credit union operating...

A N N U A L R E P O R T 2 0 1 4

‘Make a Difference the World Over’

Open and Voluntary Membership

Democratic Control

Limited Dividends on Equity Capital

Return on Savings and Deposits

Return of Surplus to Members

Non-Discrimination in Race, Religion and Politics

Service to Members

On-Going Education

Co-Operation Among Co-Operatives

Social Responsibility

The founding members of the Irish credit union movement saw poverty, illegal money lenders and malnutrition. Nora Herlihy obtained knowledge and support from the Credit Union National Association in America to advance the Irish movement; the ILCU Foundation is emulating this, by supporting credit unions in developing countries so they too can benefit from the credit union movement.

Our Mission

“To alleviate poverty in developing countries by supporting credit unions, their representative bodies and other co-operative type organisations as a means for socio-economic development through the provision of financial and technical assistance”.

Credit Union Operating Principles

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

L-R Seamus P. MacEoin, Nora Herlihy and Sean Forde.

8

9

10

Annual Report 2014 1

Contents

Welcome Message ..............................................................................................................2

About the ILCU Foundation ...............................................................................................3

Overview of 2014 ................................................................................................................4

Albania .................................................................................................................................5

Belize ....................................................................................................................................6

Ethiopia ................................................................................................................................7

Gambia ................................................................................................................................8

Ghana ..................................................................................................................................9

Russia ................................................................................................................................10

Sierra Leone & Liberia .....................................................................................................11

International Partners’ Conference ...............................................................................12

Leveraging Local Support ...............................................................................................14

International Study Visits and Knowledge Sharing ......................................................15

The Great Ethiopian Run 2014 .......................................................................................16

Ghana Coaching Programme 2014 ................................................................................17

Internal Operations .........................................................................................................18

Strategic Plan 2013-2018 ................................................................................................19

Income and Expenditure .................................................................................................20

Contributors .....................................................................................................................21

Acknowledgements .........................................................................................................23

Legal and Administration Information ..........................................................................24

ACRONYMSBCUL: Belize Credit Union LeagueCBL: Central Bank of LiberiaCCA: Canadian Cooperative AssociationCDA: Cooperative Development AgencyCU: Credit UnionCUA: Ghana Co-operative Credit Unions AssociationGAMFINET: The Gambian Micro-finance NetworkGER: Great Ethiopian Run Gorta SHA: Gorta Self Help AfricaIFAD: International Fund for Agricultural DevelopmentILCUF: Irish League of Credit Unions International Development FoundationLCUNA: Liberia Credit Union National AssociationMFI: Micro-finance Institution

MIS: Management Information SystemNACCUG: National Association of Cooperatives and Credit Unions for the GambiaNSF: National Supervisors ForumRuSACCO: Rural Savings and Credit CooperativeOrganizationSACCO: Savings and Credit Cooperative OrganizationSBFIC: Savings Bank for International Co-operationSCUDSL: Supporting Credit Union Development in SierraLeoneUNCDF: United Nations Capital Development FoundationWACUPP: West African Credit Unions Programme Against PovertyWOCCU: World Council of Credit Unions

Annual Report 20142

A message from the Chairman & General Manager

Dear Credit Unions, Supporters, Partners and Friends,

On behalf of my colleagues on the Board of Directors it gives me great pleasure to present to you our 2014 Annual Report. In 2014, the Irish League of Credit Unions International Development Foundation celebrated its

25th Anniversary – as part our silver anniversary the ILCU

Foundation marked this major milestone with a wide range of

activities and events throughout the year.

As the international development arm of the Irish credit union movement, the ILCU Foundation continued to alleviate poverty in developing countries by expanding the knowledge of our long term partners through training and on-going education initiatives.

As Chairman of the ILCU Foundation I would like to thank everyone who has helped us achieve our monumental success throughout 2014. Through the implementation of our ambitious strategic plan we have maintained and increased our core funding from Irish credit unions and their members for a second a year in a row. This has affirmed our position to continue our fight against financial exclusion.

Accordingly, we are utilising this support to apply for grants from institutional funders to reinforce our assistance in communities who desperately need it. I hope that from reading this annual report you will gain an understanding of this valuable work and the positive effects credit union membership has amongst the poor and marginalised.

On behalf of the Board of Directors and Staff of the ILCU Foundation and in particular the beneficiaries of our assistance, I would like to express gratitude and appreciation for your support; without this backing the many fledgling credit unions that we are assisting would ultimately fail.

We are proud of what we’ve helped our partners accomplish and we’re committed to becoming an even stronger partner for the future. We believe that ongoing education is one of the most powerful tools against poverty - something which is embedded in the co-operative principles.

Pat FayILCU Foundation Chairman

Dear Credit Unions, Advocates, Friends, Colleagues,Our 2014 Annual Report highlights that the ILCU Foundation continues to expand its support which we are providing to our international credit union partners.

The work of the ILCU Foundation follows the credit union operating principles and core values, like that of Irish credit unions. We have, in tandem with our international partners, empowered credit unions to reduce poverty levels and provide opportunity for those in need.

As an example of our work in the Gambia, one of our long term partners, we have succeeded in turning a small non-functioning credit union system into one of the model credit union movements in Africa. In the last 12 months alone, we have helped the Gambian credit union movement to finalise the implementation of a modern IT solution for its credit unions and the introduction of innovative saving boxes, to allow poor Gambian people to have access to credit union membership.

This is only a very small sample of the valuable work, which Irish credit unions and their members should be extremely proud of. Over the next 12 months we aim to develop new long-term projects with new and existing partners, while continuing to improve the quality of our work through our enhanced monitoring and evaluation system.

On behalf of our credit union partners in the developing world, we thank you for your continuing support, trust and encouragement.

Alan MooreILCU Foundation General Manager

Alan MoorePat Fay


About the ILCU Foundation

What is the ILCU Foundation?Following widespread growth of the Irish credit union movement starting in the 1960’s, credit unions across the island recognised the positive economic effects which they were making within their local communities to assist the poor, so much so they felt the need to support other credit unions in developing countries. Irish credit unions pooled their resources together to establish their own international development organisation - the ILCU International Development Foundation in 1980. In 1989 the ILCU Foundation was formally registered and achieved its charitable status.

Why do we do it?We believe that credit unions can fight poverty and financial exclusion by providing the poor and marginalised to have access to financial services. Through our extensive knowledge of credit unions we can help communities in developing countries to ‘build’ sustainable credit unions which they can save with and borrow from. Our work ultimately improves the quality and efficiency of their credit union.

How do we do it?We’ve worked with Irish credit union experts for over 25 years; they’ve equipped us with their considerable knowledge and experience to allow us to build sustainable structures, procedures and practices with budding credit unions in developing countries. To transfer this type of knowledge to other credit union movements we must provide long-term training and holistic support.

The characteristics of our support include:

Building the capacity of credit union movements to ensure long-term sustainability.

Delivery of technical support and training on a broad range of credit union and financial issues.

Maximising aid effectiveness through knowledge management, exchange programmes and the development of local capabilities to deliver technical expertise.

What range of support do we provide to other credit union movements?Working holistically, we provide training and support at all levels of the credit union system to ensure the best possible outcome. For example, we provide training for credit unions on financial management, governance and supervision topics. Another example of our support is to provide training on financial literacy for credit union members, amongst others.

1

2

3

Cashier Mam

usu Bangura updates a members passb

ook dur

ing

a tr

ansa

ctio

n.

Annual Report 20144

Veiz Hoxha, member of Gramsh Credit Union, te

nds to

his c

attle

.

Overview of 2014

In 2014, the ILCU Foundation celebrated its 25th anniversary as an international credit union development NGO –

although, the ILCU Foundation has been fighting poverty and financial exclusion since its inception

in the 1980’s. The ILCU Foundation is dedicated to this cause and will continue to battle these injustices through the provision of financial and technical support to our long term partners.

The ILCU Foundation relies heavily on the support of its stakeholders who provide us with financial support and who freely give up their time to volunteer with us, to help assist the communities in our partner countries.

The ILCU Foundation received circa €620,000 from almost 300 credit unions, with this backing it

has allowed the ILCU Foundation to support over 500 individual credit unions, with a collective membership

base of 600,000 people. Our support to our long term partner countries spans over three continents and our main

focus is in Sub-Saharan Africa.

The main highlights of our support in 2014 were: • The provision of financial and technical support to the credit union movements

in Albania, Belize, Ethiopia, The Gambia, Ghana, Sierra Leone, Liberia and Russia. • The ILCU Foundation completed The Gambian Rural Credit Union Development

Project, a three-year project funded by Irish credit unions and Irish Aid.• The ILCU Foundation completed “The West Africa Credit Unions Programme

against Poverty” (WACUPP), which began in 2012, finished in December 2014.• In January 2014, the ILCU Foundation commenced activities on a twinning

arrangement with the Ethiopian Government’s Federal Cooperative Agency (FCA) to support their credit union system. Included in this project was a major study of the RuSACCO / credit union sector.

