The 197,000-member, $1.6 billion Truliant Federal Credit Union in Winston-Salem, N.C., is using a grant from the National Credit Union Foundation to train entrepreneur and small business members in financial and business literacy.

The credit union used a curriculum developed by North Carolina REAL Enterprises, Inc., an organization whose mission is to develop entrepreneurial talent through action learning.

The foundation made the grant to Truliant last year to cover the cost of instruction and materials for program classes for the REAL Entrepreneurship program.

“Our goal is to work with entrepreneurs in low-wealth and rural communities to provide money management skills that improve their financial position and also build their financial strength to access more products and services,” according to Marjorie Rorie, Truliant's director of community services.

“Truliant FCU's focus on experiential learning for their REAL Entrepreneurship program is a great approach,” said Lois Kitsch, NCUF national program director.

“At the National Credit Union Foundation, we've found experiential learning strategies to be one of the keys to a successful financial literacy program,” Kitsch said.