Van Tel/Safeway Credit Union Legacy Fund
Thank you for your interest in the VanTel / Safeway Credit Union Legacy Fund.
As part of VCF’s commitment to the redistribution of wealth and resources, the annual granting from a number of funds committed to supporting youth and seniors have been pooled to establish the Youth and Elders Regenerative Fund, including the VanTel / Safeway Credit Union Legacy Fund.
Through the pooled fund, the Foundation is able to make larger, more impactful grants. We work with community partners to identify initiatives that foster intergenerational connections with priority given to requests that align to the Foundation’s strategic vision for restoring affordability, fostering climate justice + community resilience, and building community connections. Funding from the Youth and Elders Regenerative Fund is available to Black and Indigenous led, serving, and/or informed community organizations only.
While the application process for the VanTel / Safeway Credit Union Legacy Fund was previously application based, the Foundation has shifted processes to become more relational and connected. If you are seeking funds to support Black and/or Indigenous Youth and seniors/Elders, we ask that you please share information about your organization and request for support through our inquiry form and one of our Community + Equity staff will follow up with you.
The Youth and Elders Fund maintains VanTel / Safeway Credit Union Legacy Fund’s focus on positive futures for vulnerable youth and enhanced well-being for senior/Elders. You can read more about the history of the VanTel / Safeway Credit Union Legacy below and in this impact story.
Fund History
Van Tel/Safeway Credit Union was established as a result of a merger that included VanTel, Safeway Employees and Pacific Paper Credit Unions. It was a closed bond credit union for the employees and retirees of TELUS, Safeway, Kruger Products (Scott Paper), Pacific Newspaper Group (Vancouver Sun & The Province), Summit Logistics Inc., and/or one of their affiliated companies and unions.
The Van Tel/Safeway Credit Union Foundation was created in 1999 to encourage volunteerism among bond members while providing grants to support these organizations in which they dedicated time.
Van Tel/Safeway Credit Union merged with Vancity Credit Union in 2007. The Van Tel/ Safeway Credit Union Legacy Fund was established to provide a legacy to honour the history of and relationships built during more than 60 years of service Van Tel/Safeway Credit Union provided and to serve as a place where donations can grow and be made available for future generations.
For over 60 years, our credit unions provided a safe haven for our closed bond membership. Unlike most credit unions of today, in order to become a member of our credit union, you had to work for the parent company, union, or be a relative of someone who worked for the company, union etc. That is where the term "closed bond credit union" comes from. The financial world has changed very quickly and although we provided great service to our members, we had to keep up with the changes and merged with Vancity. We saw this as both the ending of an era, and the beginning of a new relationship. It was with the strong bond we built with our members, a sort of extended family, that we created this VanTel/Safeway Credit Union Legacy Fund (VTSCULF).