy consumption.

The ECO staff jumped right in the middle of the Climate Change and Biodiversity Treaty Debate, and began attending U.N. meetings all around the world. ECO assembled another National Conference in Kansas City, in 1996, to reveal the contents of these treaties, and to suggest a coordinated response among organizations identified as the "Sustainable Freedom Coalition." The Conference produced a 300-page workbook entitled The Global Environmental Agenda, which contained actual documents from U.N. agencies and the federal government which revealed plans for rapid implementation of the Global Environmental Agenda.

It quickly became apparent that ECO needed help addressing the International Global Agenda, and helped to convert the "Sustainable Freedom Coalition," to a full-blown (501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization called Sovereignty International, Inc. Even though Sovereignty International was able to acquire "Observer" status with the United Nations, U.N. rules and procedures effectively limited influence over the development of international policy. Most of our work was done by participating in the U.N. meetings, and then reporting on the activities through talk radio programs and receptive news media.

Both ECO, and Sovereignty International, sponsored the call for another strategy meeting in Washington in 1999. We asked Phyllis Schlafly, of Eagle Forum, to join us. We asked David Rothbard and Craig Rucker, from the Committee for a Constructive Tomorrow, (CFACT), to join us. We asked Tom DeWeese, of the American Policy Center to join us. This is the original group that decided we really must expand our horizons, and find new ways to advance the principles of freedom in public policy more effectively.

The group decided to call the effort the "Freedom21 Campaign;" that new sponsors could be added to the group only with the consent of the original group; that there would be no formal organizational structure beyond voluntary cooperation; and that all participants would work as hard as possible to advance the principles of freedom throughout the public policy arena.

Why a Credit Union?

Virtually all the organizations involved in the property rights/freedom movement, find it extremely difficult to produce the revenue necessary to maintain a consistent program. Unlike the fund-raising specialists who populate many environmental organizations, freedom fighters are often offended by the very idea of having to ask for financial help to advance a project. Freedom fighters rarely have any extra money anyway; most work at full-time jobs and volunteer their freedom work after regular hours.

The idea for a credit union emerged while Henry Lamb was driving to Florida to help mount a campaign to save privately owned land from confiscation through the state's $8 billion Everglades Restoration Program.

The eight-hundred mile trip between Tennessee and Florida provided a lot of time to think through some possible options. One recurring reality was the observation that financial institutions always seemed to have money. Another reality seemed to be that someone always needed the money that financial institutions have. Another reality was that of all the bank presidents and officers he had known over the years, none of them seemed to be very poor. These observations, combined with a series of "what ifs," made the trip across South Florida quite interesting.

"What if," for example, the financial institution was actually owned by members of a property rights organization, instead of by a handful of wealthy shareholders?

"What if," the member-owners actually borrowed money from themselves to finance a car, or whatever, instead of borrowing it from the owners of the local bank? "What if" the member-owners actually earned the interest on their loans, rather than the local bank. "What if" a member-owner needed to finance a new computer? "What if" another freedom organization needed a bigger computer? "What if" our very own credit union could provide these services? "What if" our very own credit union actually made a profit on this service - as commercial institutions do - and then returned that profit to the owner-members?

The ideas would not go away. He shared these, and other "what ifs," with a friend who had been a bank president for 20 years. He was intrigued by the possibilities. After the Florida Everglades episode, Henry discussed the idea with the president of his local bank, a friend of more than 20 years. No one could see any inherent reason why the idea would not work - except for the incredible effort that would be required to meet the federal standards.

At the January, 2005 ECO Board meeting, the Directors authorized the pursuit of the Freedom21 Federal Credit Union. Three months of research paved the way to begin the application process in April of 2005. The Charter has now been granted, and what remains is getting the Freedom21 Federal Credit Union operational, and providing all the benefits possible to individual members, and to the Freedom21 Organizations.

What You Must Do

To participate in the Freedom21 Federal Credit Union, you must first be a member of the Environmental Conservation Organization. With this issue of the eco•logic Powerhouse, check your address label on the back cover. Above your name, you will find a date format that reads year/month/date. (ex. 20070525) This is the expiration date of your membership. If the date shown is close, or may have even expired, use the attached envelope to renew your membership today. If you have recently renewed your membership, THANK YOU! If you have renewed, give the membership envelope to a friend or relative, or community leader, so they too can participate in this wonderful opportunity to help protect and advance the principles of freedom that are being eroded on a daily basis. If you have any questions regarding your renewal date or membership status, feel free to call the office at: 731.986.0099 during regular business hours (9:00 am - 5:00 pm CT M-F) and we will be glad to assist you.

As you have been reading and learning from the information presented in the eco•logic Powerhouse, these threats to our freedom are real. Only by increasing our knowledge, and our numbers, can we have the ability to reset the course of government to which our Founding Fathers envisioned.