• In May 2014, the ILCU Foundation was commissioned (through the Government of Belize and the International Fund for Agricultural Development) to carry out a programme of support to assist the Belize Credit Union League (BCUL) and its affiliated credit unions.

• In Russia and Albania in 2014 we continued to provide them with a small level training, through study tours and specific technical advice missions.

• The ILCU Foundation celebrated its 25th Anniversary by hosting its first stand-alone learning and sharing forum, which was attended by hundreds of Irish credit union representatives, stakeholders, politician and supporters.

• The ILCU Foundation sent three Irish credit union personnel to participate in a two week Ghana Coaching Programme, on a volunteering basis, to enhance the operations and governance in Ghanaian credit unions.

• A group of fundraising supporters travelled to Ethiopia with the ILCU Foundation to take part in the Great Ethiopian Run and visit credit unions in receipt of our support.

The ILCU Foundation’s achievement’s in 2014, and our work to transform peoples’ lives for the better, would not be possible without the commitment and amazing generosity of our supporters. The ILCU Foundation and its partners would like to express gratitude and appreciation for this support; we’re passionate about our work and the advancement of education for those in need.

A wom

en in Ghana counts her profi ts from trading.


In the early 1990’s two thirds of the country’s population invested in so-called ‘pyramid schemes’, the failure of these schemes led to civil unrest and Albania is regarded as one of the poorest countries in Europe.

The ILCU Foundation began to provide support to the Albanian credit union movement in 1995. During this time very few people within the country had access to any financial services following the crash. The ILCU Foundation provide’s limited technical support to the national association of credit unions, ‘Jehona’, which ensures that its member credit unions are efficient and effective. In 2014, the Saving and Credit Associations (SCAs) continued to grow and are showing positive economic advances within the communities in which they operate.

VEIZ HOXHA – MEMBER OF GRAMSH CREDIT UNIONMr. Veiz Hoxha lives and works in Gramsh, a village of Lushnje. He emigrated to Greece and Italy at the beginning of the ‘90s, where he worked in the farming sector. The experience which he gained during these years gave Mr. Hoxha the confidence to start his own farm in Gramsh, where he subsequently moved to with his family. Although he had the necessary skills to start a farm, he lacked the adequate capital and financial assistance. In 2011, he became a member of the credit union in Gramsh and asked them for their support. With his first micro-loan, he successfully enlarged his farm from two cows, which he initially had, to eight. Mr. Hoxha is now supporting his two sons who work with him on the farm. Due to his active engagement in rural development, Mr. Hoxha has recommended other farmers to join their local credit union, as an opportunity for obtaining competitive loans and access to savings opportunities.

Mr. Hoxha emphasizes “As a farmer, you understand that some things take time and that what you get out of something depends on what you put in. Not only does the credit union share that philosophy, but they also take pride and pleasure in seeing my little farm grow steadily.”

SOTIRAQ NGJELA, MANAGER OF METAJ CREDIT UNION“The skills I learned during the training sessions have drastically affected the way I manage the credit union and interact with my co-worker’s, members, third parties etc. It is amazing to have a set of skills which we can quickly learn and practice in our everyday job, in order to further develop our CU and better serve our members every day. I am grateful to Jehona and the ILCU Foundation for sharing their know-how with us.”

Albania

Veiz Hoxha, member of Gramsh Credit Union, te

nds to

his c

attle

.

TYPES OF LOANS ISSUED: Consumer, agriculture, farming, greenhouse and commercial.

KEY ACTIVITIES AND PROGRESS:

• Total membership has expanded by 6.2 %. • Total savings and deposits have increased by 24.78 %• Total loans have increased by 27.35%• Implementation of Deposit Insurance – safeguarding savings for their members. • Increased SCAs’ marketing activity through

social media, websites, flyers and public meetings.

• Jehona CEO & Chairperson attended the ILCU Foundation 25th anniversary event in Ireland

• Over 100 staff and volunteers took part in training initiatives, such as -

• Liquidity Ratios• Consumer and Business Loans• New Regulatory Framework on Albanian

Deposit Insurance Agency and Deposit Insurance

• The Role of the Credit Committee and Monitoring

• The Role of the Board of Directors and Decision Making

ISSUED: Consumer, agriculture, farming,

AT A GLANCEPopulation: 3.2 Million No. of credit unions: 21No. of members: 12,983% living on < €1 a day: .7%Life expectancy: 77 yrs.

Annual Report 20146

Widowed mum of four Shifi ne on her farm

in G

erda B

usa

villa

ge, E

thio

pia.

The ILCU Foundation began to work with the Belize Credit Union League (BCLU) in May 2014, with support from the Government of Belize and IFAD. Similar to the support which the ILCU Foundation provides in Sub-Saharan Africa, the aim of the assistance is to ensure that the apex body can strengthen and enhance its affiliated credit unions, thus resulting in improved services which they can offer their members.

The credit union movement continues to grow in Belize, which saw a 7% increase in membership in 2014. Nearly half of the population of Belize are members of a credit union, most of which are in the low income bracket of society.

SHIRAINE ARNOLD - HOLY REDEEMER CREDIT UNION“My credit union knows me personally. The relationship I’ve had with them over the years is like that of my family. I am a street food vendor and have been a member of Holy Redeemer Credit Union for over 20 years. In 1999 I got my first loan of $1,000 to start my business. I bought the basic items I needed to begin my cooking. I started off with selling only on special occasions. Before fully completing that loan I refinanced to buy myself a tent. I then formed an agreement with the ‘Everyday Supermarket’ to set up my business and sell to passers-by and tourists. Eventually, I refinanced the loan again, to buy a set of table and chairs, a coffee maker and a stovetop table. Over the past 10 years, I have established a nice business and a name for myself. The availability of that finance allowed me to make the start I needed, so, I would never change from my credit union. My little business is the only source of income for me and my family at times, as my husband’s work as a carpenter is seasonal. But I’ve managed to raise four kids and put all of them through high school, with scholarship assistance from my credit union.“

CORINE FULLER, CEO OF THE BELIZE CREDIT UNIONLEAGUE“The training provided made us think outside the box and made us start to take a more proactive approach in planning goals and objectives. The ILCU Foundation was very instrumental in providing essential advice and guidance to the movement on a wide range of issues. They conducted an internal assessment which highlighted the main strengths and weakness of the movement in Belize. The assistance from the ILCU Foundation has allowed us to see the credit unions collectively and not as individual institutions.“

Belize

ILCU Foundation Chairman Pat Fay & Gerry Thompson, ILCUF Advis

or, with

staff

& vo

lunt

eers

of S

aint

Mar

tin’s

Cred

it Un

ion

Ltd.

TYPES OF LOANS ISSUED: Agriculture, construction, consumer personal, small business and transportation.


• Staff and volunteers of the BCUL took part in a strategic planning seminar• Introduction of new products - payday

and student loans• New ATM services were implemented• BCUL CEO & Chairperson attended the ILCU Foundation 25th anniversary event

in Ireland.• Review of the legislative framework

following a meeting with Central Bank of Belize

• Staff and volunteers of credit unions took part in delinquency, provisioning and stabilization seminars

ISSUED: Agriculture, construction, consumer personal,

AT A GLANCEPopulation: 340,844No. of credit unions: 11No. of members: 129, 120 % living on < €1 a day: 33%Life expectancy: 73 yrs.


Ethiopia has one of the lowest financial inclusion ratios of Sub-Saharan Africa, with only 14% of adults having access to credit. Additionally, one third of the population are living on less than €1 per day. In 2007, the ILCU Foundation partnered with Gorta Self Help Africa and subsequently Terrafina Microfinance to improve the credit unions in rural Ethiopia. As there is no central apex body in which the ILCU Foundation can channel support, the project is geared towards developing Savings and Credit Co-operative organisations (RuSACCOs) which are owned, operated and governed on a democratic basis by its members – similarly to the Irish credit union model.

This partnership is backed by the Ethiopian Government’s Federal Cooperative Agency (FCA), and they have identified cooperative forms of business as an important instrument of socioeconomic change and in the last ten years cooperatives have become a significant part of the economy.

The ILCU Foundation undertook a 12 week study of the sector and it highlighted some key strategic issues within the movement which it will help to address. The project receives financial support from the UN agency International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD).

