A Steadfast Investment

George Gillam saw a bigger, brighter, and more fulfilling future for himself than the hand he had been dealt at birth would suggest.

Growing up in New Orleans, the youngest of fourteen children, George describes his early life as “a nightmare.” “It was just a recipe for disaster,” he said. Eventually, George would end up in a situation that he summed up as being in “the wrong place, at the wrong time.” That situation landed him in Louisiana State Penitentiary, where he would spend the next twenty-five years of his life.

As he waited behind bars, though, George felt he was part of a larger plan.  

“I knew I was in prison for a greater purpose,” George said. He felt that his future would deliver the chance to heal old wounds, repair broken relationships, and find in himself the leader he knew he had the potential to become. “It was, like, the best thing that kind of happened to me,” he said.  

When he was released from prison, George stepped out into the world determined to follow a path of helping others and giving back to his community.    

Left to right: George Gillam, executive director, Steadfast Foundation, Shawna Gose, board president, Steadfast Foundation. H. Carter Leak IV, president & CEO, Bank of St. Francisville

Shawna and Ty Gose had a vision. Ty, a commercial realtor with Latter & Blum, and his wife Shawna, who has a master’s degree in Human Ecology, wanted to build a mechanism that would enable the Baton Rouge business community to help individuals escape poverty.  

In 2020, the Goses founded a nonprofit to do exactly that. The Steadfast Foundation was formed to create a bridge between formerly incarcerated individuals or those struggling in low-economic situations, and local business partners. The goal: to forge connections, and help people down on their luck to find gainful employment and build meaningful careers.

As the work of founding the organization began, George was drawn into talks. Knowledgeable about the circumstances faced by formerly incarcerated people, he was passionate about effecting change. With George’s addition, “it became more about us listening,” Steadfast Foundation board president Shawna Gose explained. He had lived that life, and he understood the pitfalls and prejudices that stood in the way of those trying to escape similar circumstances.  

George became Steadfast’s executive director, assembling a toolkit of small business loans, micro loans, grants, and job training resources targeted at helping people overcome societal hurdles that many "would normally not get over if there wasn’t a bridge to get them over it,” George said.

"The Steadfast Foundation has opened me up to so many opportunities, one of those opportunities was the ability to dream. I could not have done that without having a solid banking institution that knows me by name, that has my back-and that's the Bank of St. Francisville."
-George Gillam - Steadfast Foundation

While dedicating himself to the foundation’s mission, George also successfully launched his own business—Gillam Strategic Solutions. He knew he needed a bank for a business account. Not just any bank, but the right one.  

Drew Hall, a financial planner with Abel Hall Family Wealth Partners, had worked with the Steadfast Foundation to open a savings account for the nonprofit at Bank of St. Francisville; George sought him out for assistance with opening a business account at the same institution. The arrangement has been ideal, according to George.

“If I need something, there is someone I can call and talk to,” he said. “They know me by first and last name, and that is paramount.”

“We were really impacted by George’s story and its relation to West Feliciana and Baton Rouge. We believe someone with George’s credibility, character, and faith is having a huge redemptive impact on men at a vulnerable time in their lives as they reenter our community,” said H. Carter Leak, IV, president and CEO of Bank of St. Francisville. “We believe that is tremendous for their life, but it is also significant for all the people they influence such as their children, siblings, and friends.”

It’s also important to invest in an organization like Steadfast amid efforts to fight community violence, Leak added, providing the opportunity for people to make choices that will improve safety statistics and lead to better outcomes for all.

At the end of last year, Bank of St. Francisville donated to Steadfast—an unexpected surprise, according to Shawna Gose. “It was really a blessing to finish out our year,” she said. As for George, his nightmare is gone; his future is hopeful.  

“The Steadfast Foundation has opened me up to so many opportunities,” he said. “One of those opportunities was the ability to dream. I could not have done that without having a solid banking institution that knows me by name, that has my back—and that’s the Bank of St. Francisville.”  

To learn more about The Steadfast Foundation and how to support its work, visit https://www.thesteadfast.org/

Further Reading