The Business of Giving

Unknown Speaker 0:00
This is a k u and v studios original program. You're listening to special programming sponsored by the cars marketing Chamber of Commerce. The content of this program does not reflect the views or opinions of 91.5 Jazz and more the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, or the Board of Regents, the Nevada System of Higher Education.

Unknown Speaker 0:29
What's wrong with the world Maamar people live in live the whole world. Hello, everyone. And welcome to the business of giving podcast. My name is Guy Dawson and I am the founder and executive director of the cause marketing Chamber of Commerce. And we are a 501 C six nonprofit organization that brings businesses and nonprofit organizations together to create synergistic relationships that benefit the community. With the business of giving podcast, we highlight two pillars of the community, the for profit and nonprofit sectors and show how they both can work together to benefit one another and the world as a whole. If you'd like to learn more about what we do at the cause marketing, Chamber of Commerce, cause marketing chamber.com. When I do these shows, I have bring a lot of my friends in as those of you who listen on a regular basis. And I've had the privilege since 2008, to be a business owner here in Las Vegas. And when you are able to stay in business for that long, you create some amazing relationships. And I have a good friend of mine who I've known for many years to the networking community we have. We've done a lot of things we've done a lot of things together and I've just always appreciated his his passion. He's He's give back. We're very similar in a lot of ways. And so having him as a guest. It's just natural. And I was so surprised with I've done a lot of media through the years and he's never actually appeared on a radio show that I did, but he is here today along with his good friend Kat, sow Carrera, the Director of Development with silver state schools credit union, re Wilson CF o of silver state schools credit union, welcome to the business of giving podcast.

Unknown Speaker 2:20
Good afternoon, guy, and thank you for the nice kind and warm words. I truly appreciate that. You know, in addition to my role as a CFO, I've also been named president of the State School. So you people over profit foundation, so two separate legal entities, and, again, a 501 c three charitable foundation. So happy to be here.

Unknown Speaker 2:43
Yeah, as I mentioned before, and we'll we'll get into more about what the foundation does and but raise sense of give back again, it's you know, you, you connect with kindred spirits throughout your life and, yeah, in terms of business and, and raise commitment to bettering the community. He's, he's always been solid in that way. And so welcome and sow Carrera, you play a prominent role in Silver State schools, where you talk about what you do.

Unknown Speaker 3:12
Yes, thank you, guy. Thank you for having us on your show. And thank you for all the audience's listening right now. Thank you for tuning in today. While the people over profit foundation is in its initial stages, I would say even though it was it originally in 2018. It in 2024, it really launched officially with the hiring of myself, and that is to make sure that we raise the necessary funds that we listen to the community, find out what the community needs, and really service our community the way that nonprofits should.

Unknown Speaker 3:49
And being a credit union that is affiliated with education, as you mentioned, Silver State schools. Tell us about how the educational component kind of weaves in with banking. Sure.

Unknown Speaker 4:04
So, again, 70 schools credit union founded in 1951. We are now over 65,000 members celebrating our 74th year. And so we're all about education educators to students, certainly working with the school district UNLV here, and it's all but education, you know, really focus and within education. We talked about the financial literacy and financial wellness component, two drivers that you know, really and in creating the foundation said, look, let's see what else we can do as part of our community outreach into the community city, Las Vegas, Clark County as well as all of that in terms of providing the tools, which is financial literacy, and then the result financial wellness. So two components that are critically important especially With the students, teachers, educators, and parents, these are the things that really drive as we continue, in terms of our personal and professional growth, look to find ways to help develop that. So, again, through the foundation, it really focuses on that financial literacy, financial wellness. And we run several initiatives that are able to drive them.

Unknown Speaker 5:26
Education, of course, and financial literacy, what a what a partnership and how relevant that is in society nowadays, with the just the climate of the economy and the world that we live in. From your perspective, South teaching kids about financial literacy, what how does that empower them? What are your thoughts on that?

