ROCK ISLAND, Ill.–Six credit unions across the Quad Cities came together to provide a needed financial boost to support NEST Café, a pay-what-you-want restaurant in downtown Rock Island, Ill.
According to the Quad Cities Business Journal, NEST Cafe received the $23,500 major gift thanks to what organizers described as the “credit union spirit of cooperation, and people helping people.”
The Six CUs
“Uniting on the combined donation were: Ascentra Credit Union, Empeople Credit Union, Gas & Electric Credit Union (GECU), IH Mississippi Valley Credit Union (IHMVCU), Moline Municipal Credit Union and RIA Federal Credit Union,” the Business Journal reported.
NEST, which stands for Nourish Everyone Sustainably Together, celebrated its third anniversary this spring. The cafe focuses on providing equitable access to nutrient-dense food as well as a space to build community among people from various life situations and financial abilities, according to the publication.
Leading the effort to make the gift was GECU CEO Daryl Empen, who is also the NEST Café board’s treasurer, the Business Journal said.
In a statement, Empen said that knowing the cafe was facing some funding shortfalls this year, he reached out to his fellow credit unions.
‘Know My Fellow CEOs’
“Being at the credit union for over three decades, I have gotten to know my fellow CEOs very well over the years,” Empen said in the statement. “Many of us have been friends for years, if not decades. But knowing how these requests work, I thought it would take a few weeks to hear back, as they ran this request through a committee or their board of directors.”