SHIFINE MAMO - MEMBER OF GERDA BUSA SAVINGSAND CREDIT COOPERATIVE Profit earned from trading vegetables that she produced on her small farm has allowed widowed mum -of- four Shifine Mamo to send all of her children to school. And following the recent graduation of her son from technical college, she is determined that her other children will also finish their education. 45-year-old Shifine is a founder member of the village savings and credit cooperative (SACCO) established with support from the ILCU Foundation and Gorta-Self Help Africa in Gerda Busa village, Ethiopia.

She has received several loans from the local SACCO, and has used them to buy two half acre plots of land close to the village. She has bought a pump and other equipment to irrigate the crops, and now has two productive vegetable plots. Shifine is now able to grow and sell several crops of onion, tomato and other vegetables, each year. Last year she borrowed 6,000 Ethiopian Birr (€250) to invest in farm improvements, and at her most recent harvest sold her produce for five times that amount. ‘It is hard to raise your children without their father, but it would have been much harder for me if I hadn’t been able to start this business with help from the savings and credit cooperative,’ she said. Shifine Mamo sells some of the produce that she grows to local traders,

Ethiopia

Widowed mum of four Shifi ne on her farm

in G

erda B

usa

villa

ge, E

thio

pia.

TYPES OF LOANS ISSUED: Animal fattening, animal rearing, petty trading, medical and educational.


• The ILCU Foundation is advising the FCA on how to develop and implement a training

plan for the movement. • Recommend changes to the credit union law

and how to support and improve supervision of the RuSACCOs.

• Advise the FCA on re-designing the institutional structures of the RuSACCOs.

• Suggest amendments to the operational guidelines and manuals in line with best practices.

• Deliver training on subjects such as accounting and governance.

• Help the RuSACCOs develop improved financial products and services.

ISSUED: Animal fattening, animal rearing, petty trading,

but uses it also for her family. ‘We now have a much better diet,’ she said. Shifine is optimistic about the future, and believes that her role as a member of her local savings and credit cooperative can benefit others in her community. ‘It is pleasing to see others saving and borrowing from our group, and getting the chance to increase their income and make better lives for themselves,’ she adds.

AT A GLANCEPopulation: 94.1 millionNo. of credit unions: 9,000No. of members: 833,000% living on < €1 a day: 39% Life expectancy: 59 yrs.

Annual Report 20148

Liam McCullagh, Camlin Credit Union Ltd., pictu

red with

staff

and

dire

ctor

s of

Tea

cher

s Cr

edit

Uni

on.

TYPES OF LOANS ISSUED: Agricultural, commercial, educational, housing and medical.


• Total membership increased from 54,094 to 64,651 - representing growth of 20%

• Total savings increased from GMD 538 million to GMD 672 million (€14,386,733), representing growth of 25%

• Training of NACCUG personnel in the Ghanaian risk management training scheme - which is to be replicated in The Gambia

• Over 300 people attended celebrations at an International Credit Union Day event hosted by NACCUG & local credit unions

• Participation in member care, leadership and governance training in Ghana – in conjunction with the Savings Bank for International Collaboration (SBFIC)

• Weekly radio programmes were aired by staff of NACCUG to sensitize the general public about the philosophy and operating principles of credit unions.

• Member financial literacy training was delivered to rural communities.

• Manufacture and distribution of savings boxes to rural CU members

has improved savings in rural areas.

The ILCU Foundation has been working in collaboration with the National Association of Credit Co-operatives and Credit Unions in Gambia (NACCUG) since the beginning of the 1990’s. During this time the ILCU Foundation has been instrumental in the success of the movement and has brought the national body to a point of self-sustainability.

The ILCU Foundation has provided a wide range of support to the Gambian credit union system over its lifetime, as the movement continues to grow the ILCU Foundation has transferred appropriate and contextual advice during each stage. In 2014, the ILCU Foundation has advised NACCUG on the development of its strategic plan and the procurement of IT, amongst others.

TAMBASANSANG CREDIT UNIONTambasansang Credit Union is established in Tambasansang Village which is 391kilometres from the Capital City of Banjul, The Gambia. It was formed in 1997 by a group of women to encourage thrift in this predominantly Mandinka community. This village is thirteen kilometres from the metropolitan town of Basse, with a poor road network and no electricity supply. With support from NACCUG, the credit union members embarked on a self-help community project to build their office in 2012 with two rooms and a hall (pictured above).

NACCUG then supplied the credit union with twenty innovative Savings Boxes in 2014, to support the members to increase their savings. The boxes were funded by the Gambia Credit Union Development Project through the intervention of the ILCU Foundation. The credit union has 177 active members and they’ve used their savings to disburse loans to support agricultural activities and repair their houses during the rainy season.

BABOUCARR JENG - CEO OF NACCUG“The credit union movement is an integral part of the economic system of the Gambia and is recognized as the major microfinance institution with country-wide presence and membership. We at NACCUG have a passion to work with the poor and the marginalized in hard to reach areas because we have the skills to build their capacity to become self-reliant.”

Several Irish Credit Unions and Irish CU volunteers have made a huge contribution to CU development in the Gambia by working closely with Gambian CUs, NACCUG and the ILCU Foundation on development issues - in particular IT services for CUs.

Gambia

Members of Tambasansang Credit Union with their innova

tive s

avin

gs b

oxes

pro

vide

d by

the

ILCU

Fou

ndat

ion.

ISSUED: ED: Agricultural, commercial, educational, housing Agricultural, commercial, educational, housing

AT A GLANCEPopulation: 1.8 millionNo. of credit unions: 80No. of members: 64,651% living on < €1 a day: 33% Life expectancy: 58yrs.

Baboucarr Jeng - CEO of NACCU

G.


The credit union movement began in Ghana over fifty years ago, founded by an Irish Canadian priest Fr. John McNulty. The Canadian Co-operative Association began working with the Credit Union Association of Ghana (CUA) in the 1990s and the ILCU Foundation began its support in 2008 to help strengthen the movement. The credit union movement has expanded dramatically since then, allowing financial inclusion and social empowerment for the members.

AGYEMANG PREMPEH COLLINS - ASSOCIATED TEACHERS CREDIT UNION (Participant of Social performance Management Training)“Initially our focus was on maximizing profits and improving the livelihood of our members. After attending the social performance management training, run by the ILCU Foundation, we have focused our operations to the community in which we operate thus improving upon our social responsibilities.”

MR KOFI BRETUO – PROGRESSIVE WOMEN’S CREDITUNION“The credit union has been a source of funding to my family. I save with them and have access to loans at all times, provided that I pay back the previous loans. The credit union is different. They gave me a loan for my son’s school fees and also a loan to expand my business. It has helped me to buy provisions wholesale which are a little more economical than buying retail.”

MR ADOLF NUGBEY - CHAIRPERSON OF GOLDENOPPORTUNITY CREDIT UNION“The ILCU Foundation has helped us to acquire new skills through training which has helped me to lead our credit union. It has helped us to develop policies and procedures which will guide our operations. We also benefitted from the Mentoring Programme, as well as the Social Performance Management training.”

Ghana

Liam McCullagh, Camlin Credit Union Ltd., pictu

red with

staff

and

dire

ctor

s of

Tea

cher

s Cr

edit

Uni

on.

TYPES OF LOANS ISSUED: Agriculture, medical, business, education and funeral.


• Over one hundred staff and volunteers received training in Knowledge Management, Social Performance Management, Mentorship and the Graduation Micro-finance Model.

• Increased monitoring and evaluation of local credit unions by CUA.

• CUA General Manager & Chairperson attended the ILCU Foundation 25th anniversary event in Ireland.

• Facilitated three Irish credit union volunteer personnel to participate in the Ghana Coaching Programme.

• Savings increased by 14% and credit union membership increased by 33% in 2014.

• Ghana CU personnel contributed with training and technical assistance to Liberia, Sierra Leone and Gambia in 2014.

ISSUED: Agriculture, medical, business, education

AT A GLANCEPopulation: 25.9 millionNo. of credit unions: 476No. of members: 708,416% living on < €1 a day: 28% Life expectancy: 64 yrs.

Annual Report 201410

The ILCU Foundation has been providing support to the Russian credit union movement since the mid 1990’s. The ILCU Foundation has channelled its support through The Gardarika Association of Credit Unions of the North - West. The support provided to ‘Gardarika’ comes in the form of international study visits and knowledge sharing initiatives in Ireland. The ILCU Foundation ceased to provide financial support to the Russian movement once it had grown to a point of self-sustainability. The credit union movement in Russia is currently navigating increased regulation and compliance requirements, something which Ireland has recently experienced. Given this experience, the ILCU Foundation can advise the movement on how to effectively adopt these changes.

