Provident Credit Union Awards Grants to SJSU Student Organizations

Provident Credit Union delivers check presentation to SJSU’s student organizations at the SJSU Men’s Basketball game against San Diego State on February 11, 2025. Photo courtesy of Provident Credit Union.

For the past three years, Provident Credit Union has been running a grant program to help provide funding for student organizations across San José State.  

This year, seven different organizations – Science Extravaganza SJSU, the Association of Latino Professionals For America (ALPFA), the Sigma Theta Psi Multicultural Sorority Inc., the SJSU Sikh Collegiate Federation, the Career Center, the Braven Club and Nutrition and Food Science (NuFS) Club – received $500 each in grant funding.   

“We were impressed with all of the student organizations that submitted for this grant opportunity and it’s encouraging to see that many of them are making a difference for the university, as well as the community,” says Joshua DeVincenzi Melander, ’04 Communication Studies, a business development manager from Provident. 

The relationship between SJSU and Provident runs deep. In 2019, Provident committed over $8.1 million dollars to SJSU through a naming rights partnership with the Event Center. Then, in 2020, Provident made a commitment for a multi-year sponsorship of SJSU’s Athletics Department, donating several hundred thousand dollars per year, putting the amount of funds already donated or committed to SJSU at about $10 million. 

In addition, SJSU faculty, staff, students and alumni are all eligible for mortgage and auto loan rate discounts through Provident. The credit union also provides student checking and college credit cards.

“Many of our senior leadership, including myself and our CEO, are alumni of SJSU,” says Melander. 

To spread the word about the grant program, Melander reaches out to student organizations each semester through email or by speaking to clubs at campuswide events.  

After organizations apply, a committee made up of senior leadership from Provident, including Melander and the CEO, reviews all the applications to determine which clubs and organizations to award. 

As a community-based credit union, Provident has been deeply committed to education and community involvement. Provident stipulated that funds requested by student organizations for this grant program be applied toward community service or an event or project that directly impacts the community. 

Below, some of the clubs and organizations share how they plan to use the funding. 

Science Extravaganza SJSU 

Ferch Sánchez López, ’25 Computer Engineering, is co-chair of this year’s Science Extravaganza, an annual event that hosts STEM-based workshops in order to spark an interest in science at an early age. 

“Our main target is middle school students, and we have over 350 students come to SJSU and go through different workshops. The workshops are hosted by industry professionals from different companies, and they all volunteer their Saturday to come to the event,” shares López. 

Hosting the Science Extravaganza costs over $30k per year. But with funding from Provident and others, Lopez and a team of volunteers are able to pull it off. 

“Thanks to our sponsors, we are able to provide the event free of cost to all students that attend. This includes food throughout the event, transportation for the schools that need it and also supplies,” says Lopez. 

Association of Latino Professionals for America (ALPFA) 

Kevin Cuellar, ’26 Finance, is the treasurer for the SJSU chapter of the Association of Latino Professionals for America (ALPFA).

ALPFA will be using their $500 to support Sunday Friends, a local nonprofit that provides educational classes for nurturing English literacy, financial literacy and overall personal development. The organization also gives hygiene products, dry food, fresh produce and dairy products to underserved families that attend their classes. 

“For our organization, receiving this donation is a testimony of growth,” says Cuellar.  “Sunday Friends and ALPFA value educational development, community events and wellness to create fair access to opportunities for underrepresented communities, all to address the issue of intergenerational poverty.”

Sigma Theta Psi

Sigma Theta Psi, a multicultural sorority that strives to represent leadership and sisterhood, also won a grant from Provident. They are aiming to put their donation toward a cause that resonates deeply with their organization: breast cancer awareness. They also plan to purchase materials that they can use for tabling to enhance their connection to the SJSU community.

“It was an honor to receive this donation because it offers growth and new opportunities. It allows us to continue to share and build our values with each other and other students,” says Jazmine Santillan, ’25 Creative Writing, the president of Sigma Theta Psi. 

The Career Center 

A grant was also awarded to San José State’s Career Center, which plays a crucial role on campus, empowering students to achieve their career aspirations by offering career counseling, career fairs, networking opportunities, workshops and resources. 

Bobbi Makani, the executive director of the Career Center, says that they plan on using the funds to directly support career readiness programs such as career treks (field trips in which students visit companies), career experiences and networking opportunities. 

“This donation is incredibly meaningful because it demonstrates Provident Credit Union’s commitment to investing in the future of our students,” says Makani. “It shows that they recognize the importance of career development and are willing to support our efforts to provide students with the resources needed to succeed. Community support like this is vital to our mission and helps us expand our programming to engage more students.” 

Braven Club 

Another recipient of the Provident grant is the Braven Club, a national non-profit that offers a leadership/career-accelerating course on campus. 

“We are extremely thankful for the $500 donation,” says Miguel De La Torre-Hernandez, ’25 Economics, president of the Braven Club. “We will be using it to host more professional networking socials on campus that are open to all SJSU students.” 

The $500 will also be used to provide Braven members with access to conferences  with potential job opportunities. 

Nutrition and Food Science (NuFS) Club

The Nutrition and Food Science (NuFS) Club impacts students’ lives by providing them with a community where they can deepen their knowledge and passion for nutrition and food science through hands-on experiences and networking opportunities. Students also get access to volunteer, internship, scholarship and job opportunities.

The NuFS Club plans on using the $500 grant to fund conference trips and guest speaker events for their student members. 

“Receiving this donation means a lot to our club, as it enables us to enhance our programming and provide valuable learning opportunities to our members,” shares Demini Rajapaksha, ’25 Food Science, who is co-president of the NuFS Club. “We are very grateful to Provident for enabling us to take part in this grant, and we’re so excited we won!”  

Learn more about Provident’s SJSU student grants here.