It’s been a while, and so I wanted to send out a quick update on what’s been happening with the project.
Recent updates:
- I spoke about the project at the IgnitionNW Town Hall Meeting on March 26th and made two important announcements:
- The first group in our Field of Membership will be IgnitionNW.
- I’m building a technology platform to create and operate Credit Unions like Black Rock Federal. (There will be more about this soon!)
- I also had an outstanding meeting with Carmen Mauk of Burners without Borders, who is taking BWB in some exciting directions.
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Upcoming:
- I’m sending our revised Field-of-Membership to the NCUA on Friday.
On Saturday I’m flying to San Francisco to help Brady run the Ignite Event @ the Web2.0 Expo in San Francisco. (Justin.tv will be there and presenting, so you might be able to see it live… and from a speakers perspective!)- I might be speaking at the Web2.0 Expo as well (check my personal blog if you want to know more)
Next Update: Friday, April 20th
April 11th, 2007
We will be writing our charter as part of an Open Space Technology (OST) conference and forum, and so I thought I’d begin explaining what OST is all about. Here is a little background… enjoy!
-Jesse
This is the front page of the Business Section of the San Jose Mercury News for July 13, 2006 it features the Principles of Open Space and asks - How can you plan anything in Silicon Valley using these rules?
“Open Space Technology is a simple way to run productive meetings, for five to 2000+ people, and a powerful way to lead any kind of organization, in everyday practice and ongoing change…”
Harrison Owen describes OST as:
“At the very least, Open Space is a fast, cheap, and simple way to better, more productive meetings. At a deeper level, it enables people to experience a very different quality of organization in which self-managed work groups are the norm, leadership a constantly shared phenomenon, diversity becomes a resource to be used instead of a problem to be overcome, and personal empowerment a shared experience. It is also fun. In a word, the conditions are set for fundamental organizational change, indeed that change may already have occurred. By the end, groups face an interesting choice. They can do it again, they can do it better, or they can go back to their prior mode of behavior.
Open Space is appropriate in situations where a major issue must be resolved, characterized by high levels of complexity, high levels of diversity (in terms of the people involved), the presence of potential or actual conflict, and with a decision time of yesterday.
Open Space runs on two fundamentals: passion and responsibility. Passion engages the people in the room. Responsibility ensures things get done. A focusing theme or question provides the framework for the event. The art of the question lies in saying just enough to evoke attention, while leaving sufficient open space for the imagination to run wild.”
Update 1/14/07: Ted Earnst blogged about us on OpenSpaceWorld’s blog.
January 13th, 2007
Just a quick note to let everybody know we filed our proposed Field of Membership with the NCUA today. Our Field of Membership defines the community we are legally permitted to serve. There are numerous regulations about who and how a credit union can define it’s “Common Bond”, and we hope we’ve defined ours accordingly.
As always, comments, questions and feedback are requested and encouraged!
December 15th, 2006
What was wrong?
I said that Credit Unions were able to loan out $16 for every $1 in member deposits, because they have a 6% capitalization requirement. I confused Credit Union capitalization ratios with banking Cash Reserve Ratios, and didn’t find out until I spoke with a gentleman from the NCUA today.
Credit Union loans are backed by member shares, and the Credit Unions are required to keep a reserve in excess of this amount. This reserve is the capitalization requirement.
Banks do operate this way, and as I asserted in my talk, generate significant profit from loans they are able make loaning out more money then they have on deposit.
What does this mean?
It means that we have less “upside” (in the form of interest) to use than we originally hoped.
We will still create a non-profit, member owned, member driven, community financial institution. We will still empower our community, offer great financial services, and use our resources to change the world.
There are now 10 passionate people directly involved this project, and our understanding is constantly growing. We are beginning to find mentors in Credit Union community, and have started the chartering process with the NCUA.
Thanks again for your continued trust and support for our community!
Sincerely,
-Jesse Robbins
Want to get involved? Email us at organizers at blackrockfederal.com.
December 12th, 2006
The BarCamp Bank folks asked us to host their first US meeting, and I have agreed to do it. Brady Forrest has graciously agreed to advise me on this, and I’m hoping that the OpenSourceCU/Trabien & Wesabe folks will help out too.