CREDIT UNION ‘CASH FOR MUTUAL CREDIT’ - HELPING GENERATIONS’ OF FAMILIES’The family of Natalia and Nikolay Ukrainets, from the town of Volkhov in Leningrad region, is unique - they’ve raised 15 children of their own! Nikolay, a former seaman, faced a choice between working on the sea and family life. He opted for the latter and quit the Navy. Soon after, the family began to grow and Nikolay found himself working longer hours to provide food for his children. Natalia would stay at home to tend to the family apartment. Their life started to gradually improve when, in 2003, Natalia and Nikolay learned from their acquaintances about ‘Cash for Mutual Credit’. At first, they assessed their economic situation and started taking out certain loans for their different needs – to prepare their kids for a new school year, improve their living conditions, refurbish their apartment, etc. Consistently, Natalia and Nikolay would come to the credit union and timely repay their loans. Many years later, their children grew up and recently their eldest daughter became a mother of two. She and her husband took a loan from ‘Cash for Mutual Credit’ to buy a one-bedroom apartment and now they are enjoying furnishing it.

Nikolay said, “If it were not for our local credit union we would not be in a position to send all of our children to school, it’s greatly improved our economic position.”

NATALIA TIMOKHINA, GARDARIKA ASSOCIATIONEXECUTIVE DIRECTOR“We express our gratitude to Irish credit unions and the International Development Foundation for the support and help provided to us over many years.”

Russia

Natalia & Nikolay Ukrainets, pictured with th

eir 15 c

hild

ren.

TYPES OF LOANS ISSUED: Consumer loans only.


• Formalisation of a partnership with the Southern Association of Russian Credit Unions.

• Executive director and board member of ‘Gardarika’ attended the ILCU Foundation 25th anniversary event in Ireland.

• ‘Gardarika’ commenced tidy town initiatives with their associated credit unions.

• Increased marketing activity - development of a new website, articles in ‘Credit Cooperative’ Magazine, production of calendars and promotional material for associated credit unions.

• Attendance at a number of national events including - Forum of Southern Russian Credit Unions, The XIII National Microfinance and Financial Inclusion Conference, VIII Forum of Russian Credit Unions and the Russian Credit Union League AGM.

• Study tour of Russian credit unions to Ireland.

• ‘Gardarika’ hosted ‘The Karelian Coast Tourist Convention of Russian Credit Unions’.

ISSUED:

AT A GLANCEPopulation: 142.8 millionNo. of credit unions: 11 (The Gardarika Association of Credit Unions of North – West)No. of members: 20,513% living on < €1 a day: 0% Life expectancy: 70 yrs.


Upper Bambara CU member, Musu Kamara, is a petty trader & CU advocate.

Sierra Leone & Liberia - Ebola Crisis

In March 2014, the largest and most complex Ebola outbreak in history brought Sierra Leone and Liberia to a standstill. The epidemic began in Guinea and travelled rapidly through many West African countries, whose health care systems could not withstand the outbreak. Additionally, these countries had recently emerged from civil war and unrest, which had already damaged the fragile infrastructure, this strained recovery efforts further. It is estimated that over 8,000 people have died from the virus, some of which were credit union members.

Efforts to contain the Ebola outbreak and the concern for the safety of credit union members led to ‘Supporting Credit Union Development in Sierra Leone Project’ being suspended since May 2014. The ILCU Foundation’s involvement to revitalize and modernize the credit union movement of Liberia was also suspended. The situation is being keenly monitored and preparations are underway to intensify project activities as soon it is possible to move freely around the countries again.

Mr. Saidu Kamara, pictured, passed away due to Ebola in Freetown, Sierra Leone. Mr. Kamara was a real supporter of the credit union movement in Sierra Leone and held posts as secretary and loan officer in Tawonapeh Trader Credit Union. Mr. Kamara was also chairman of the supervisory committee of the National Coop Credit Union Association of Sierra Leone. On project visits, Irish credit union personnel visited Freetown and Mr. Kamara would often translate conversations from English to the local Krio dialect. His warmth, passion, hospitality and commitment will be greatly missed by our colleagues.

Ar dheis dé go raibh a anam dílis.

BENEFICIARIES OF OUR SUPPORT:

Mr. Saidu Kamara.

First chairperson of IIfaBorou RuSACCO, Ethiopia.


The ILCU Foundation Celebrates Silver Anniversary

”The ILCU Foundation is an expression of what is best about the Irish credit union movement; it’s rooted within the self-help ethos – it uses a hand up not a hand out philosophy, it’s about empowerment and giving everyone real opportunities to build a better future.” – MEP Marian Harkin.

The ILCU Foundation celebrated its 25th anniversary by hosting a week long International Partners Conference (IPC) and an inaugural Learning & Sharing Forum, which took place on September 15th, 2014.

To mark the silver anniversary, over one hundred delegates from across the island of Ireland descended to Johnstown House, Enfield, Co. Meath to take part in the Forum. This was the first stand-alone event that the ILCU Foundation has had the pleasure of hosting, which was attended by credit union staff members, chairpersons, directors and former board members of the ILCU Foundation. The international contingent was made up of high level delegates from the ILCU Foundation partner counties and donor agencies.

As well as presentations and keynote speeches, there was also a learning workshop which aimed to provide an in-depth forum for dialogue to better understand challenges and opportunities facing our long-term partner countries. It explored lessons, successes and failures experienced by the ILCU Foundation partners in mobilising finance across the developing world.

The themes that were discussed during the one day event were;

• The Evolutionary Role of Cooperatives• International Initiatives for Sustainable Credit Unions• Financial Inclusion - Challenges and Opportunities

Pat Fay, chairman of the ILCU Foundation, chaired the event and opened proceedings by welcoming guests and wishing everyone a successful week. Martin Sisk, President of the ILCU, then spoke and highlighted what the ILCU Foundation has achieved in its 25 years of operation. He noted the self-help ethos and community focus that the Irish credit union movement is built upon, praising its promotion of volunteering and democratic values.

The first keynote speech came from Marian Harkin MEP, who detailed how real transformative change comes from cooperation, recognition of values and mutual respect. She announced that an interest group on credit unions was being set up in the EU and that she would hold the position of vice chairperson.

Alan Moore, General Manager of the ILCU Foundation, spoke and reiterated how, with the ongoing generous support of Irish credit unions, the ILCU Foundation is creating a lasting and positive impact for the people in Africa. Alan noted that, like Ireland in the 1950s and 1960s, the ILCU Foundation is helping ordinary African people to access to savings and credit facilities for the very first time, by helping them establish their own credit unions.

Babacourr Jeng, General Manager of the National Association of Cooperative Credit Unions in the Gambia (NACCUG), told the delegates about how the ILCU Foundation and NACCUG were working to ensure that the poorest rural Gambian communities had access to a credit union. He then went on to explain that many communities were beginning to thrive because of this. He illustrated his belief in cooperation among cooperatives with the phrase “replace ‘I’ with ‘We’ and illness becomes wellness”.

Michael Hamp, Senior Rural Finance Adviser at the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) talked about SACCO (Saving and Credit Co-operatives) development in Ethiopia. He also highlighted how the ILCU Foundation and IFAD

MEP Marian Harkin provided the Keynote Speech at the Learning

and Sharing Forum.


The ILCU Foundation Celebrates Silver Anniversary

CEO of the Ghanaian Credit Union Movement - B.B Fidelis pictured with ILCU Foundation supporters at the Learning & Sharing Forum.

were working together to train staff, to ensure that the SACCOs are run in an effective and efficient manner. He stated that the UN body are fortunate to have an excellent partner in the form of the ILCU Foundation.

The latter half of the day involved a roundtable discussion, including all the attending delegates, focussing on financial inclusion.

The Learning Forum received positive feedback from the credit union attendants, with many describing how informative the day had been. The interaction with the international delegates was noted as a key highlight, along with the quality of the presentations given by the speakers. A common refrain was that following the forum, there would be strong encouragement from the attendees to their credit unions to continue supporting the ILCU Foundation. Pat Fay closed proceedings of the opening day of the conference by praising the credit unions that fund the ILCU Foundation and help ensure its success.

In conclusion, the International Partners Conference and the Learning and Sharing Forum can be deemed a great success. It proved to be a worthwhile learning and knowledge sharing experience and the ILCU Foundation partners agreed that what they’ve learned from the week will undoubtedly have a

positive impact on their respective movements. There was wide acknowledgement amongst the partners that despite the many challenges now faced by the Irish credit union movement, the success and strengths of the movement continue to shine through and there is still much that they can learn from the Irish experience. Accordingly, those present throughout the week representing the Irish movement made it clear that there is a strong willingness to engage with and support the development of emerging credit unions movements worldwide.

