WPCU Sunshine Community Fund March 2023 Grants

The WPCU Sunshine Community Fund (Sunshine Community Fund) - the charitable giving arm of Wright-Patt Credit Union, Inc. (WPCU) – awarded 12 nonprofit organizations $157,000 in InspiRAYtion Grants during the 2023 first quarter grant cycle.

Organizations from across Southwest and Central Ohio applied for funding consideration in October 2022. Each applicant was required to include a detailed project plan illustrating how funds would be used in alignment with the Sunshine Community Fund's financial wellbeing building blocks: education, employment and income, food, financial services, homeownership, health care, justice and law enforcement, and mentoring development programs. These building blocks are used by the Sunshine Community Fund to evaluate the possible impact a grant application can make on the financial wellbeing of a family or individual.   

After initial vetting by the Sunshine Community Fund's InspiRAYtion Committee and its Board of Trustees, WPCU partner-employees and myCUmortgage experts voted for the following twelve nonprofit organizations to receive funding:

• City Year, Inc. – Ensures every student has the resources and support they need to graduate from high school ready to enter college or join the workforce.
• Dayton Children's Hospital - Provides optimal health care for children and families, screen for food insecurity, housing, financial stability, and other social needs.
• Dayton Public Access Television - Help create instructional videos to help those living in marginalized communities overcome barriers to financial security.
• Ebenezer Healthcare Access - Provides comprehensive social services, healthcare, health insurance, job search, translation, and career development for those previously living in refugee camps. 
• Families Flourish, Inc. dba Move to Prosper - Help provide partial rental support, comprehensive life coaching, and monthly programs to empower families to gain economic stability and live fulfilled lives.
• Girl Scouts of Western Ohio - Will provide a multi-session series in a school setting to those teaching financial literacy.
• Goodwill Easterseals Miami Valley - Help reduce chronic poverty through job skills training, long-term counseling, and career development coaching.
• Hunt Foundation Dollars for Scholars - Helps increase literacy, health and wellness initiatives in communities, offer mentoring and job skills/college prep as well as focus on students suffering from Sickle Cell Disease.
• Kids in New Directions - Will target reading intervention programs that address reading gaps and individualized reading fluency, comprehension, and critical thinking skills in a small group setting.
• OH Taste Foundation - Provides food business education and access to a state-of-the-art kitchen for 50 under resourced food entrepreneurs.
• United Church Homes, Inc. - Provides a safe and inclusive community for LGBTQ+ seniors and a welcoming space for locals to participate in training that will support their overall wellbeing.
• WestCare, Inc. dba East End Community Services - Supports youth in every way possible to attend school daily and earn the appropriate credits to graduate.

“We are thrilled to provide such great nonprofits with the resources they need to fulfill their mission and help others overcome the barriers to financial wellbeing," shared Tracy Szarzi-Fors, Wright-Patt Credit Union's Vice President of Marketing and Business Development and Executive Director of the WPCU Sunshine Community Fund. “It takes a village to overcome obstacles, the Sunshine Community Fund is committed to our mission to strengthen the financial health and wellbeing of the communities in which WPCU, its members, and partner-employees live and work."

Applications for the winter InspiRAYtion Grants will open in May 2023

Nonprofits who have a project or program that aligns with the Sunshine Community Fund's areas of focus and financial wellbeing building blocks are invited to apply for an InspiRAYtion Grant by visiting WPCU.coop/SCF​​​ and clicking on "​Apply for a Grant."

To learn more about the Sunshine Community Fund and how it helps vulnerable populations within our community, please visit Sunshine Community Fund​.

About the WPCU Sunshine Community Fund

The WPCU Sunshine Community Fund, which is completely supported through the fundraising efforts of Wright-Patt Credit Union and myCUmortgage partner-employees, as well as vendor and business partners, supports organizations, projects and programs that align with the fund's areas of focus.

The WPCU Sunshine Community Fund's name was derived from Wright-Patt Credit Union's “people helping people" philosophy that began in the 1930s. At that time, those who didn't work didn't get paid. In response, Government workers on today's Wright-Patterson Air Force Base joined together to contribute 25 cents a pay period to help a fellow coworker who was ill and in need of financial support, until he could return to work.

Since 2009, over $2.3 million has been raised to support local nonprofits throughout Southwest and Central Ohio.