Representatives from 55 financial institutions and companies that serve them raised $34,330 for two Twin Cities nonprofits Feb. 13 at the second-annual United Financials Making a Difference luncheon. The initiative surpassed 2018 fundraising efforts, when $22,000 was raised for the Children’s Cancer Research Fund. In 2019, a second charity, Big Brothers, Big Sisters Twin Cities was added. Proceeds were split evenly between the two organizations.
The luncheon featured Robb Stauber, head coach of the 2018 women’s Olympic gold medal team, and Sanjay Kapur of fintech Digital Credence.
Kapur talked about the importance of financial institutions maximizing digital data. Banks and credit unions have every bit of information on their customers, “so be sure to use it,” he said.
When Stauber took over as head coach of the women’s Olympic team, he asked his players just two weeks before the Games: “Have you figured out how that gold medal will help others? Because it’s not just about you.” Stauber said he encouraged his players to have a higher purpose, because at the Olympic level, they needed more than skill. “With a higher purpose you have a higher chance of winning,” Stauber said. They won gold two weeks later.
United Financials Making a Difference was founded in 2018 by Mike Dalglish, co-owner of Case Financial, a company that serves the financial services industry through technology services and data analytics.