Belize, Ethiopian & ILCUF delegation visit to Chapter 15.


Leveraging Local Support

The ILCU Foundation’s primary funders are credit unions and their members, who willingly contribute annually to a fund which allows us to help develop emerging movements and revitalise fallen movements. This funding has allowed the ILCU Foundation to leverage these monies by strategically applying for external funding from institutional funders in respect of our work. Thus together we are co-founding projects that share the ethos and principles of the Irish credit union movement.

the Gambian Rural Credit Union development project, a three-year project funded by Irish Aid and Irish credit unions, came to completion in October 2014. The main goal of the project was to reduce poverty through the provision of financial services by expanding the credit union movement, with a particular focus on rural areas. During the project time frame, credit union membership grew from 41,000 to 64,000 and the total savings for the movement increased by 70%. Six regional credit union bases were established in order to extend credit union services to remote and underserved areas. The impact of the regional bases is evidenced by the fact that rural membership has increased from a baseline of 10,200, in 2012, to 13,000 members in October 2014. A key component of this programme was the procurement and implementation of a modern IT solution.

This system serves to protect the savings of credit union members and will facilitate the further expansion of credit union outreach, particularly in rural areas. An independent evaluation of the IT project in 2014 deemed that it represented value for money, both in terms of the capital costs of system implementation and the operational costs of the solution. In addition, the project piloted the introduction of innovative savings boxes, a system that the ILCU Foundation has experience of from Ghana, which has proven to be a great success with rural members.

the West Africa Credit Unions programme against poverty (WACUpp), co-funded by Irish credit unions and the EU, which began in 2012, came to completion in December 2014. This programme adopted a regional approach, leveraging the knowledge, experience and expertise of the credit union movements in Ghana, The Gambia, Sierra Leone and Liberia.

Focus was maintained on four key results areas: capacity building, expansion of financial services, outreach to the poor and knowledge management.

Regional steering group meetings served as an important forum for training dissemination, networking and sharing of experiences between nascent and mature credit union movements. The performance of the programme was hampered from June 2014 onwards due to the outbreak of the Ebola virus, which effectively suspended activities in Liberia and Sierra Leone and limited their participation in regional workshops. While a final evaluation of the programme is yet to be completed, it is expected that the final results will demonstrate a 20% increase in credit union membership.

In January 2014, the ILCU Foundation commenced activities on a twinning arrangement with the ethiopian Government’s Federal Cooperative Agency (FCA). Figures from the FCA indicate that there are more than 9,000 savings and credit cooperative organisations (SACCOs) in Ethiopia with 833,000 members. However, only 14% of Ethiopian adults are reported to have access to credit, which limits the country’s socio-economic development. The ILCU Foundation’s work is focused on increasing the capacity of the FCA by providing technical assistance that will assist the development of the SACCO movement. Recognising that training is a vital component of SACCO and credit union movements worldwide, the ILCU Foundation has leveraged expertise from Ireland and Ethiopia to advise and deliver on training and development (specifically, the production of training manuals, a training needs assessment and a training development plan). In addition, an extensive report was produced on the status of the rural SACCO movement, which provides a detailed profile and assessment on the status of the movement, highlighting the key challenges and opportunities to guide the future development of the SACCO system. The project receives financial support from the UN agency International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD).

In May 2014, the ILCU Foundation was commissioned (through the Government of belize and IFAd) to carry out a programme of support to assist the belize Credit Union League (bCUL). The programme is aimed at growing the institutional capacity of BCUL so as to strengthen and improve the credit unions across Belize. Activities commenced in June 2014 and utilise the expertise within the Irish credit union movement, providing technical advice, advocacy, mentoring, resource development, training and strategic planning. To date, the ILCU Foundation has provided support on issues including loan delinquency, provisioning, stabilisation, monitoring and supervision and IT.


The work of the ILCU Foundation is centred on knowledge sharing and transferring skills to those who are keen to develop their own credit union movements. During 2014, the ILCU Foundation had the pleasure of hosting three study tour groups to Ireland - representing Russia, Kazakhstan and Kenya. The large international groups undertake a number of training programmes and seminars in their home countries prior to travelling to Ireland. The Irish credit union movement is perceived to be one of the most popular and successful movements in the world, these types of visits are an important element of their continuous professional development.

On arrival in Ireland, the participants spend a number of days receiving training in the ILCU office in Dublin. The training topics include:

• Volunteerism • Learning & Development• Election of Credit Union Bodies • Marketing & Communications • Developing Financial Products

• Governance • Social Performance Management• Internal Audit • Poverty Outreach• Supervision • Regulation• Insurance • Apex Body Development

A vital component of the study visit is to receive formal training, but the most enjoyable aspect for the visiting delegation’s is to visit a number of Irish credit unions and Chapters. The following are credit unions and Chapters which hosted study tour delegations in 2014:

• Health Services Staff Credit Union Ltd. • Malahide Credit Union Ltd.• Blessington Credit Union Ltd. • Clonmel Credit Union Ltd. • Core Credit Union Ltd. • The Lough Credit Union Ltd.• Carrickbrennan Credit Union Ltd. • Ardee Credit Union Ltd.• Portlaoise Credit Union Ltd. • St. Anthony’s & Claddagh Credit Union Ltd.• St. Patrick’s (ESB) Credit Union Ltd. • Mullingar Credit Union Ltd.• Baldoyle and Portmarknock Credit Union Ltd. • Community Credit Union Ltd.• Chapter 11 Executive • Chapter 15 • Chapter 21

The ILCU Foundation would like to take this opportunity to thank the credit unions and Chapters which hosted study tour delegations in 2014.

International Study Visits & Knowledge Sharing

Staff & volunteers of KUSCCO with Malahide Credit Union representatives.

Pa Samba Bojang, Gerry Joyce, Frank Colohan, Michael Gannon, Deen Touray.

Kazakhstan & Russian delegates with the staff of Carrickbrennan Credit Union.


The Great Ethiopian Run 2014

The Great Ethiopian Run is Africa’s largest running event, attracting over thirty thousand runners and causal walkers to historic Addis Ababa. The ILCU Foundation representatives, in partnership with Gorta Self Help Africa, travelled to Ethiopia with a small group of Irish credit union representatives to take part in the run and visit a number of Savings and Credit Co-operative Organisations (SACCOs) and their rural counterparts RuSACCOs. The trip, which was funded by the participants through individual fundraising, was an ideal initiative to allow for greater engagement with the Irish credit union movement and it was the ILCU Foundation’s first time taking part in the event.

The trip began by visiting Kidane Meridith Orphanage in Addis Ababa - to bring old clothes, toys and supplies to the children. The orphanage has close ties with Gorta SHA Business Development Representative, Ronan Scully, who has been involved with the group over a number of years. The visit showcased the stark reality of life within a city of over five million people.

The evening before the race was spent at a ‘Pasta Party’ hosted by the Hilton Hotel, where the group enjoyed a blend of pasta dishes to help ‘Carb Loading’ and to pick up their race packs. The group were joined by hundreds of other runners and charities alike - the 150 strong Irish runners/charity representatives were the largest international group in attendance for the 2014 race.

The Great Ethiopian Run took place during mid-morning in the city centre and after the race had been completed the group left bustling Addis Ababa with a strong sense of achievement and enjoyed lunch with the local Gorta SHA staff. The evening after the race the group were invited to the annual gathering of Irish representatives at the home of the Irish Ambassador, Aidan O’Hara,

where they enjoyed networking and socialising with the other charitable groups.

After race day, the group travelled to Huruta, Oromia Region and visited Awash RuSACCO (Rural Savings and Credit Co-operative) where they were greeted by Shewan Bekele, manager; Hayilu Welide, chairperson; and Damenu Beyi, member. The chairperson then brought the group to Damenu’s house where they had more time to hear about the impact credit union membership had made on the lives of his family.

On the final day of the delegations visit to Ethiopia, the group visited one final RuSACCO in Huruta, a small town which can only be accessed through African dirt roads. The group visited IfaBorou RuSACCO, a credit union whose membership is largely made up of women. Similarly to the first RuSACCO visit, the group were taken on a tour of the village where they met the first chairperson of the RuSACCO and visited a number of the members homes to see the advancements they had made due their local RuSACCO.

That evening the group left Ethiopia with a strong sense of pride knowing that the support which the ILCU Foundation is providing would only be possible due to the immense generosity of Irish credit unions and their members.

The participants of the Great Ethiopian Run 2014 were: • Alan Moore – ILCUF General Manager• Isabelle Kidney – ILCUF Expert Technical Advisor• Clive Davis – Chairman Portlaoise Credit Union • Melanie Cleary – New Ross Credit Union• Mary Mc Cormack – Director St. Raphael’s Credit Union• Eugene Mc Donough – Manager Bunclody Credit Union

Participants of the Great Ethiopian Run 2014.


