Tech CU Supports Financial Literacy for Women Through Partnership With WANDA

Helps San Francisco Bay Area Single Mothers Escape Poverty


SAN JOSE, CA--(Marketwired - November 30, 2015) - Tech CU (Technology Credit Union), announced this week it has partnered with WANDA (Women's Achievement Network and Development Alliance) to support financial literacy programs for single moms in the San Francisco Bay Area. The credit union is giving both financial and resource support to the nonprofit, including a cash grant, volunteer hours and free educational seminars led by Tech CU's financial experts.

WANDA provides access to education, networking and a structured two-to-one savings match program that helps single moms achieve a specific asset-based goal, such as securing retirement, a home or an education. For many women, the program not only helps provide a way out of poverty, it gives them financial lessons to pass on to their children. Owning assets also gives the women and their children a means to survive economic hardship and provides security for their future.

Tech CU's SVP of Marketing Kate Duggan, who will also join WANDA's Leadership Circle, said of the organization, "WANDA successfully addresses poverty in the Bay Area by offering a hand up, not a hand out. They prove that lives change dramatically as a result of learning life skills and basic financial management. That focus aligns extremely well with our mission at Tech CU, which is to deliver technology and personal expertise that inspire, educate and empower our members to succeed financially."

Now in its eighth year, WANDA has helped more than 100 hard-working, low-income single mothers through their 3-year program. This includes women like Valerie Abea, who purchased a home after going through the program. Abea says WANDA gave her, "the knowledge, and most of all, the motivation to accomplish this task." Through WANDA, Abea learned how to save money and raised her credit score from 640 to 751.

WANDA's Executive Director Danika McKenna said of the partnership, "WANDA is excited to partner with Tech CU and align our efforts to improve financial capability and advance social mobility of single mothers in our community."

In addition to supporting community programs that focus on financial literacy, Tech CU provides many free financial resources, including:

  • Financial seminars
  • Articles and calculators
  • Videos from Jean Chatzky, nationally renowned personal finance expert, on saving, budgeting, debt and credit
  • Convenient access to financial experts -- available in-person, by phone or via video conference at several branches

To learn more about Tech CU and its community involvement, go to www.techcu.com/community.

ABOUT TECHNOLOGY CREDIT UNION

www.techcu.com

Tech CU is a $2 billion credit union serving more than 70,000 members throughout the San Francisco Bay Area -- including employees of such companies as Tesla, eBay, Applied Materials, Nvidia and Facebook. A federally insured, not-for-profit organization, we put the financial interests of our members ahead of shareholder profit by helping members achieve their financial goals on their terms and sharing the benefits of our growth. Founded in 1960 by a group of forward-thinking employees at Fairchild Semiconductor, today we continue to be an industry leader, providing innovative financial products for all stages of our members' lives, including personal banking, wealth management, private banking, commercial lending and business banking. Tech CU consistently achieves a customer satisfaction rating above 95 percent and maintains a 5-star rating from Bauer Financial, the nation's largest independent rating service for financial institutions. And, with mobile and online banking, 65,000+ surcharge-free ATMs worldwide (more than Chase, Bank of America and Wells Fargo combined) and convenient branch access to our financial experts, Tech CU makes 24/7 banking easy and empowering.

ABOUT WANDA

www.wandasiliconvalley.org

WANDA empowers low-income single mothers with the knowledge, skills and financial assets to develop and achieve economic self-sufficiency. Founded in 2007, WANDA has served nearly 200 low-income single mothers in San Mateo and Santa Clara Counties through a comprehensive three-year program focused on Education, Equity and Empowerment.

Contact Information:

Liann Walborsky
Communications Manager
lwalborsky@techcu.com

408.441.4730