The strategy behind the recently launched support organization Fuel Solutions took the spotlight during a CU Broadcast interview at REACH 2025 in late October with Larry Palochik, executive vice president and executive director of the newly formed organization.
Launched on July 1, Fuel Solutions is a new cooperative model designed to help trade associations achieve economies of scale without sacrificing local advocacy control. “We built it as a model that other associations could look toward,” Palochik said.
Fuel Solutions centralizes non-advocacy services — specifically education, compliance support, marketing and communications, and social community impact — that can be efficiently scaled across the three-state alliance of California’s Credit Unions, Nevada’s Credit Unions, and Utah’s Credit Unions. The individual leagues retain their independent governance and can focus exclusively on their core, state-specific advocacy missions.
Palochik said that while consolidation might reduce administrative costs, merging advocacy footprints can dilute local control and effectiveness. Fuel Solutions offers a middle ground.
With the organization only four months into its launch, Palochik outlined his goals for 2026, including upgrading the education platform with new technology and expanding professional development offerings.
Fuel Solutions’ structure as a 501(c)3 nonprofit also provides unique opportunities for alternative funding. Palochik stressed that this funding is the key to drive education and provide important resources for smaller and mid-sized credit unions that often operate with limited staffing and training budgets.
The creation of Fuel Solutions is built on the success of the long-standing, nearly 30-year operational partnership between California’s Credit Unions and Nevada’s Credit Unions, which Palochik credits with helping the Nevada league thrive. Fuel is successfully raised awareness of this new model among REACH attendees, fielding constant inquiries about how the structure works and how it can be replicated.
“You can chase scale,” Palochik said. “But each league remains independent and serving its advocacy mission for its members.”