Ghana Coaching Programme 2014

In 2014, three Irish credit union personnel embarked on two week a volunteering mission to help and develop the Ghanaian credit union system, through a collaboration with the Canadian Cooperative Association. Vivienne Keavey, Manager at Malahide Credit Union; Liam Mc Cullagh, Manager at Camlin Credit Union; and Louise Shields, Compliance Manager at St. Anthony’s and Claddagh Credit Union were selected to take part in the initiative, which is in its sixth year.

The purpose of the coaching programme is to:• provide technical assistance to credit unions in Ghana

to improve their own skills;• develop the capacity of credit union managers,

volunteers and staff to effectively manage and run the credit union;

• provide an opportunity for Irish credit union personnel to contribute their skills in support of the ILCU Foundations international development programme;

• and to allow the ILCU Foundation to engage further with Irish credit unions.

The Irish volunteers are paired with Canadian credit union personnel and then the ‘coaches’ spend a number of days with Ghanaian credit unions across the country. The coaches advise the credit unions on day to day operations, loan management, and human resource management. Following the visit, the coaches prepare a report which outlines practical guidelines the credit union board and management can implement to improve the operations of the credit union.

During the weekend, when credit unions are closed, the coaches take a break and complete cultural activities and visit tourist attractions. On completion of the programme, the coaches return to the Ghanaian Credit Union Association (CUA) headquarters to report their findings to the local area managers. Furthermore, a separate debrief takes place in London with other coaches who had visited Africa to evaluate the programme and make recommendations which will ultimately affect future coaches.

Here’s what some of the coaches had to say about their experience:

Liam McCullagh said: “I can’t believe how much I enjoyed the experience; we were made welcome everywhere we went. I was really humbled by the people that we met in Ghana. They have so little and yet they are some of the happiest people I have ever met. One gentleman said “it’s not what’s in your pocket that counts, but what’s in your mind, no one can take that away from you”. Our credit union began a lot like some of the ones we visited, from study groups to fully operating establishments, so I identified well with them. I hope that the knowledge we provided to them will enable them to better serve their communities.”

Louise Shields said: “I was extremely nervous about the trip as I had no experience of Africa. To be honest it was easier then I had expected. The issues I saw in the credit union were similar to the issues I deal with every day in Ireland. I had the opportunity to examine these issues with my new Ghanaian and Canadian colleagues. This was a rare opportunity which was really thought provoking. However my abiding memory is of the people I met and it is that opportunity for which I am most grateful. I would undoubtedly recommend this programme.”

Vivienne Keavey said: “I was amazed to see how close the Ghanaian model is to ours. Their credit union, or Society as they call it, is based on the same operating principals. However, their movement is not as evolved as ours. It has taken us over 50 years to get to where we are in Ireland. Their enthusiasm is contagious and they are so proud of what they have achieved in a short space of time.”

Vivienne Keavey and Paul Boateng, Hydro Employees Credit Union.

Loree Grey & Lousie Shields embark on their first credit union visit.

Irish Ghanaian Coaches Roll of Honour:2009 Joan Gallagher - Derry Credit Union Ltd. 2010/11 Damien Brady - Larkhill & District Credit Union Ltd. 2010/11 Barry Treacy - Youghal Credit Union Ltd. 2012 Elaine O’Neill - ILCU Field Officer2012/13 Mary O’Reilly - The Lough Credit Union Ltd. 2012/13 Fintan Ryan - Tralee Credit Union Ltd. 2014/15 Liam Mc Cullagh - Camlin Credit Union Ltd.2014/15 Vivienne Keavey - Malahide Credit Union Ltd. 2014/15 Louise Shields - St. Anthony’s & Claddagh Ltd.


Internal Operations

COMMUNICATIONS AND PROMOTION

Corporate Support & Partnerships:The ILCU Foundation began a partnership with ‘InfoTV Digital Signage Advertising’ and it is receiving this service free of charge. ILCU Foundation advertisements are being showcased in over 40 credit unions.

In 2014, the ILCU Foundation reached an agreement to obtain three years financial support from ECCU Assurance Company Ltd aimed at supporting the Sierra Leone credit union movement.

Support from the National Supervisors Forum allowed the ILCU Foundation to invite the Chairman of the Gambian Police Credit Union and the Deputy Director of the Microfinance Department of the Central Bank of The Gambia, to take part in their national conference.

To increase awareness of the ILCU Foundation among credit union personnel and volunteers, a partnership with the ILCU Learning & Development Department was formed. Information with regard to the ILCU Foundation was included in ‘Pathways’- the accredited learning route for credit unions.

Publications: The ILCU Foundation developed and published a ‘Status Report of the RuSACCO Sector in Ethiopia,’ had an article published in ACCA Accounting & Business Magazine, and quarterly articles published in the CU Focus Magazine.

Public Relations:Nationally, the ILCU Foundation obtained coverage

in the ‘Irish Examiner’ and the ‘Herald’. Locally, the ILCU Foundation obtained coverage in over 30 regional newspapers, compounded by individual articles being posted online and to social media vehicles.

Radio:During the ILCU Foundation 25th anniversary event, coverage was obtained on three local radio news bulletins.

Events:As well as hosting its first stand-alone event, the ILCU Foundation was in attendance, and presented, at major national events including: ILCU Chairmans’ Forum, ILCU Youth Conference, Credit Union Managers’ Association Conference, ILCU AGM, ILCU Chapter Officers’ Forum and the National Supervisors’ Forum. The ILCU Foundation also presented and visited 10 ILCU Chapters and over 30 individual credit unions.

Direct Marketing:The ILCU Foundation developed a communications package for Irish credit unions, including various marketing material, e.g. posters, leaflets, pull up banners and press releases. This was augmented with digital marketing material, e.g. website banners, individual ILCU Foundation webpages etc.

Engagement:The Ghana Coaching Programme continues to be a popular initiative for credit union managers. For the first time, the ILCU Foundation took part in the Great Ethiopian Run and also a coffee morning was held to raise awareness of the ILCU Foundation by Baltinglass Credit Union Ltd.

Ghana Coaches 2014 pictured at the credit union training centre in Kasoa, Accra.

Liam Mc Cullagh and Mark Kwara, Teachers Credit Union, discuss loan policies.


Strategic Plan 2013-2018

Our Strategic Plan 2013-2018 sets out our strategy for the coming five years, our theory of change and our organisational structure. The following is an overview of the plan: The plan prioritises long term partnership which builds competent local partners and local expertise without over reliance on Irish technical assistance. Our Strategic Plan 2013-2018 has identified six core strategic areas of work which we will focus on over the coming years. The six strategic objectives are in line with our vision, mission and values, they are as follows:

Provide financial and technical support to our existing local partners

Protect our Credit Union donation base Develop our external funding model

Facilitate growth and expansion of new credit union movements

Enhance and expand our technical assistance delivery model

Leverage our knowledge and results

Focus for 2015With the ongoing success of our work with international credit union partners in the developing world, the intention is to continue to implement the 2013-2018 Strategic Plan. The following objectives will be focussed on in 2015:

• Continue to enhance the monitoring and evaluation of our work and in particular to track the impact of our work.

• Develop new long-term projects with our partners to improve access to savings and loans services, and to continue to access grant funding from existing institutional donors.

• Investigate supporting new credit union partners in developing countries.

• Increase our engagement with our Irish credit union supporters and the financial support from the credit union network.

• Continue to implement the new Social Performance Monitoring tool with our long term credit union partners.

A summary of our Strategic Plan is available on our website – www.ilcufoundation.ie

ACCOUNTABILITY AND TRANSPARENCY

The ILCU Foundation is committed to ensuring accountability and transparency with regard to all aspects of our international development work. The ILCU Foundation is a registered charity in Ireland, its registered charity number is: CHY15037

The ILCU Foundation is governed by a Board of Directors who all serve in a voluntary capacity and meet seven times per year. The Board of Directors comprises of three ILCU Directors, two Non ILCU Directors and an ILCU Supervisor.

The ILCU Foundation is an active member of Dóchas, the umbrella group of Irish Association of Non-Governmental Development Organisations. The ILCU Foundation General Manager, Alan Moore, serves as the Treasurer of Dóchas and is on the Board of the European Micro-finance Platform, in a voluntary capacity. As a member of Dóchas the ILCU Foundation is a signatory to the Code of Conduct on Images and Messaging and the ILCU Foundation is fully compliant with the Code. The Dóchas Code offers seven guiding principles that assists the ILCU Foundation in their decision making about which images and messages to choose in their communications, while maintaining full respect for human dignity of those in the developing world.

