During a Friday night in May at the Pend Oreille Pavilion inside Northern Quest Resort & Casino, hundreds of Cougar Athletic Fund members are enjoying the Night with Cougar Athletics (NWCA) event, presented by Gesa Credit Union.
Night with Cougar Athletics is the signature event series for Washington State University Athletics, taking place annually throughout the state of Washington at three locations: Seattle, Tri-Cities, and, on this evening, Spokane.
Brandon Allison, AVP Training, Education, & Community Relations at Gesa Credit Union, is one of the of attendees who is enjoying the evening's festivities, including visiting the Gesa table at the entrance, where employees are giving away Cougar-themed gift bags exclusively for Gesa members.
"We are proud to sponsor the Night with Cougar Athletics events," said Allison. "We're honored to support initiatives that help uplift and provide student-athletes with impactful funds and opportunities as they pursue their education."
The events, which raised $850,000 in support of those WSU student-athletes through the Unleash Excellence Fund, are just an example of several ways Gesa partners with WSU Athletics and WSU for the benefit of their student-athletes and students.
A prominent example of the collaboration; in particular, for fans who visit Pullman for Cougar football games, is the venue the team competes at: Gesa Field.
"From day one of our partnership with WSU Athletics, we really want to be more than our name on the field," Allison said.
"Our relationship with Gesa really epitomizes what a strategic partnership should look like," said Washington Deputy Director of Athletics Mitch Straub. "Every step of the way, Gesa is tremendously engaged, as they consistently find a way to elevate the experience for our student-athletes, fans and entire institution. Our entire team at WSU Athletics feel fortunate to have such a harmonious partner as Gesa Credit Union."
WSU affinity debit card
In Gesa's X bio, it states: Community. Financial Literacy. Personal Empowerment. All three are foremost in Gesa's relationship with WSU.
"Community is the cornerstone of our giveback," Allison explained. "We want to make a positive impact in the lives of our members and the communities that we serve.
"We thought what innovative way can we help give back to our communities by empowering our membership to do the same?" Allison added.
Gesa created and implemented the affinity debit card program, which allows Gesa members the opportunity to give back to a favorite cause with every swipe of the card. For members who possess a WSU affinity debit card, a portion of the proceeds are donated to the Cougar Athletic Fund with every swipe of a card.
"It is one of my favorite programs," Allison said of the affinity debit card. "The program began in 2015 with two high schools and now it's grown to over 50 partners including WSU."
"It really is incredible," added Allison, describing it as "power in your pocket."
G
esa at WSU
There are Gesa branches located on the WSU campus: at the Spark Building and the CUB (Compton Union Building). Both are student-managed as Gesa hires 17 WSU students to support the operations.
The experience the students acquire goes beyond the day-to-day operations of managing a branch.
"The students gain real-life experience working in a financial center combined with financial education," Allison said.
"We thought, 'Let's take an innovative approach to this,'" Allison added. "Last year, not only did these student-relationship officers support the operations of the branch, but they also facilitated over 70 individual financial education sessions to students and student-athletes on the campus."
Allison has seen firsthand the benefits of the sessions, describing it as a "big deal."
Allison explained that during the first few sessions the students run, they are a little nervous but gradually their confidence grows through each presentation they make.
"It's incredible to see how they develop their facilitation skills," he said.
One of the sessions the student presented during the fall of 2023 was for WSU student-athletes inside a packed Camp Room at the Bohler Athletic Complex.
"I attended this workshop because I was just interested in knowing more about banking and how I can manage my money better and finance my money better," said football student-athlete Hudson Cedarland.
"I learned quite a few things," said track and field student-athlete Nana Gyedu. "Knowing how to maintain good credit, how to build good credit and also what loans you can acquire as well, which I hope to acquire in the future."
Pledge Per Touchdown
During the 2023 football season, the Pledge Per Touchdown campaign, powered by Gesa, launched. The campaign invited participants to pledge an amount of money for every Cougar touchdown. At the end of the season, 50 touchdowns were scored raising $172,124 for the Unleash Excellence Fund, including a matching donation from Gesa.
"It was a great success," Allison said of Pledge Per Touchdown. "We decided that we not just want to sponsor the program but contribute matching donations for each touchdown up to $10,000."
Gesa will once again serve as sponsor for Pledge Per Touchdown during the 2024 season.
Just the beginning
While Night with Cougar Athletics draws a curtain on the 2023-24 academic year, there is much to look forward to for the partnership between Gesa, WSU Athletics and the Cougar Athletic Fund.
"Both Gesa and WSU have such a rich history in supporting the communities that we serve," Allison said. "We are proud to continue working together to launch new fundraising initiatives and financial education programs that benefit student-athletes."
"We're going to be launching more WSU affinity card benefits, which create additional member benefits for cardholders, and we will work to continue our impact on education and creating more lasting memories for WSU cardholders at WSU events," Allison added. "This partnership is perfect in supporting student-athletes and making a difference in the lives of our members and the communities we serve."
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