Truliant Federal Credit Union in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, has started a foundation it says will strengthen its commitment to community and social responsibility.
The Truliant Foundation will provide support to programs and funding initiatives championed by the $3.6 billion-asset credit union, Truliant said. All of Truliant’s existing grant, donation and scholarship programs will be funded and managed as programs of the foundation, the credit union said.
“Establishing the Truliant Foundation expands on the ‘people helping people’ philosophy of credit unions and our legacy of helping underserved populations. It creates a platform to deepen connections with partners as we increase contributions over time,” Sherri Thomas, Truliant’s chief administrative officer, said in a press release.
The Foundation's first new program is the Truliant Employee Relief Fund, which will provide financial assistance to employees experiencing financial hardship due to events beyond their control, including disasters, extended illnesses and injuries.
The fund will provide grants to employees for their own needs or for those of their immediate family members and was launched with personal donations from all of Truliant’s senior management, with those values matched by the credit union itself.
Truliant's firt major gift was a contribution to the Winston-Salem State University Foundation to support the Mathematics and Science Education Network program. The gift will be used at the historically Black university to eliminate disparities in education and to prepare middle and high school students for careers in math and science, according to the press release.
In the past five years, Truliant has contributed more than $1 million in scholarships, grants and charitable gifts to more than 400 community-focused organizations and 100 local students who are pursuing higher education.
Truliant has more than 280,000 members in North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia.
