UFCU Named Business Champion in Education

Austin, TEXAS, November 14, 2019 — The Austin Chamber of Commerce named UFCU^® a Business Champion in Education.

The award honors businesses for their commitment and contributions to improving K-12 education, college and career opportunities, and workforce readiness for the Austin community.

The Austin Young Chamber nominated UFCU for the award, which recognizes UFCU in the College and Career Mentoring/Experience category. Recipients in that category help improve college access, develop student interest, and help prepare others for college and careers.

In making the nomination, the Austin Young Chamber noted UFCU’s deep commitment to the community. Through the UFCU DO GOOD employee volunteer program in 2018 alone, more than 350 UFCU employees volunteered 3,957 hours and gave $75,734 through donations with a UFCU match toward three mainstays of community prosperity, including education (increasing college readiness, access, and success), employment, and housing affordability.

In 2019, UFCU embarked on a more intentional strategy to expand its social purpose out into the community, with a specific focus on college access and degree attainment. Recently, UFCU provided funding for the Austin College Access Network, a collaboration of 13 nonprofit organizations, to create a first-ever, shared master plan for serving nontraditional students. UFCU promotes opportunities for UFCU employees to engage with these nonprofit organizations and the students they serve in volunteer activities, including FAFSA support, mentoring, professional feedback to students, scholarship application evaluations, and in-kind donations for first-generation students entering college.

“By engaging our employees in this mission, our goal is to give them the opportunities to learn through direct experience and then bring back that knowledge to the products and services we continually improve for our Members, many of whom face the same challenges,” said Heather McKissick, senior vice president of community impact.

In addition to financial advice and customer-focused services, UFCU supports The University of Texas at Austin™ Child Development Center and Neighborhood Longhorns Program, and hosts dozens of financial literacy seminars for Members. Originally founded to serve the faculty, staff, and students UT, the UFCU family has since grown to include other universities, their students, and other entities that share an appreciation for higher education.

“At UFCU, we believe that education is a key economic engine driving the growth and well-being of the vibrant Texas community in which we live,” said UFCU President/CEO Tony Budet. “We have long championed the importance of education, and are honored that the Austin Young Chamber chose to nominate us for that work and that the Austin Chamber designated us a Business Champion in Education.”

Winners will be honored at the Chamber’s State of Education luncheon November 14 at the Hilton Austin.

About UFCU
As a Member-owned, not-for-profit financial cooperative, UFCU is passionate about changing lives and strengthening communities. With more than 309,000 Members in Central Texas and Galveston County, assets under management exceeding $3.1 billion, and Austin’s largest locally owned financial institution, UFCU offers a variety of products, services, and education programs to empower Members in achieving financial health. To learn more, visit UFCU.org.