The ILCU Foundation adheres to the Statement of Guiding Principles for Fundraising which offers a set of best practice guidelines for Charities, which is monitored by the Irish Charities Tax Reform Group (ICTR). The ILCU Foundation is compliant with the Irish Development NGOs Code of Corporate Governance set out by the Corporate Governance Association of Ireland. The ILCU Foundation is also fully registered with the newly formed Charities Regulatory Authority.

1

2

3

4

5

6


Income and Expenditure 2014

The ILCU Foundation strives to maximise the impact with the voluntary and grant income which it is provided with. The ILCU Foundation is determined to keep its operational costs at a minimal basis, where possible - this does not affect our development projects or support to our long term partners.

A key objective arising from the ILCU Foundation’s strategic plan is to ‘Protect our Credit Union donation base’. Following another successful year, the ILCU Foundation has generated an increase in contributions to almost €620,000 and all of the contributions received in the current year have been spent in 2014. This represents circa a 2% increase from 2013, which is greatly appreciated by the ILCU Foundation, our long term partners and the communities in which they operate.

The ILCU Foundation is committed to ensuring optimal accountability to all of its donors and supporters, and aims to provide accurate and detailed information with regard to its programmes.

The information above has been extracted from the 2014 financial accounts prepared by the ILCU Foundation auditors, Price Waterhouse Coopers.

*The ILCU Foundation audited accounts are available on our website – www.ilcufoundation.ie

Income and Expenditure 2014

The ILCU Foundation strives to maximise the impact with the voluntary income which it is provided with. The ILCU Foundation is determined to keep its operational costs at a minimal basis, where possible, this does not affect our development projects or support to our long term partners.

A key objective arising from the ILCU Foundations strategic plan is to ‘Protect our Credit Union donation base’. Following another successful year, the ILCU Foundation has generated an increase in contributions to almost €620,000 and all of the contributions received in the current year have been spent in 2014. This represents circa a 2% increase from 2013, which is greatly appreciated by the Foundation and our long term partners & the communities in which they operate.

The ILCU Foundation is committed to ensuring optimal accountability to all of its donors and supporters and the ILCU Foundation aims to provide accurate and detailed information with regard to its programmes.

2% 7%

32%

20%

29%

4% 4% 1%

1%

Expenditure 2014

Albania

Belize

Ethiopia

The Gambia

Ghana

Russia

Sierra Leone

Liberia

Small Project

€0

€100,000

€200,000

€300,000

€400,000

€500,000

€600,000

€700,000

€800,000

€900,000

€1,000,000

2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

ILCU Foundakon Voluntary Contribukons from Credit Unions


Contributors

A.S.T.I. Credit Union Ltd.

Abbeyfeale Credit Union Ltd.

Abbeyleix Credit Union Ltd.

A-B-C Credit Union Ltd.

Aghaloo Credit Union Ltd.

An Post Credit Union Ltd.

Antrim Credit Union Ltd.

Ardboe Credit Union Ltd.

Ardee Credit Union Ltd.

Arklow Credit Union Ltd.

Armagh Credit Union Ltd.

Athboy Credit Union Ltd.

Athlone Credit Union Ltd.

Athy Credit Union Ltd.

Ayrfield Credit Union Ltd.

B & S Credit Union Ltd.

B.D.S. Credit Union Ltd.

B.H.K Credit Union Ltd.

Bagenalstown Credit Union Ltd.

Bailieborough Credit Union Ltd.

Baldoyle Credit Union Ltd.

Ballaghaderreen Credit Union Ltd.

Ballina Credit Union Ltd.

Ballinascreen Credit Union Ltd.

Ballinasloe Credit Union Ltd.

Ballincollig Credit Union Ltd.

Ballinderry Bridge Credit Union Ltd.

Ballinlough Credit Union Ltd.

Ballinrobe Credit Union Ltd.

Ballivor Credit Union Ltd.

Ballybay Credit Union Ltd.

Ballyconnell Credit Union Ltd.

Ballyfermot Credit Union Ltd.

Ballyhackamore Credit Union Ltd.

Ballyjamesduff Credit Union Ltd.

Ballymena Credit Union Ltd.

Ballynahinch Credit Union Ltd.

Ballyphehane Credit Union Ltd.

Ballyshannon Credit Union Ltd.

Baltinglass Credit Union Ltd.

Banbridge Credit Union Ltd.

Bandon Credit Union Ltd.

Bannvale Credit Union Ltd.

Bantry Credit Union Ltd.

Belleek Garrison Credit Union Ltd.

Beragh Credit Union Ltd.

Berehaven Credit Union Ltd.

Bessbrook Credit Union Ltd.

Birr Credit Union Ltd.

Black Raven Credit Union Ltd.

Blessington Credit Union Ltd.

Bord Gais Credit Union Ltd.

Borrisokane Credit Union Ltd.

BTCU Credit Union Ltd.

Bunclody Credit Union Ltd.

Buncrana Credit Union Ltd.

Cabra Credit Union Ltd.

Caherdavin Credit Union Ltd.

Camlin Credit Union Ltd.

CANA Credit Union Ltd.

Carnew Credit Union Ltd.

Carrickbrennan Credit Union Ltd.

Carrickmacross Credit Union Ltd.

Carrick-On-Suir Credit Union Ltd.

Castle Credit Union Ltd.

Castlebar Credit Union Ltd.

Castleblayney Credit Union Ltd.

Castleconnell Ahane Credit Union Ltd.

Castlerea Credit Union Ltd.

Cathedral Credit Union Ltd.

Cavan Credit Union Ltd.

Charleville Credit Union Ltd.

Cholmcille Credit Union Ltd.

Citybus Credit Union Ltd.

Civil Service Credit Union Ltd.

Clogher Valley Credit Union Ltd.

Clogherhead Credit Union Ltd.

Clonard Credit Union Ltd.

Clondalkin Credit Union Ltd.

Clones Credit Union Ltd.

Clonmel Credit Union Ltd.

Clontarf Credit Union Ltd.

Cobh Credit Union Ltd.

Coill Dubh Credit Union Ltd.

Cois Sionna Credit Union Ltd.

Community Credit Union Ltd.

Cookstown Credit Union Ltd.

Cooley Credit Union Ltd.

Crosshaven/Carrigaline Credit Union Ltd.

Crossmaglen Credit Union Ltd.

Derg Credit Union Ltd.

Derry Credit Union Ltd.

Derrygonnelly Credit Union Ltd.

Desertmartin Credit Union Ltd.

Desmond Credit Union Ltd.

Donegal Town Credit Union Ltd.

Douglas Credit Union Ltd.

Drogheda Credit Union Ltd.

Dromore Credit Union Ltd.

Dunboyne Credit Union Ltd.

Dungarvan Credit Union Ltd.

Dungiven Credit Union Ltd.

Dunleer Parish Credit Union Ltd.

East Wall Credit Union Ltd.

Edenderry Credit Union Ltd.

Elphin Credit Union Ltd.

Emyvale Credit Union Ltd.

Enfield Credit Union Ltd.

Enniskillen Credit Union Ltd.

Ennistymon Credit Union Ltd.

Fairview Credit Union Ltd.

Faughanvale Credit Union Ltd.

Faughart Credit Union Ltd.

Fintona Credit Union Ltd.

Firhouse Credit Union Ltd.

Foxrock Credit Union Ltd.

Foyle Credit Union Ltd.

Ghaoth Dobhair Credit Union Ltd.

Glenelly Credit Union Ltd.

Goresbridge Credit Union Ltd.

Gorey Credit Union Ltd.

Hacketstown Credit Union Ltd.

Hannahstown Credit Union Ltd.

Harolds Cross Credit Union Ltd.

Health Services Staff Credit Union Ltd.

Inchicore Credit Union Ltd.

Indogroup Credit Union Ltd.

Inishowen Credit Union Ltd.

Inniskeen Credit Union Ltd.

Irvinestown Credit Union Ltd.

Jim Larkin Credit Union Ltd.

K.R.D Credit Union Ltd.


Contributors

Kanturk Credit Union Ltd.

Keady Credit Union Ltd.

Kilcormac Credit Union Ltd.

Kilcullen Credit Union Ltd.

Kilkeel Credit Union Ltd.

Killarney Credit Union Ltd.

Killybegs Credit Union Ltd.

Kilmallock Credit Union Ltd.

Kiltimagh Credit Union Ltd.

Kinawley Credit Union Ltd.

Kingscourt Credit Union Ltd.

Kinsale Credit Union Ltd.

Kinvara Credit Union Ltd.

Lanesboro Credit Union Ltd.

Larkhill Credit Union Ltd.

Larne Credit Union Ltd.

