Ascentra / Visa Partnership Generates $100k for Local Community Foundations

In 2022 Ascentra, through its partnership with Visa® was presented with a unique opportunity to redirect incentive funds to local organizations as part of Visa’s Community Investment Program. 

Ascentra decided to gift these funds, totaling $100,000 to local foundations that already have the infrastructure in place to immediately impact those in need.  As a result, $25,000 was directed to four organizations already doing work in our service areas of Clinton, Muscatine and the Quad Cities. 

These community foundations are:

Quad Cities Community Foundation, Community Impact Fund – This foundation works to be the most trusted resource for community generosity. For more than 55 years it has partnered with individuals, families, businesses and nonprofits to create and grow charitable gifts that benefits our region.

“We are so grateful for this gift from Ascentra Credit Union to our Quad Cities Community Impact Fund,” said Sue Hafkemeyer, President and CEO, Quad Cities Community Foundation. “This is just the latest expression of generosity in our two organizations’ longstanding partnership. As part of the endowed Community Impact Fund, Ascentra’s gift will make a truly significant contribution to the resources the Community Foundation can grant each year to address our region’s most pressing needs and promising opportunities. We like to say that we can achieve more through collaboration than we can alone, and this gift serves as a wonderful example of that belief.” 

For more information about the Quad Cities Community Foundation and its initiatives, visit https://www.qccommunityfoundation.org/.

Community Foundation of Greater Muscatine, Muscatine Charities – Established in 1999, the Community Foundation of Greater Muscatine strives to create a vibrant Muscatine County region that provides equitable opportunity and a high quality of life for all by engaging people, leveraging resources and inspiring solutions to address the community’s biggest challenges.

For more information about the Community Foundation of Greater Muscatine and their initiatives, visit https://www.givinggreater.org/.

River Bluff Community Foundation, Non-Endowed Impact Fund – Since 2003 the River Bluff Community Foundation has inspired people to give back to their community and turn their generosity in lasting change across the region, increasing access to resources and opportunities that help all people succeed. 

“The (River Bluff) Community Foundation Board is thrilled with this generous gift from Ascentra,” said Tara VanDerLeest, River Bluff Community Foundation Board Chair. “The Community Foundation will be able to notably increase grantmaking to local nonprofits who work tirelessly to alleviate the needs of the people of Clinton and Camanche, Iowa.”

For more information about the River Bluff Community Foundation and their initiatives, visit https://dbqfoundation.org/.

Iowa Credit Union Foundation (ICUF) – The ICUF is the philanthropic arm of the Iowa credit union movement and Iowa Credit Union League. The foundation is guided by the credit union philosophy of people helping people and works to champion financial well-being for all across the state of Iowa. 

“Ascentra’s continuous support for ICUF’s mission-aligned initiatives embodies our shared philosophy of people helping people,” said Ena Babic Barnes, ICUF Executive Director. “The Iowa Credit Union Foundation is incredibly grateful for this generous gift that will allow us to reinforce our support to credit union members in need with ICUF’s ongoing grants, programs and initiatives. As our foundation considers future investments in growing its impact, this gift will help us in advancing the well-being of Iowans.”

For more information about the Iowa Credit Union Foundation and its initiatives, visit https://www.iowacreditunionfoundation.org/.

The credit union movement is based on the people helping people philosophy which means that anyone, regardless of their income status, would have equal access to financial education and services to help better their financial future. Since then, credit unions across the world have used this philosophy to strengthen and better their communities for more than 100 years.

“Over the years Ascentra has been blessed with wonderful partnerships locally and globally,” said Linda Andry, President and CEO, Ascentra Credit Union. “Once it was decided to redirect these funds to the communities we serve, we knew that these community foundations would be the best way to put the funds to immediate use and make the biggest impact. We are honored to share these incentives with them to help fund their initiatives and the difference they make.”

Ascentra Credit Union prides itself on being good partners to not only the communities that it serves but also to the companies it partners with for their day-to-day operations. This community investment opportunity provided by Visa allows Ascentra to combine these efforts.