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Two Southern California credit unions that serve university communities are giving the gift of financial wellness and support this holiday season with the rollout of significant initiatives.
Wescom Credit Union ($5.8 billion, Pasadena, Calif.) – a longtime Official Banking Partner of a number of University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) entities – and its charitable arm The Wescom Foundation announced the launch of the Wescom Fund for UCLA Thursday. As part of the Fund initiative, the credit union made a five-year pledge, from 2023 to 2027, to provide $85,000 in grants to UCLA annually for a total of $425,000.
Wescom's annual grants will be broken down as follows: $30,000 to the UCLA Campus Life and Recreation department, $5,000 to support philanthropic sponsorships and $50,000 to support UCLA Alumni Diversity Network scholarships.
According to Wescom, the Fund will support UCLA students and staff in these specific areas:
- Increasing access to UCLA campus transportation for students who do not live on campus by contributing to the UCLA Commuter Grant Initiative and providing meals to students who cannot go home between classes;
- Supporting programs that provide access to no-cost summer camps for UCLA students who are parents;
- Supporting programs that issue small grants to UCLA students to allow them to travel to help further develop their leadership and professional skills; and
- Supporting programs on campus that help students who experience unexpected challenges.
In addition, Wescom announced that it is the Presenting Sponsor of UCLA's Charles E. Young Humanitarian Awards, and as part of the sponsorship, the credit union created the Wescom Community Award, which provides $750 to a UCLA Student Organization with focus areas aligned with those of the Wescom Foundation (critical human needs, disaster response and financial wellness).
Meanwhile, USC Credit Union ($720 million, Los Angeles), which operates four branches on the University of Southern California campus in Los Angeles and serves USC staff, faculty, students and alumni, as well as the communities surrounding USC's campuses in the City of Los Angeles and Orange County, announced the rollout of a new wealth management offering. The credit union partnered with the Phoenix-based third-party registered investment advisory firm Priority Financial Group (PFG) to bring financial planning and fiduciary services to members, as well as financial literacy programs to USC students.
"We're thrilled to partner with Priority Financial Group to enrich our array of consumer financial services and provide objective financial advice to the USC family, as well as to the residents and small businesses surrounding the University," USCCU President/CEO Gary Perez stated.
USCCU noted that a key component of the PFG service offering will be a robust digital experience for all members, and that it plans to launch a robo-advisor solution in the near future.
Perez noted, "The partnership marks a new RIA [registered investment advisor] approach for USC Credit Union that centers on comprehensive planning and gaining a deeper understanding of members' unique financial circumstances. In addition, the partnership paves the way for a forthcoming robo-advisor solution to provide members with a low-cost and convenient online investing platform with a full range of portfolio services."
PFG CEO Mike Prior added, "We're honored to partner with Gary and the other visionary leaders at USC Credit Union to serve the evolving financial planning needs of the esteemed [USC] Trojan community. Together with USC Credit Union, we look forward to delivering on a digital solution to meet members where they are geographically, and provide members with access to our low-cost, multi-custodian platform with industry-leading platforms like Schwab, Fidelity, AssetMark and Orion."
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