Unknown Speaker 5:49
Well, it's definitely something that I would say we need more of, and instead of sitting back and saying, you know, somebody else is going to do it, we have to, as a community, make sure that our students are getting those basic financial literacy pieces of content that will allow them to be prosperous, and allow them to be responsible, and it'll fortify their, their their lives. So with financial wellness, like Ray said, it's the result of getting that information and being empowered. I'm glad to see that there's a lot of other entities doing financial literacy. They do a great job of it. And then I've also seen it now being incorporated into schools, believe it or not, so it is important, and it's just a little late in the game. But you know, it's never too late to start, right.

Unknown Speaker 6:41
In terms of scholarship programs, I know that's another thing ray that silver state schools is involved in, tell us about how you are creating opportunities for young people through scholarships. Sure, sure.

Unknown Speaker 6:52
Very good question. Since 1989, we have raised $1.2 million in scholarship funding. Currently, we have 10 students each year graduating high school seniors to pursue second, certainly a post secondary education. And so we provide a $2 $2,000 scholarship, renewable up to four year term. And every year we do that. And so it has been very successful, discuss opportunities for the students to be able to continue their education, and really help defray some of the college costs in terms of the scholarship. So again, program has been wildly successful, both for state schools credit union and the pop foundation. So we run we've been a part Foundation, run that whole program. And so it's an, again, another way to really help our students, you know, they continue with their education, you know, tuition, room and board books, as you know, continue to increase in costs. So again, part of that community give back is that scholarship program that we find,

Unknown Speaker 8:01
yeah, financial barriers to education can be prominent, as you mentioned, the cost of getting an education is just exponentially growing and growing. And so creating opportunities, I wanted to ask this of you, Sal, for people to be able to get beyond economic restraints and still get an education. What is the perspective of silver state schools on that?

Unknown Speaker 8:24
Well, the people over profit foundation, not just gives scholarships to merit based scholars, but also need based and also future teachers. So I think that that's, that's an important aspect of how we run our program. There's hundreds of students that need help, that look for this help. And there's 1000s upon 1000s, that need help, right? So this is a piece of what I would call a big pie that needs to happen in order for someone to be able to afford to go on to higher education. So we're not promising that we're going to do it all. We are partners with the community. We're partners with other philanthropists, we're partners with parents, we're partners with other entities that will make these futures possible for children.

Unknown Speaker 9:11
Yeah. And Ray, you being the president of this foundation, and of course, being in business as well, this the whole platform of this show is all about bringing these two entities together for you. Maybe you can share with the audience about your affinity for philanthropy, along with your affinity for business and then you also Sal but how about you first?

Unknown Speaker 9:35
Sure, thank you. And as you know, you know, I love philanthropy, both personally and professionally, you know, I love it. You know, I love the community, give back and certainly love your podcast your show here because that's what it's all about. And so being able to personally and professionally, give back, certainly through the foundation. This gives us a tremendous opportunity, guys You really work with our education system, you know, our students, teachers, educators and parents, to be able to help drive that we all need, when it comes to to financial literacy was in terms of learning how to save money, learning how to budget, needs versus wants, and then being able to teach that encapsulate all of that. And put that in from a wellness standpoint, being able to, you know, be a person that understands EPI, that those basics really carry you through life as you go through, and the challenges and highs and lows that we we all experience. And so that I just love it because it dovetails nicely, you know, with the philanthropic and certainly from the banking. As you know, I've been a corporate banker, most of my career. And so I love it, I love being able to being able to be the foundation, help support the foundation and lead and drive the philanthropic efforts of the foundation to folks that need that need support and help.

Unknown Speaker 11:09
Yeah, how about you, Sal, the blending of the two? How does that work in your, your approach to business and philanthropy? Sure,

Unknown Speaker 11:17
I think it's important to start off by saying that the the foundations knew that the credit union has been doing a lot of great work. And the credit union is a not for profit organization. They are not a 501 C three charitable nonprofit organization like the pot foundation is. But it's it's an easy blend of the good work that the credit union was doing. And now moving it forward with partnerships with looking and making sure that we're more engaged with the community. It's actually taken on a new life. So I love the opportunity to be their director of development. I love the opportunity to talk to different people and find out what it is about the education system that we need to focus on, what is it about the community and the lack of that gap, right, there's a gap between the community and maybe the education system and we live in unfortunately, in a state where our students are per pupil funding is amongst the lowest right, so there's plenty of room to help. The the lift is very big. And we need a lot of partners to join the join the game.

