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Oregon Community Credit Union Steps In and Steps Up for Its Community
We’re continuing our series on financial institutions that are going above and beyond to make a difference in their communities. And we have a perfect example to highlight today.
Oregon Community Credit Union (OCCU) is a thriving credit union driven by its vision and values. OCCU has more than 260,000 members across a 10-county area in Oregon and Washington. In 2023, it gave back to its members in some pretty significant ways. The credit union’s fee-savings program returned more than $1.8 million to members last year, for example, and OCCU paid $14.7 million in member dividends in 2023.
But OCCU’s giveback efforts don’t stop there. With the OCCU Foundation, this financial institution goes out of its way to support its community.
Investing in three key areas
The OCCU Foundation operates with a vision to “Enrich Lives.” To do that, it focuses its efforts on three areas:
- Living: The Foundation supports programs that improve well-being, including ones that back healthcare access. More than $175,000 has been donated to local food pantries through OCCU.
- Learning: Education is a core focus for the Foundation, as is evidenced by its scholarship programs — which have given nearly $1 million — and workforce development efforts. OCCU has also donated $300,000 to PeaceHealth Sacred Heart Medical Center and bought hundreds of books for local elementary schools.
- Thriving: As urgent needs arise in the community, the Foundation steps in to provide both monetary assistance and volunteer hours. For example, it continually makes grants through its Fire Relief Fund. To date, that fund has contributed more than a quarter of a million dollars to fire recovery efforts throughout Oregon.
All told, the OCCU Foundation puts its money where its mouth is. Since its foundation in 2018, it’s given almost $3 million in charitable gifts. In 2023, it gave $483,300 to 30 local organizations.
More examples of the OCCU Foundation’s giveback
With its strong vision and commitment to making a difference, the OCCU Foundation makes a positive impact in Oregon and Washington in a number of ways. Here are a few recent examples of its work:
- Volunteerism: Through its Community OutReach for Employees (CORE) program OCCU gives all of its employees 40 hours of paid time to use to volunteer each year. In 2023, OCCU team members used that time to give 4,500 volunteer hours to their community.
- Responding to the January 2024 ice storms: When ice storms hit OCCU’s service area, causing power outages and forcing people to shelter at home, the credit union stepped in. The OCCU Foundation donated more than $40,000 to recovery efforts. $20,000 of that went to local food banks and mobile pantries, while more than $20,000 went to 121 OCCU staffers who were affected by the storms.
- Partnership with the YMCA: When the Eugene Family YMCA sought to expand both its footprint and its community resources, OCCU stepped up and donated $100,000. With that donation, the Y establishes a 1,150-square-foot Youth Learning Lab with a focus on financial literacy. As Ron Neumann, OCCU Foundation Board Chair and OCCU President & CEO, said at the time of the donation, “We are excited to partner with the YMCA to expand young people’s understanding of finances while supporting their work to create healthy, thriving communities.”
- Stepping in during COVID-19. In response to the pandemic, the OCCU Foundation funded almost $100,000 in COVID-19 Relief Grants.
With all of this, it’s no surprise that OCCU regularly gets named a top philanthropic organization.
If this inspires you to work on giveback initiatives at your own financial institution, we can help you free up some time to dive into that. To learn how BankingBridge can make your work life easier, schedule a demo today.
