BEAUMONT, Texas – Education First Federal Credit Union (EFFCU) employees have presented donations of $13,500 to three local non-profit organizations as part of Giving Tuesday.
Education First employees raised funds throughout the year via their Blue Jean Friday Fund. The fund, created in 2014, provides employees with an opportunity to wear blue jeans to work every Friday, in exchange for a $2 donation to the fund. To date, employees have raised over $71,000 that has been donated back to area non- profits, schools and people who lost their homes in Hurricane Harvey and Tropical Storm Imelda.
In the past, an internal committee would nominate organizations to receive the donations, and Education First employees would vote on them. However, “[s]eeing inflation’s impact on the economy this year was reason to stop and reassess our approach” said Laura Landry, community relations coordinator.
Landry, who also oversees the employee volunteer program added, “[m]any of organizations that our employees volunteer for are struggling to provide the same services they have provided in years past because operating costs are up, and donations are down, which makes it even harder to decide who should receive the funds.”
According to the credit union, the solution was to turn the fund into a grant program that opened applications to local 501 (c)(3) organizations that credit union employees may not have otherwise been familiar with, or aware of their needs. Applicants were asked to provide details such as a project description, expected outcomes, as well as the organization’s vision and history of service.
The program was promoted via the Southeast Texas Non-Profit Development Center and via the credit union’s social media accounts and received more than 65 applications. A committee of eight Education First employees reviewed the applications, narrowing it down to the following three organizations that will each receive a $4,500 donation.
- Boys’ Haven
- Hope Women’s Resource Clinic
- Southeast Texas Food Bank