Unknown Speaker 12:23
Right? Yes, it's really about, again, this show encompasses community and we're on our way over here. I was talking to the guys about how prominent credit unions have become. And I think and I would like if you could both speak to this is that it seems like especially COVID had a lot to do with this, in my opinion. And that is being a part of a credit union is you're being a part of something, the whole sense of community, even in banking, right? People wanting to be a part being a member of a credit union. And that being something that people it's like a badge of pride, right? Maybe the two of you could speak to, again, your a nonprofit organization and just speak to that. That sense of community that comes with being a credit.

Unknown Speaker 13:11
Sure, sir. Thank you guy. And for myself, I've been in banking, oh my gosh, 30 years. The last eight years, though, serving as the CFO for Silver State schools credit union, my first entree into the credit union land. So prior to that had been all commercial banking. Certainly one of the largest difference, you know, bank being a for profit, credit union being a nonprofit. But another item as well is the shareholder. So really, pretty much anybody can join solid state schools credit union. And as you mentioned, it is a badge of honor, because you are a shareholder. In contrast to for large banks, we're mostly institutional investment firms serve as a shareholder. So it really is, as you know, guy, I'm pretty active here in the community. I will have folks come up to me says, you know, Ray, I've been a member of your credit union for X number of years. Ray, I got my first car loan to you folks, you know, you were there when we needed you. And so it really, it's great. That's a great feeling, you know, and as a shareholder, you know, they are a voting member. And so it really gives them a sense of pride, as you mentioned, they're a badge of honor. And so it's all about the Community Give Back. That's what credit unions really the foundation, is the community working with the community supporting our membership, and the community get back?

Unknown Speaker 14:37
Yeah. How about you, Sal, the sense of community that comes with working for a credit union? Do you experience that? Yes,

Unknown Speaker 14:43
I'll stick to talking about the foundation itself, because the foundation is really where most of my work, you know, originates. And what I wanted to say is kind of just make a highlight on what Ray just said, and that pretty much Anybody can be a member of the credit union? Well, one of the new ways that you can become a member of the credit union is by becoming a member of the foundation that people over profit foundation. So that contribution to the pot foundation makes you a member of the credit union. Yeah,

Unknown Speaker 15:15
just so much, so much to talk about. Whoa, for those of you who are just tuning in, you're listening to the business of giving podcast with Guy Dawson, it K u and v 91.5. F m jazz and more, I want to continue to update you about this cruise that people are getting so excited about. I'm getting emails, all kinds of people reaching out, we are going to do the first annual cars and business cruise October 19. Through the 26th 2024, we are going to go on and cruise through the Hawaiian Islands six days and seven nights, cruising through the Hawaiian Islands with a bunch of people who are into business and causes, we're going to do some community service work on the island of Maui. For those of you if you remember, late in 2023, the Island of Maui was stricken with some devastating fires. And I know it's not in the height of the new cycles now, but there are a lot of people over there who are still displaced and really suffering and we want to take one of our days, I think we have a day and a half that we are laid over in Maui. And we are going to take that time to do some community service work there. And of course, we're going to enjoy being on a Hawaiian cruise for six days and seven nights. So lots of networking and eating and enjoying ourselves and Oh, proceeds from the cabins will also go to reputable nonprofit organizations. We got about a week left to be able to sign you up for this cruise. If you are interested in learning more and coming along with us, we're going to have a great great time over there in Hawaii cause marketing chamber.com for more details. And I have been speaking with Ray Wilson, who was a good friend of mine from networking and sow Carrera, they are with silver state schools credit union, an organization that has quite a history. I didn't realize that this credit union has been around in Las Vegas for 51 years. That's a lot of credibility. I guess that goes with that?

