By Aaron Allen, The Seattle Medium
Verity Credit Union, one of Washington State’s longest-standing credit unions, recently announced the recipients of its Spring 2023 Microgrants. As one of the few financial institutions with a Black woman as a CEO and a leadership team and board that identifies predominately female, Verity focus on social responsibility, and community-rooted banking is evident in their support of local organizations that look to make a difference in our community.
Launched in 2017, Verity’s Microgrant Program provide unrestricted funding to organizations with limited access to traditional funding sources due to factors such as organizational size, age, or tax-exemption status. To date, the program has supported a total of 48 organizations with over $100,000 to organizations led by Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC).
This year, Verity Credit Union doubled the grant amount from $2,500 to $5,000 for the recipients. The program targets organizations with a total asset size of less than $250,000 and accepts applications on a rolling basis, with new recipients announced in the spring and fall.
As part of the program, Verity worked closely with nonprofit partners to better understand the needs of their communities and realign their grant process accordingly. The winners of the microgrants include Black Arts Love, BRAVE, Project Feast, Native American Reentry Services, and South King County Discipline Coalition, each organization received $5,000 to support their community-focused initiatives.
According to Ziquora Banks, Chief Impact Strategy Officer of Verity Credit Union, the increased funding reflects Verity’s commitment to supporting organizations that address systemic barriers and contribute to the well-being of historically excluded communities.
“Our Microgrant Program is a critical part of our commitment to support and address systemic barriers that historically excluded communities face,” said Banks. “We’re thrilled to see the growth in applications and pleased to be able to surprise our recipients by doubling the expected grant amount to $5,000. We can’t wait to see the impact on both the organization’s growth and success and benefits received by those individuals, groups and businesses they serve.”
What Verity learned and the information they received has been applied to the program, distributing funding to organizations instead of projects, enabling them to use the funds where they are most needed. Verity also emphasized funding BIPOC organizations that are less likely to receive corporate funding. As a result of these changes and a more robust promotion effort, Verity received 115 applications, five times the number from previous years.
“[In taking a closer look at their issues, we realized that] there is definitely a large disparity when it comes to BIPOC led non-profit led orgs, as well as organization that are under 250,000 dollars,” Banks reveals. “So, we are very intentional with realigning that to prioritize those organizations, to ensure that they get the funding necessary.”
“What we’ve learned from prior microgrant recipients, as well as folks in different industries in the non-profit foundation stage, is that a lot of the barriers come by the way of the application process as well as what requirements are needed,” says Banks. “What we realized what we needed is to lead in trust-based philanthropy, to really trust a lot of the non-profit, fiscally sponsored, grassroot organizations that are really doing to the work in the communities, we trust that they are really going to have an impact in our communities.”
Theresa Hardy, Founder and CEO of BRAVE, agrees and says that they process to apply for the funding was easy to navigate.
“Verity makes the process smooth, removing barriers to receiving such critical fund,” says Hardy. “Knowing they care deeply about the mission and organizations being funded.”
Verity Credit Union’s Spring 2023 Microgrant recipients are:
Black Arts Love amplifies the presence of black creators, culture, and entrepreneurship to foster community engagement, facilitate healing processes, advance social justice, and ultimately recognize art as a transformative force. The Verity Microgrant will fund the organization’s new art gallery and marketplace.
BRAVE (Building Resilience Awareness & Variations of Excellence) is a youth development organization dedicated to promoting social justice and working closely with scholars from BIPOC communities. Their mission is to forge collaborative partnerships with BIPOC youth, supporting and empowering them throughout their transformative journeys of learning and personal growth. BRAVE’s funding is being used for upcoming community events.
Project Feast offers comprehensive culinary training programs for low-income immigrants and refugees, equipping them with the skills, hands-on experiences, and knowledge necessary to pursue successful careers or entrepreneurial ventures within the food industry. This grant will support Project Feast in reopening its esteemed café in Kent this summer.
Native American Reentry Services (NARS) program assists Native American community members during incarceration and transition and reentry into the tribal communities. Its mission is to actively confront and overcome the barriers encountered by Native individuals during the reentry process, with a steadfast commitment to promoting their holistic community integration.
South King County Discipline Coalition (SKCDC) mission is to dismantle the systemic issue of disproportionate discipline faced by students of color and to effectively interrupt the harmful school-to-prison pipeline. Their approach centers around anti-racist organizing, leadership development, and advocacy strategies that prioritize the active involvement of parents and youth directly impacted by these challenges. The Verity Microgrant will be used towards a youth reading program.
While Verity continues to provide support, access and resources to the community, they hope that more organizations will take advantage of their Microgrant Program.
“Our work will continue,” says Banks. “Continue to center around community and to serve those folks that have been historically underserved communities. Really the biggest thing is we want to continue getting the word out about the program, to show the amazing community partners out there that are doing this work have access to funding.”
