By Ray Birch
NAPERVILLE, Ill.—Credit unions have worked hard for their members to help them through the pandemic. Now, many are turning their focus to their communities to provide assistance—and a new effort from Alloya Corporate FCU aims to help them do that.
Alloya turns 10 years old on Oct. 24, having been formed a decade ago out of new capital and the remnants of Members United Corporate FCU, which was conserved by NCUA during the financial crisis of 2008.
In honor of its anniversary and saying it wishes to provide a service to the credit union movement, this month Alloya is donating $100,000 to charities nominated by its credit union members—giving away $10,000 to a new charity each day for 10 days.
“We’re calling this ‘10 for 10 for 10’’,” said SVP Tim Bruculere. “Credit unions give back each and every day to their members and communities, so we could not think of a better way to celebrate this milestone moment for Alloya than following in the footsteps of the credit unions we serve.”
The 10 charities will be chosen through a nomination and selection process driven by Alloya’s credit union membership, according to the corporate.
“This program is an offshoot of Alloya’s support for credit unions during the pandemic. At the start of the COVID-19 emergency, Alloya dedicated $1 million to support credit unions that may have needed laptops, personal protective equipment or some other unbudgeted item just to get them through the early days,” said Bruculere. “We were able to provide $5,000 grants to over 200 member credit unions. Credit unions are resilient, and have done a fantastic job staying strong. The 10 for 10 for 10 program is our way of extending that credit union strength to our communities and charities that may still not have recovered from the huge economic drain caused by COVID.”
How to Participate
According to Alloya, the rules for participating include:
- The nominating credit union must be a member of Alloya or a client of Alloya Investment Services
- Each credit union can nominate one charity by submitting a short story about what the charity means to their credit union and how it has impacted the community
- The charity must be classified as a 501(c)(3) organization to be eligible for the $10,000 donation
- Nominations will be accepted through Friday, Oct. 8, 12 p.m. CT
- Winners will be selected via a random drawing of eligible entries, with 10 winners announced for 10 consecutive business days, starting Oct. 12
- Winners will be revealed on Alloya’s website at 10 a.m., CT daily and on CUToday.info during the 10-day event, Alloya member CUs will also receive an e-mail with the names of the winners
- Each $10,000 donation will be made in the name of the credit union that nominated the charity
- Complete program details and a nomination form can be found on Alloya’s website at www.alloyacorp.org/winyour10
Plenty of Demand
Bruculere knows the money can be used.
“This has been a very difficult period for credit unions and their members,” he said. “They had to get accustomed fast to working remotely, make sure they had the technology necessary to keep the business going, buy personal protective equipment for branches, and really learn to run their business in new ways.”
Credit unions proved how resilient they are during the pandemic, Bruculere added, by keeping their bottom lines strong during a difficult period, which only provided additional capacity to help more members.
Providing Direction
Alloya says the money it is awarding will go to charities best positioned to help local communities, including small businesses, hit hard by the health crisis. Bruculere said having credit unions choose the charities is the right way to direct the funds.
“Alloya can’t know what is going on in a community in Wyoming, for example. But our credit unions that are in those Wyoming markets know,” Bruculere said. “They are close to those who are in need and can select the charities that will have the greatest impact on their communities. That is a key aspect of 10 for 10 for 10”
The giveaway follows Alloya recently distribution to its member credit unions of a 20% capital dividend.
“What better way to celebrate 10 years of service than to give back to our members’ favorite charities,” Bruculere said.