Cornerstone Foundation 2025 Grants and Scholarships: Empowering Credit Unions to Impact Their Communities

The Cornerstone Foundation’s work in 2025 centered on one goal: strengthening the credit union movement by investing directly in people, communities, and leadership. Through grants and scholarships awarded across the Cornerstone region, the Foundation helped credit unions expand opportunity, respond to need, and build capacity for the future.

By the Numbers: 2025 Impact

• $520,000+ awarded through grants and scholarships
• 150+ credit unions supported across multiple programs
• Hundreds of individuals impacted, from emerging professionals to seasoned leaders

These investments reflected both long-term priorities—like leadership development and financial education—and immediate needs, including disaster relief.

Supporting Communities on the Ground

Community development grants remained a key focus in 2025, with $150,000 awarded to support credit union–led initiatives addressing local priorities. Funded projects ranged from financial education and affordable housing to hunger relief, workforce development, and diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts.

By backing initiatives rooted in local communities, the Foundation helped credit unions deepen trust and extend their reach beyond traditional financial services.

Expanding Access to Professional Development

Professional growth represented the Foundation’s largest area of investment in 2025. More than $266,000 in professional development grants and scholarships supported employees from 85 credit unions, many of them serving institutions with $100 million or less in assets.

Funding supported a range of opportunities, including:

• Young professional leadership development
• Financial health and compliance education
• Small credit union–focused training
• Named scholarships honoring leaders who shaped the movement

These investments ensured that credit union professionals—regardless of role or asset size—could continue building skills that strengthen their organizations.

Investing in Future Leaders Through SCMS

Leadership development through Southwest Credit Union Management School (SCMS) remained a cornerstone of the Foundation’s impact. In 2025:

• $72,000+ in SCMS scholarships were awarded
• 57 individuals from 44 credit unions received support

These scholarships helped remove financial barriers to participation in one of the industry’s most respected management programs, ensuring continued access to leadership education and peer connection.

Providing Help When It Was Needed Most

When disaster struck, the Foundation responded. More than $30,000 in disaster relief grants were distributed in 2025 to support credit union employees and communities facing unexpected hardship—offering timely assistance and reinforcing the cooperative principle of people helping people.

A Year of Purposeful Investment

The Foundation’s 2025 grants and scholarships tell a clear story: when credit unions are supported, communities benefit. By investing strategically in people, education, and resilience, the Cornerstone Foundation helped ensure credit unions remain strong, responsive, and prepared to serve—today and in the years ahead.