Unknown Speaker 17:26
Yes, yes, actually, yeah, we formed in 1951. So now we're at 74 years, actually, of complete. Yeah, we continue to grow, we continue to build, again, over 65,000 members 1.2 billion in total assets. And then 10 branches here serving your the community here in Clark County, Las Vegas. And

Unknown Speaker 17:49
the foundation, we've been talking a lot about the give back piece with silver state schools. And there's another element of your give back sow that I would like you to speak to, and that is cultivating creativity through art art programs are a hot topic amongst people because that used to be such a part of the the fabric of schools, but it's sort of kind of been going away recently tell us how Silver State schools is helping to enrich that area of children's lives. Absolutely.

Unknown Speaker 18:21
It's not even the first or the second time we've done this, they've done this 39 times. So this will be the 39th annual happy times calendar contest. And we have we're excited to launch it again on its 39th year. What it is, it's 3000 students at one schools, and they all submit art pieces. And the only prompt is draw something that makes you happy. That's why it's called the happy times calendar. What it causes is just this huge pouring of creativity, innovation. And those are the two key things of why we do this is that those are two important things into a skill set building for our future kids, right. And so we have kindergarten through 12th grade plus the plus the cover that we pick a winner from and they're incentivized with a cash prize. We pick 13 winners. And we create this calendar, the 12 months plus the cover, and it's just embraced by the community. It's something that I believe that when people get their hands on, they just can't wait but flip through the pages and see all this great art from all these great talented kids. It brings so much joy just talking about it. But it's it's definitely a need in the community. Our arts programs are diminishing, ever. Not not that not that other categories are more important or less important, but I think that's why stem became steam right? They added the a back in because we knew that arts was that that important as well. So that's something that the credit unions very aware of, and kudos to them for, for backing it for 39 years.

Unknown Speaker 20:07
Yeah, enriching kids through art and the imagination and the creativity in this digital age. Sometimes there can be a disconnection from that. And I think kids get excited, don't they, when they get to, like, when we were kids growing up, right, where we actually really put our hands on things more, because we didn't have iPhones and all these devices that they have nowadays. But cultivating that in them encouraging them to be artistic, I think is, right, it's a part of the growth of a kid. Right? Exactly. Your evolution as a person. Yeah,

Unknown Speaker 20:45
exactly. And just to add to what Sal just said, and I love art, you know, personally, I love art. And I tell you the artwork that these children's students put together, even going from kindergarten, guys, it's just amazing, it is absolutely amazing. I've got artwork, both at the house, as well as in my office framed from some of the artwork that the students have done. And it just, it's amazing a unit that young age, you know, as growing up, I was more athletic. inclined, the artwork is just is tremendous, you know, the color, the, how they coordinate, you know, and the subject, it's like, you know, and so a again, encourage, certainly, you'll see information about the program for students who submit their application. So it is, you have an opportunity, certainly on the artwork, take advantage of it, just like the scholarship program, you know, you'll see information on our website. Another

Unknown Speaker 21:46
element of your foundation that I think is is amazing, and it's honoring exceptional educators. I'm a believer that teachers and educators are the unsung heroes, communities, and sow, how do you honor educators? I mean, I don't think we we do enough, but how do you go about it, it's overstate Sure.

Unknown Speaker 22:08
So it's an important partnership between the Clark County School District for another media company, I would say in town. And what they allow us to do is we ask the principal's to give us nominations, or leadership give us nominations. And we pick one of those nominations. And we surprise them. We go into their classrooms, and we just show up with the whole pomp and circumstance and say, Hey, kids, guess what? Your teacher just won the a plus Educator Award, we also give them a cash prize. Yeah, to the teacher and the school. So it's like a little stimulus to incentivize raising the game. There's other people that see this happening. And they're like, I want that too. I want to I want to be a plus educator, too. And so what it does is just makes everyone feel good. And everyone raised their game.

Unknown Speaker 23:04
Yeah, right. Right. The the acknowledgement of the educators Yes, for all the hard work that they put into developing our youth, which is helping to develop our society, because these are the people and they are just, again, not rewarded. Often. Just that little pat on the back and a little bit of money never hurts. When Yeah.

