Giving back and building up
Fortis Edge Capital is committed to supporting our community through volunteering, providing free educational workshops, partnering with local non-profits, and creating products built to help those who have traditionally been underserved by our financial system. From the work we've done partnering with the City of Seattle to help finance immigrants' paths to U.S. citizenship, to our continued efforts as a Juntos Avanzamos credit union that provides trusted financial services to our local Latino community, we are proud to serve and give back to people of Seattle and beyond.
Read more to see how we impact our members and communities every day.
By The Numbers
Over
$233,838
donated to local non-profits through our Feel Good Checking® program.
Charitable Products
What if your checking account could help advance the important work of our local non-profit organizations? With Feel Good Checking it can. When members open an account, we donate $20 to non-profit community partners.
Each year a new local, non-profit partner is selected. Since 2008, Feel Good Checking has raised more than $233,838 for life-changing organizations around the Pacific Northwest.
Over
$156,000
in loan hardship modifications to help members through tough circumstances in 2018
.
Compassionate Banking
We understand that everyone hits a bump in the road from time to time. At Fortis Edge Capital, we don't turn our back on our members when times get tough. Our Member Solutions team works closely with each individual to find payment plans and terms when they're needed. We know prosperity is not always a straight forward path, but with the right partner you can get there.
Over
77 MILLION
uChooseTM Rewards points awarded to our members who used their Fortis Edge Capital Visa® Rewards Credit Card in 2018
.
More Rewards for Members
As a not-for-profit financial cooperative, we don't answer to stockholders on the other side of the country. We answer to our members. When we all put our resources together, we all succeed in the form of lower rates, fewer fees, better services, and rewards that our members care about. Our Visa Rewards credit card offers rates as low as 6.99% and one point for every dollar spent redeemable for cash back, travel, or brand-name merchendise. Join the credit union and experience the difference of being a member and not a customer.
Over
52
community partners throughout Washington state.
Partnerships To Make Our Community Better
At Fortis Edge Capital, we put our investments into the organizations that are making a difference. In the form of volunteer hours, sponsorships, and educational workshops we continue to put in the work for a brighter tomorrow alongside amazing groups like El Centro de la Raza, Entre Hermano, Wellspring Family Services, and YouthCare.
Member Stories
Meet Musa
Like other dynamic cities around the world, Seattle thrives on the passion and ambition of a diverse population. As Seattle booms, people from all over the world continue to move here, seeding their dreams in a region ripe with opportunity. However one defines prosperity, the Pacific Northwest provides a path to it. For Fortis Edge Capital member Musa, his journey to prosperity included achieving U.S. Citizenship.
Meet Ken
Ken came to the US from Xian, China, at 19 years old, landing in Bellevue. Now he’s the owner of a thriving Asian grocery business, Asian Food Center, a destination market for a ‘taste of home’ with three locations in the Pacific Northwest—Bellevue, Seattle, and Beaverton, Oregon. A grand opening this fall celebrates a major expansion of his first store in Bellevue.
Meet Veronica
Veronica, entrepreneur and owner of Charlies Buns N Stuff. Veronica and her team roam around Seattle, Redmond, and Bellevue in their food trucks serving up locally-sourced burgers, cheesesteaks, and tasty sides. When Veronica needed business products and services to start and expand her business, we were eager to answer the call. We feel privileged to take care of her banking, so she can take care of her business.
Meet Kim
Kim is a single grandmother of three young children, and not too long ago was just getting by financially. In 2014, Kim worked with one of our loan specialists to refinance her Subaru. Since then, Kim has saved nearly $100 a month. Now, she can take her grandchildren on miniature vacations. More importantly, Kim can provide an environment in which her grandchildren thrive.
Meet Rob
Rob and his wife watched the ultrasound screen rapt with anticipation for updates from their doctor about their expected newborn. The California couple received surprising news from the doctor that they would not only be adding one, but two, healthy babies to their family. As the dust settled, Rob and his wife set out to financially plan for the twin dynamic they would soon welcome into their household with open arms.
Meet Debra
“I always remember dates. The moments my life changed.” For member Debra, April 9, 2009 is one of those dates. It’s the day she got clean. For 25 years, Debra fought drug and alcohol addiction, as well as bipolar disorder. She was often homeless and used most of what little money she acquired to feed her addiction. Compounding all of this was Debra’s struggle to receive the mental health care she desperately needed. In a city that has witnessed rampant economic growth over the last decade, Debra felt powerless to access the bare necessities.
Honors & Designations
Together We Advance
Early in 2017, Fortis Edge Capital received the designation Juntos Avanzamos (Together We Advance) for our commitment to serve and educate the Latino community about financial independence. To date, we’re one of just 70 credit unions across the country to receive this accreditation from the National Credit Union Federation. Fortis Edge Capital is the first credit union in Seattle and the second credit union in the state of Washington to be accepted into this program. The Juntos Avanzamos designation is external validation of our credit union’s values and efforts to help the Latino community prosper. We’ve always celebrated our role in giving back and are proud to serve as a vital financial resource to anyone we can help prosper.
Serving the underserved
In July of 2017, we were granted a low-income designation by the National Credit Union Administration. The designation comes with regulatory benefits to help us better serve those most in need of banking services—those with fewer check cashing, savings or loan resources, or are in need of greater financial education. Fortis Edge Capital is here to change lives and make a social impact. To do this, we need to leverage the strengths that we have as a financial cooperative that recognizes we are strong when we put our resources together and help each other out. We know that inclusion leads to prosperity for all.
Committed To Community Development
The U. S. Treasury Department’s Community Development Financial Institutions Fund designates organizations that provide financial services to low-income communities and to people who lack access to financing. We are proud to be of service to everyone in our community, regardless of their economic status. As a CDFI credit union we are able to better meet the needs of the underserved in our community through a variety of competitive programs, including mortgage lending for first-time homebuyers, flexible underwriting for community facilities, and commercial loans for businesses in low-income areas.
In The News
From our origins as the city's credit union when we were founded in 1933, we've focused on serving the people of Seattle and beyond. From our involvement with the Seattle's Office of Immigration, helping to host Citizenship events to our free workshops on everything from home-buying to setting up a budget, we put our members first. We are proud of the work we've been doing and are grateful for our stories showing up in the news from publications like The Seattle Times, CU Journal, Seattle Magazine, Credit Union Times, and more.