Alabama’s Avadian CU Launches a Foundation

Avadian Credit Union in Hoover, Ala., has launched a foundation with the goal of supporting its communities in four key areas – affordable housing, financial education, small business and education – according to a Tuesday announcement from the credit union.

The $1.2 billion credit union’s Avadian Foundation, which will be guided by a volunteer board of directors, was launched as “another avenue through which Avadian Credit Union puts the credit union movement’s philosophy of ‘people helping people’ into action,” a statement on Avadian’s website read.

“We formed the Foundation as an outgrowth of our commitment to helping people,” Avadian President/CEO Linda Cencula stated. “We want to support the financial well-being of the people in the communities around us to create a more inclusive future for all by investing in affordable housing, financial health, small business development and education across our membership footprint.”

This month, the Avadian Foundation awarded seven inaugural grants to organizations involved in making a difference in the Foundation’s four focus areas:

• The United Negro College Fund (UNCF), a non-profit that awards scholarships and financially supports historically Black colleges and universities;
• Habit for Humanity of the River Valley, a Habitat for Humanity chapter based in Huntsville, Ala.;
• The A.G. Gaston Boys & Girls Club, a Boys & Girls Clubs of America affiliation serving children from Alabama’s Birmingham and Bessemer neighborhoods;
• The Literacy Council of Central Alabama, a Birmingham-based organization that teaches English literacy to adults and their families;
• The Salvation Army;
• Woodlawn United, a Birmingham-based foundation focused on neighborhood revitalization; and
• The Alabama Small Business Development Initiative – a non-profit affiliate of the Birmingham Business Resource Center.

The Avadian Foundation’s grants range in value from $1,000 to $12,500 depending on the size of the recipient’s project, according to the credit union.

“The Alabama Small Business Development Initiative is honored to be in the inaugural group of grant recipients,” Birmingham Business Resource Center Executive Director Bob Dickerson said. “These funds will help continue to provide counseling, coaching and training for our small-business clients.”

Jeremy Foulks, executive director of Habitat for Humanity of the River Valley, added, “We are grateful for this new partnership with the Avadian Foundation. This grant will be used in construction of a house in Huntsville for a family in need of safe and affordable housing, something that is in critical short supply in our community. We are looking forward to partnering with Avadian staff on the build site when construction begins.”