RALEIGH, N.C. –The Coastal Credit Union Foundation hosted and sponsored its third annual one-of-a-kind event – The Power of Sharing – highlighting the efforts of 25 area nonprofits. Coastal’s business partners and the Foundation awarded a just over $600,000 combined in charitable grants and in-kind giving to organizations that are making a significant impact in our communities.
A major part of the Power of Sharing Gala is the collaboration between local companies. BASF, Blue Cross Blue Shield of NC, Citrix, Lenovo and the Coastal Credit Union Foundation brought resources together to make the lives of those who live and work in our communities better. $60,000 was donated by five organizations to create the following awards.
As in past years, additionally, each organization recognized with a Power of Sharing award also received an IBM Impact Grant, allowing for their leadership to attend IBM’s “Becoming a Leader of Change” training, valued at a combined $32,000. This workshop is designed to provide a powerful look at increasing a leader’s awareness of necessary change management skills, as well as to provide insights on how to effectively implement new processes for making improvements within an organization.
The Coastal Credit Union Foundation itself recognized one organization in each of the 16 counties Coastal Credit Union serves with a Hometown Hero Award of $5,000 each totaling $80,000 in donations.
Additionally, during this year’s event the United Way of the Greater Triangle and Leadership Triangle announced its new “10 to Watch” initiative created to develop the leaders and organizations who represent the future of the Triangle.
The United Way has committed to investing $500,000 into the selected ’10 to Watch’ organizations, two-year grants of $25,000 to each of ten recipients. Coastal Credit Union announced its making the initial grant of $25,000 to help launch the program, and invites the business community to join them in making an impact.
“Coastal Credit Union Foundation is proud to support and host this prestigious event for the third year,” said Chuck Purvis, president and CEO of Coastal Credit Union. “Recognizing the tremendous work of the nonprofit organizations in our community is an honor for us. To bring our business partners together to assist in this effort, and to make the significant impact we all do, speaks volumes for the care and concern we have for community and the families we do business with everyday.”
Partners included the awards were: Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina, BASF, Citrix, Duke Energy, IBM, and Lenovo. Former Raleigh TV Personality, Sharon Delaney McCloud served as emcee. Entertainment was provided by The Voice Season 13 finalist Brooke Simpson, and local Durham-based organization KidzNotes.