Still shots from Dillon Gabriel's campaign with Unitus Community CU. (Credit/Unitus Community CU)
In 2021, soon after the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) began allowing student athletes to make money off of their name, image and likeness (NIL), the $2.9 billion, Lake Mary, Fla.-based Addition Financial Credit Union became one of the first financial cooperatives to secure an NIL deal. As part of this deal, Addition Financial partnered with Dillon Gabriel, who at the time was the starting quarterback for the University of Central Florida Knights.
Gabriel, now a quarterback for the University of Oregon Ducks following a brief stop playing for the Sooners at the University of Oklahoma, is now linked to Unitus Community Credit Union. According to an announcement this week from the $1.7 billion, Portland, Ore.-based credit union, it is partnering with Gabriel on a financial wellness social media campaign set to launch this month.
The reach of the financial education video series, which will offer viewers tips, tools and advice to empower them along their financial journey, is expected to be broad thanks to Dillon's established social media following. Unitus said the series will be shared across its social media channels, including Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, X (formerly Twitter), YouTube and LinkedIn, noting that Gabriel is active on Instagram and X.
"Dillon Gabriel's emphasis on financial education will help increase awareness and knowledge among his 150,000 social media followers," Steven Stapp, president/CEO of Unitus, said. "Above all else, Dillon's values align with ours at Unitus, prioritizing education and inclusion in support of brighter financial futures."
Gabriel commented, "Partnering with Unitus is a great opportunity to share my experiences as an athlete and an entrepreneur. I've learned so much about the importance of financial literacy and how the decisions we make now will impact us in the future. If I can play a small role in getting young people to start thinking about their finances and setting themselves up for success, I'll know I've done my part to use my influence for good."
"We are thrilled to bring this unique partnership to our social media followers," Lori Fink, assistant vice president of marketing and brand development at Unitus, stated. "Creating engaging, relevant content that informs and inspires is our goal for social media and there is no one better to help us deliver our messages than Dillon."
Unitus added that Gabriel, who is originally from Hawaii, will be making a donation to the Ke Kukui Foundation in partnership with Unitus. This organization, which has previously received support from Unitus, focuses on preserving and sharing the Hawaiian culture through education in music, dance, language and the arts.
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Natasha Chilingerian
Natasha Chilingerian has been immersed in the credit union industry for over a decade. She first joined CU Times in 2011 as a freelance writer, and following a two-year hiatus from 2013-2015, during which time she served as a communications specialist for Xceed Financial Credit Union (now Kinecta Federal Credit Union), she re-joined the CU Times team full-time as managing editor. She was promoted to executive editor in 2019. In the earlier days of her career, Chilingerian focused on news and lifestyle journalism, serving as a writer and editor for numerous regional publications in Oregon, Louisiana, South Carolina and the San Francisco Bay Area. In addition, she holds experience in marketing copywriting for companies in the finance and technology space. At CU Times, she covers People and Community news, cybersecurity, fintech partnerships, marketing, workplace culture, leadership, DEI, branch strategies, digital banking and more. She currently works remotely and splits her time between Southern California and Portland, Ore.