Unknown Speaker 23:24
And I would I would just add that all of this is without the teacher having any clue. They have no idea this is coming. They don't know that they've been nominated. They don't know that we're going to show up nothing. So it is a recognition by surprise.

Unknown Speaker 23:38
Yeah. Do you find ray that people are surprised that there is a foundation connected to the credit union?

Unknown Speaker 23:46
Yes. And the reason being, you know, the foundation, founded in 2018. So we're, what, six years young compared to a credit union that founded in 1951. And so 74 years,

Unknown Speaker 24:00
74 years? Oh, yes, I'm thinking.

Unknown Speaker 24:03
Yeah, exactly. And so, yes, there, there's a first surprise, wow, you actually have a foundation. So we've taken what the credit union has done historically, and been able to extend through a 501 C three charitable because now there's a lot more things you have in the toolbox. I eat grants, grant writing grant developing. And so there's a lot of benefits of being able to do that. And so, wow, I like what you're doing with the foundation. I liked it. This is really good. It's a great program, you know, both from our donors, certainly backed by the credit union. But you know, we've been doing grants, really helping out what we can do in the community. So again, all about the Community Give Back.

Unknown Speaker 24:49
Yeah, it was it's I've just really enjoyed talking to the two of you today about credit unions and the foundational piece that is a I attach to that. And I think a lot of people out there might not realize that credit unions are also nonprofit organizations. And so there's a whole element of in every way that's different when you are a nonprofit than as you had mentioned before traditional banks have their space in their, their place in society. But I think there's just so much value, especially a credit union that also has a foundation. And of course, that says what we're all about is the foundational aspect to give back to the community. And gentlemen, thank you so much, both of you for being a part of the show today. And how can people out there learn more about the foundation and Silver State

Unknown Speaker 25:43
to sell

Unknown Speaker 25:44
short? Well, you will see us all over town, you'll see us all over media, for one but but if you want more information, the website is pop Foundation, l v.org. Pot Foundation, l v.org.

Unknown Speaker 26:00
Any final words re again, hey, we, you and I, we've we've been around a long time. And it's been great to see your evolution and growth as a professional and, and congratulations on your role as president of this foundation. Anything else you want to talk about?

Unknown Speaker 26:16
Well, a couple things just again, thank you, Guy and your team here for having us here. This is really very heartfelt. Being here and being able to share with your listeners, viewers here the community of who we are and what we do. I want to thank all the folks in education, you know, teachers, administrators, administrators, principals, Ajay, heck, even the bus drivers, folks that are all involved in the school system, fifth largest in the country. And so I want to thank you for all of your work day in day out, want to thank folks in the community that, you know, having a passion like I do for education, and being able to really, you know, personally build their life and what we can do to help support that. So again, thank you so much. Appreciate it.

Unknown Speaker 27:07
Yeah, we appreciate all of you for tuning in to the business of giving podcast here at K u and v 91.5. FM. Did you know that you can also listen to our podcast on Spotify, Apple podcast, Amazon and other streaming platforms to do that transistor, or excuse me, the business of giving transistor dot F M. And as I've been mentioning recently, we also greatly appreciate the positive reviews that you've been leaving for the show. For us to continue to provide great value for all of you your feedback is invaluable. And it's just great to hear that so many people out there are enjoying what we're doing here with the business of giving podcast, and of course, the cross marketing Chamber of Commerce, cause marketing. chamber.com is the website where you can learn about the things that we do all of our events happenings. We've got a lot of big things coming up in the months to come that I'll be announcing on this radio show. Please tune in to the business of giving podcast every Sunday at 7:30am on K u and v 91.5. FM and jazz. Got to always remember the jazz part, some incredible genre that celebrated on this station, but always want to let you know that the most important thing is to give and do business for good. See you soon.

Unknown Speaker 28:52
Feel the weight of the world on my shoulder. As I'm getting older your people gets older. Most of us only care about money.

Transcribed by https://otter.ai