At the start of each year, Rivermark Community Credit Union publishes its Community Impact Report to highlight the previous year’s focus and support of housing, children’s health, food security, and financial wellness.
We welcome you to reflect with us on these moments of collective progress as we celebrate the importance of empathy, impact, and gratitude. While there is much work yet to accomplish in fostering healthy and inclusive communities, we look forward to continuing partnerships with like-minded, purpose driven organizations who are making meaningful contributions to the local communities we serve.
Thank you to all who contributed to our community efforts this year, whether by donating at our fundraising events, our community foundation, or by getting more involved with one of the nonprofit organizations we support. Your participation and generosity have made the following stories possible.
Rivermark Community Fund Annual Grant
Each year, the Rivermark Community Fund grants $20,000 to an organization that truly makes an impact in our community and combats the homelessness issues we're currently facing. This year, we chose Community Roots Collaborative (C-Roots), a non-profit organization aimed at creating stable and affordable housing. This donation will support the development of permanent, cottage-style tiny homes in Clark County for those currently unhoused.
“At Rivermark, we recognize the importance of affordable housing as one of several foundational elements in support of our larger financial wellness strategic initiative to support local families. For this year’s grant, we intentionally sought out a nonprofit whose mission extends beyond affordable housing and includes a network of community support services to address the underlying issues of houselessness.”
-Seth Schaefer, Rivermark President/CEO
2022 Rivermark Annual Golf Tournament
The Rivermark Community Fund hosted its annual charity golf tournament on Friday, August 19th, 2022. The day was filled with golf, laughter, and charitable giving. We had a fantastic turnout and a wonderful time. More than $65,000 was raised for the Rivermark Community Fund of the Oregon Community Foundation!
Hollywood Grand Opening Giveaway
In June, we opened our newest branch in the Hollywood area. To celebrate, we gave away a year's worth of housing payments to one lucky new member! Congratulations to Kristin for winning Housing Payments for a Year!
Hacienda CDC Donation
Rivermark has partnered with five Portland area credit unions to support Hacienda CDC, an organization that focuses on the housing needs of the Latino community. Their mission as a Latino Community Development Corporation is to strengthen families by providing affordable housing, homeownership support, economic advancement and educational opportunities. Jointly, we contributed $75K to aid the program. We also work with Hacienda CDC to provide traditional mortgages.
Community Warehouse Donation
Community Warehouse has been serving our area for 20 years and provides donated furniture and household items to neighbors seeking the comfort and dignity of a furnished home while overcoming adversity. Our branches held a donation event in November to support and donate much needed supplies to Community Warehouse!
Diaper Drive
In June, Rivermark partnered with PDX Diaper Bank to collect donations for babies in need. With over 150,000 children living in poverty in Oregon, we know how much of a financial burden buying supplies like diapers, wipes and powders can be on families. Through your help, we were able to donate over $1,200 and a generous amount of physical supplies to PDX Diaper Bank!
Giving Tuesday Donation
On Giving Tuesday, November 29, 2022, Rivermark held a member engagement campaign wherein for every debit or credit card swipe made that day, Rivermark would donate $0.25 to Doernbecher Children's Hospital. While our members were shopping away at their favorite stores, supporting our local community and buying gifts for loved ones, we were right there beside them, helping those in need.
KGW Great Food Drive
Rivermark is a proud sponsor of the KGW Great Food Drive for the 6th consecutive year! More than 10 million pounds of food have been donated since our involvement began in 2017, providing over 8,500,000 meals to local families. This year alone, the campaign raised enough funds and donations to provide over 2 million meals!
In 2019, we saw a greater need for in-depth financial education for our members. So, we started to build out a team of financial coaches to serve that need. We spent over a year developing and implementing a strategy to seek out leadership in Financial Wellness for the credit union. By the end of 2020 we hired a Financial Engagement Director. Through his efforts and vison for the credit union, we hired two additional team members in 2022: a Financial Wellness Coordinator and a Community Partnership and Coaching specialist.
Our success in 2022 included:
Rivermark is here for our members at all levels of their financial journey. By offering coaching appointments from certified financial coaches in both English and Spanish, cultivating community partnerships to bring our services to historically marginalized and underserved communities, and working with our investment partner Human Investing for more complex financial needs, Rivermark will continue to push the boundaries and empower our staff to bring financial wellness to all.
CDFI Certification
Early in 2022, Rivermark officially became certified as a Community Development Financial Institution by the U.S. Department of Treasury! CDFIs are mission driven organizations that focus on serving low-income and underserved communities. Rivermark joins 1,300+ financial institutions nationwide, and just 10 Oregon based credit unions to achieve this certification. As a CDFI, Rivermark has access to federal grants that can be used to reinvest in the community, further supporting our mission – Building Financial Empowerment Together.
Bradly Angle
Bradley Angle serves anyone affected by domestic violence. They place people experiencing, or at risk of domestic violence at the center of their services and provide safety, education, empowerment, healing, and hope. Rivermark partners with Bradley Angle by opening memberships and providing financial coaching to the survivors finding shelter at one of Bradley Angles locations. This year, we sponsored the GlamHy Awards to honor individuals and organizations that have made a difference to the cause of domestic violence.
Bridging the Gap Event
Bridgeview Resource Center is a community in Vancouver offering affordable housing and resources for families in need. Their first ever resource fair was held in September and brought the residents of Bridgeview over 20 vendors ranging from food security, early childhood education, career assistance, and financial wellness! We offered financial coaching and new membership opening at the event.
IRCO Health Fair
The Immigrant and Refugee Community Organization (IRCO) serves the holistic needs of immigrants, refugees, and mainstream community members in Oregon and SW Washington. As a community-based organization, they empower children, youth, families, and elders from around the world to build new lives and become self-sufficient by providing more than 200 culturally and linguistically specific social services.
Our team attended the IRCO Health Fair in early November. It was a fantastic event offering a wide range of resources to the community, including Financial Wellness tips from our staff.
Financial Empowerment Collaborative
Rivermark partners with the Urban League of Portland by being one of five Credit Unions who founded the Financial Empowerment Collaborative (FEC). The FEC brings financial education and resources to the Urban League community. The FEC is a diverse, experienced, committed cross-collaborative group dedicated to advancing the financial well-being of Portland's Black and African American community through identifying their unique needs and providing access to financial tools that suit those needs.
Global Bridges
A team from Rivermark completed their 2-year learning journey through the Global Bridges Network through the World Council of Credit Unions (WOCCU) and the National Credit Union Federation of Korea (NACUFOK) with a visit to credit unions in Korea. A group of Oregon credit unions partnered with the Korean credit union system to share expertise, strategies, stories and culture as part of this great program!
Ukraine Support
Earlier this year, Rivermark joined credit unions around the world to support Ukraine citizens through the Ukrainian Credit Union Displacement Fund, which will direct support to mitigate both short and long-term impacts to Ukraine's credit union system and those that look to it for support, including both employees and members. Rivermark donated $5,000 to the Fund, along with other Oregon Credit Unions. The Worldwide Foundation for Credit Unions (WFCU) in partnership with the World Council (WOCCU), is actively leveraging our global network to identify the immediate priority areas where funding can be used to support displaced credit union members and staff.
Thank you again, to all who contributed to our community efforts this year, and for reflecting with us on our vast community betterment efforts in 2022. You have made a bigger impact that you realize. We hope you'll continue following along and supporting us in the years to come.