USAA donating to boost equality
$50M is largest gift ever from company
USAA said Monday that it will donate $50 million over the next three years to organizations combating racial inequality — in education, employment and business development — in low-income military enclaves and communities of color in San Antonio and across the country.
This is the San Antonio-based insurance and financial services company’s largest-ever donation — and its second major one in recent months. In August, the company pledged $30 million to help military members and their families weather the COVID-19 recession.
“At USAA, we strive to create an environment where all employees feel like they truly belong and have the opportunity to reach their full potential,” USAA President and CEO Wayne Peacock said. “It’s our mission to care for military families, a community that reflects our nation’s racial, social and economic diversity — and the complex issues that come with it.”
Monday’s announcement came a week after the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency cut its grade for USAA Federal Savings Bank, a USAA subsidiary, over evi
dence of “discriminatory or other illegal credit practices.”
The federal banking regulator lowered USAA Bank’s overall Community Reinvestment Act performance evaluation rating from “satisfactory” to “needs to improve” after uncovering evidence of 600 violations involving customers.
The CRA requires regulators to assess a bank’s record of helping to meet the credit needs of the community, including in low- and moderate-income neighborhoods.
A USAA spokesman said the $50 million donation was unrelated to the OCC’s action and that the contribution had been in the works well before the regulator lowered the bank’s grade.
“These are separate issues and unrelated to each other,” spokesman Matt Hartwig said. “The commitment we announced today reflects our core values and belief we have a responsibility as a good employer and a good corporate citizen to help create opportunities for everyone to be their best.”
USAA will donate the first $15 million of its pledged $50 million by the end of 2020. In the first phase, officials said, the company will donate more than $7 million to local efforts.
The San Antonio-related donations include:
• $2 million to Alamo Colleges to provide 335 Alamo Promise scholarships and other aid.
• $1.2 million to job training organization Project Quest to help 175 low- to moderate-income San Antonians receive training.
• $1 million to the University of Texas Foundation to provide 100 UTSA Bold Promise scholarships for low- to moderate-income minority students.
• $2 million to LiftFund, a San Antonio-based small- and microbusiness lender, to provide 60 low-interest loans, as well as money to put business owners through an accelerator program and provide mentorship and coaching.
Some of the initial funding also will go to the Washington, D.C.based Executive Leadership Council, an organization devoted to developing Black business executives.
“(USAA) specifically wanted us to work with minority businesses — Black and brown businesses — so our approach is a wrap-around approach,” said Janie Barrera, president and CEO of LiftFund. “It’s not only capital, but it’s also measuring the different tools businesses are going to need to stay open. How can we come together and help these small businesses?”
Barrera said LiftFund will combine USAA’s donation with an additional $1.5 million the organization plans to raise for a revolving small-business loan fund.
In addition to the donation, USAA has said it will buy more supplies from veteran- and minority-owned businesses and will examine its suppliers’ efforts to strengthen diversity and inclusion in their workplaces.
“This initial investment, coupled with our commitment over these next three years for $50 million — we know we can actually improve lives for those minority communities,” said Harriet Dominique, USAA’s senior vice president of corporate responsibility. “During these times, the needs are great, and these dollars will go to touching those families, those minorities in our community, to help make their lives better.”
USAA’s donation comes months after the Memorial Day killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis at the hands of police sparked nationwide protests.
Sharp income inequality in the U.S., which disproportionately affects Black households, also fed the protests and the resurgent Black Lives Matter movement.
“We recognize that there is more USAA can do to help close inequality gaps, and these investments are a fundamental part of our efforts,” CEO Peacock said.