Visions Federal Credit Union is one of the largest in the Northeast with branches in three states and well over 230,000 members. Their Visions Cares initiative focuses on all the good they do in their communities and recognizes a few special groups, including educators.
Visions recognized that many educators pay for classroom programming out of their personal pockets when certain initiatives aren’t covered in the school budget. In fact, educators contribute $450 on average to illuminate classrooms with special projects. Taking this trend into account, Visions wanted to give back to this key group in the community.
The centerpiece of the Visions Loves Educators initiative is the Classroom Funding Program that awards up to $500 to educators across its New York, Pennsylvania and New Jersey territory. All told, Visions commits about $10,000 to the program each year.
ABC created a website dedicated to Visions Loves Educators where teachers can apply for this funding. It is also a platform to promote a few other incentives for educators, including the Student Loan Eraser and Educator of the Year award that comes with cash as a token of appreciation.
In addition, Visions offers numerous bonuses and resources exclusive to educators, so those have a place on the website as well. We backed Visions Loves Educators with a strategic marketing campaign espousing all these benefits to education professionals who are or become members of the credit union.
There was a special focus on the New Jersey market, where Visions dedicated $1 million to Project Education, an initiative created in concert with the New Jersey Educators Association (NJEA).
Visions has received numerous Classroom Funding Program applications over the years and funded many of them to the tune of $55,000 and counting. Applications for the Student Loan Eraser and Educator of the Year have come in steadily as a result of our efforts.