Many of us have moved our money out of TBTF banks. Now there is an organized effort to ask cities, towns, counties, states, and other organizations such as charities and churches to do the same. These accounts are MUCH larger than the average American's checking or savings accounts. Many of these accounts total in the billions. A few accounts of this size moving from any big bank will certainly be felt.
I'm writing this diary because I am wondering about how we should approach these organizations. I wanted to write the City of Raleigh, Wake County and the state of NC to ask them to divest from TBTF banks. I'm wondering if I should just simply write a letter to each of them.
One main concern I have is how do I know which banks these local governments do business with right now. Does anyone know of a place where I can easily find this information? I've done a little searching, and I'm not coming up with cold hard numbers. I don't want to write one of these and find out they don't have any money with a TBTF bank.
Another idea, should we make a coordinated effort by starting online petitions on Change.org for each municipality? It might work, and then again, it might not. I'm just trying to figure out the most effective way of banding together and voicing our concerns about public money being held in the very companies that brought the economy down.
As far as organizations go, I am writing the local directors for each local charity that I contributed to in the past year. It's a pretty generic letter that basically says, if you bank with one of these TBTF banks, please consider moving the charitable funds to a local bank or credit union if possible. I also point out that these local companies are more likely to help their particular cause.
Ideas are welcome. Let's brainstorm!