Firstmark Foundation Awards Alamo Colleges District $100,000 to Support Students’ Financial Education

The Firstmark Foundation is pleased to announce its High Impact Grant award of $100,000 to the Alamo Colleges District (ACD), in support of five new financial resource libraries, case management and financial wellness programming, and scholarships for students. This is the first grant the foundation has pledged to ACD.

Established across all five colleges within the ACD—Northeast Lakeview College (NLC), Northwest Vista College (NVC), Palo Alto College (PAC), San Antonio College (SAC), and St. Philip’s College (SPC)—the construction of financial resource libraries will enable Firstmark to integrate financial wellness into the ACD’s current Student Advocacy Center Network to equip students with essential life skills that extend beyond academics, aimed to improve economic and social mobility for local graduates.

“The Firstmark Foundation is excited to partner with the Alamo Colleges District and help students in our own backyard to hone skills that they’ll carry on with them beyond the classroom,” said Marisa Pérez-Díaz, executive director of the Firstmark Foundation. “We’ve seen first-hand how important it is to educate our young adults on the importance of money management, and we believe there’s no better advocate to help them than our local Alamo Colleges District. We are thrilled to catapult this initiative with them, to play a role in helping our future generations, and incredibly thankful to our Power of the Dollar® members for making this all possible.”

In addition to empowering students to effectively cultivate a stable financial future, the grant funds will be utilized to provide one scholarship on each of the five campuses to support broader access to higher education across Bexar County, as well as two internship stipends to support a 16-week financial wellness program. Committed to stewardship, the funds will also accommodate housing, utility assistance, or other emergency financial aid, to help students who come from low-income households and better assist their college experience.

“We are grateful to the Firstmark Foundation for their generous investment in our students and their futures,” said Dr. Mike Flores, Alamo Colleges District Chancellor. “This partnership enhances our Student Advocacy Center Network and strengthens our commitment to meeting students where they are—by integrating financial wellness tools, emergency aid, and scholarships that remove barriers to success. We are proud to partner with Firstmark to build the financial resilience our students need to thrive in college, career, and life.”

This construction of the resource libraries is expected to launch in early summer and anticipated to be ready to serve students in the new school year.

To learn more about the Firstmark Foundation and the ways Firstmark Credit Union supports the education community on behalf of its members, please visit the Foundation tab at firstmarkcu.org.

To find more information on how the ACD supports students and our community, please visit alamo.edu. 

ABOUT Firstmark Credit Union

In 1932, ten teachers signed a charter to begin San Antonio Teachers Credit Union and served members from the original location at Fox Tech High School. Firstmark has grown the initial $475 investment to almost 100,000 members and over $1 billion in assets and continues to advance a legacy of creating superior member value and inspired service. Today, the Firstmark Foundation, a 501(c)(3) public charity, exists to make a tangible, positive impact in the education community through the collective support of the membership. Firstmark has been recognized by the San Antonio Business Journal as a Best Places to Work for the last five years, an achievement made possible by employees who proudly serve one another and the members. For more information about Firstmark Credit Union, please visit firstmarkcu.org.

ABOUT Alamo Colleges District

At the Alamo Colleges District, high-quality education and affordable costs provide exceptional value to students and alumni who are major contributors to the economy and culture of the community.