Leighlin Credit Union Ltd.

Letterkenny Credit Union Ltd.

Lifford Credit Union Ltd.

Limavady Credit Union Ltd.

Link Credit Union Ltd.

Lisburn Credit Union Ltd.

Lisduggan Credit Union Ltd.

Liskaskea Credit Union Ltd.

Lismore & Cappoquin Credit Union Ltd.

Longford Credit Union Ltd.

Lordship Credit Union Ltd.

Loughguile Credit Union Ltd.

Lurgan Credit Union Ltd.

Macnean Credit Union Ltd.

Macroom Credit Union Ltd.

Magherafelt Credit Union Ltd.

Malahide Credit Union Ltd.

Mallow Credit Union Ltd.

Marino Credit Union Ltd.

Mayorstone Credit Union Ltd.

Midleton Credit Union Ltd.

Millstreet Credit Union Ltd.

Mohill Credit Union Ltd.

Monaghan Credit Union Ltd.

Monasterevan Credit Union Ltd.

Mountmellick Credit Union Ltd.

Moy Credit Union Ltd.

Moyenir Credit Union Ltd.

Moylough Mountbellew Credit Union Ltd.

Moyola & Toome Credit Union Ltd.

Muintir Clanna Caoilte Credit Union Ltd.

Muintir Skibbereen Credit Union Ltd.

Mulcair Credit Union Ltd.

Mullinahone Credit Union Ltd.

Mullingar Credit Union Ltd.

Naomh Brendan Credit Union Ltd.

Nenagh Credit Union Ltd.

New Ross Credit Union Ltd.

Newington Credit Union Ltd.

Newmarket Credit Union Ltd.

Newry Credit Union Ltd.

Newtownbutler Credit Union Ltd.

Newtownhamilton Credit Union Ltd.

North Longford Credit Union Ltd.

North William St. Credit Union Ltd.

Oldcastle Credit Union Ltd.

Oldpark Credit Union Ltd.

Omagh Credit Union Ltd.

Ormeau Credit Union Ltd.

Owenkillew Credit Union Ltd.

Pearse Credit Union Ltd.

Pennyburn Credit Union Ltd.

Phibsboro Credit Union Ltd.

Piercestown Credit Union Ltd.

Plassey Credit Union Ltd.

Poleglass Credit Union Ltd.

Pomeroy Credit Union Ltd.

Portaferry Credit Union Ltd.

Portarlington Credit Union Ltd.

Portlaoise Credit Union Ltd.

Portumna Credit Union Ltd.

Ranelagh Credit Union Ltd.

Rathangan Credit Union Ltd.

Rathdowney Credit Union Ltd.

Rathfarnham Credit Union Ltd.

Rathmore & Dist Credit Union Ltd.

Roscommon Credit Union Ltd.

Roslea Credit Union Ltd.

RTE Credit Union Ltd.

S.A.G. Credit Union Ltd.

Sandymount Credit Union Ltd.

Sheephaven Credit Union Ltd.

Shercock Credit Union Ltd.

Slane Credit Union Ltd.

Slieve Gullion Credit Union Ltd.

Sligo Credit Union Ltd.

St Ailbe’s Credit Union Ltd.

St Anthony’s & Claddagh Credit Union Ltd.

St Columba’s Credit Union Ltd.

St Patrick’s Parish Credit Union Ltd.

St. Brigid’s Credit Union Ltd.

St. Canice’s Credit Union Ltd.

St. Colman’s Claremorris Credit Union Ltd.

St. Declan’s Ashbourne Credit Union Ltd.

St. Francis Credit Union Ltd.

St. Gabriel’s Credit Union Ltd.

St. John’s Credit Union Ltd.

St. Mary’s Donnybrook Credit Union Ltd.

St. Patrick’s ESB Credit Union Ltd.

St. Paul’s Garda Credit Union Ltd.

St. Raphael’s Credit Union Ltd.

Stillorgan Credit Union Ltd.

Sundrive Credit Union Ltd.

Swilly Mulroy Credit Union Ltd.

T.P.M. Credit Union Ltd.

Tallaght & District Credit Union Ltd.

Tara & District Credit Union Ltd.

Templeogue Credit Union Ltd.

Termonmaguirk Credit Union Ltd.

The Lough Credit Union Ltd.

The Rosses Credit Union Ltd.

The Victory Credit Union Ltd.

Thurles Credit Union Ltd.

Togher Credit Union Ltd.

Torrent Credit Union Ltd.

Tubbercurry Credit Union Ltd.

Tullow Credit Union Ltd.

Tullycross Credit Union Ltd.

Tullylish Credit Union Ltd.

W.B.R. Credit Union Ltd.

Waterford Credit Union Ltd.

Waterside Credit Union Ltd.

Westport Credit Union Ltd.

Wexford Credit Union Ltd.

Wicklow Credit Union Ltd.

Youghal Credit Union Ltd.


Thank You

The Staff and the Board of Directors of the ILCU Foundation would like to take this opportunity to sincerely thank the following for their support in 2014:• The credit unions, and members, for their

contributions which allow us to continue our work and share the success of the Irish credit union movement as a means to reducing poverty. A particular thanks to the credit unions that are directly co-funding the Irish Aid credit union project in the Gambia.

• The Irish League of Credit Unions for bearing staff and administrative costs. To the ILCU Board, ILCU Management and ILCU Staff, thank you all for your continuous support and your help on various projects and certain aspects of our work.

• The credit unions, and their staff, who kindly hosted delegations and met with ILCU Foundation staff throughout the year. The various Chapters which allowed ILCU Foundation to make presentations at their respective monthly meetings and members of CUMA for allowing us to promote our work and network at their conference.

• The ILCU Foundation advocates and volunteers who worked alongside us to raise awareness at Chapter meetings and other events.

• The participants of the Great Ethiopian Run, and their respective credit unions and Chapters, for their support.

• The National Supervisors Forum for supporting two delegates from Gambia to take part in the NSF Conference 2014.

• The volunteers who participated in the Ghana Coaching Programme, and their respective credit unions, for volunteering their time and skills.

• Our development partners – CCA, Gorta SHA, TERRAFINA, WORLD COUNCIL, IFAD, Microfinance ACPEU and SBFIC.

• The ILCU Foundation gratefully acknowledges funding from Irish Aid and the EU in support of our work in West Africa.

• The support received from InfoTV Digital Signage Advertising, increasing our awareness levels throughout the movement.

• The ILCU Foundation would like to acknowledge SBFIC, Gorta SHA and CCA, in particular Philip Ruopp and David Shanks, for supplying images which were used within this annual report. Without their co-operation this annual report would not have been as richly illustrated.

Support Our WorkYour support of our work can help ordinary credit union members in some of the poorest communities in the world to live free of poverty and financial exclusion. Your support will help to ensure that we can be there to assist them for as long as we are needed.

If you would like to support our life changing work, or hear how you could become involved, please contact the ILCU Foundation at + 353 1 614 6746, email: [email protected] or visit our website www.ilcufoundation.ie

A boutique owner and credit union member in Ghana deposits her profits to the credit union office.


The Board of Directors: Pat Fay – Chairman – Community Credit Union Ltd.

John Long – ILCU Board Member – Killarney Credit Union Ltd.

Michael Gormley – Non ILCU Member – Westport Credit Union Ltd.

Seamus Kilgannon – ILCU Board Member – Sligo Credit Union Ltd.

Eamonn Sharkey – Non ILCU Board Member – Omagh Credit Union Ltd.

Michael Doyle - Supervisor - St. Raphael’s Garda Credit Union Ltd.

James Gallagher – Company Secretary - Ballyshannon Credit Union Ltd.

Registered Office:ILCU Foundation, 33-41 Lower Mount Street, Dublin 2. Ph: +353 1 614 6746

Auditor:PricewaterhouseCoopers, One Spencer Dock, North Wall Quay, Dublin 1.

Solicitor: McCann Fitzgerald, Riverside One, Sir John Rogerson’s Quay, Dublin 2.

Bankers:Bank of Ireland, Rathfarnham Shopping Centre, Dublin 14

Legal & Administrative Information

OUR SUPPORTERS & PARTNERS:

Registered Charity Number - CHY 9704 Registered Company Number - 144006

L-R Eamonn Sharkey, Michael Doyle, Seamus Kilgannon, Michael Gormley. Front L-R John Long and Pat Fay.

THE ILCU FOUNDATION BOARD OF DIRECTORS 2014:

ILCU Foundation,33-41 Lower Mount Street, Dublin 2.

T: +353 1 614 6746

For more information on the ILCU Foundation please visit our website: www.ilcufoundation.ie or visit us on Facebook.

credit union operating...

Documents