Page 30 - BusinessWest February 19, 2024

“The more I can roll up my sleeves, the better I feel about who we’re giving to.”
In his role, Matt Bannister is often the face of PeoplesBank, such as at this occasion marking the bank’s donation — $250,000 over five years — to the building of a new facility for the Food Bank of Western Massachusetts.
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cranberry juice, he said, adding that he changed course, career-wise, and joined the American Heart Assoc., serving eventually as executive vice president of Communications at its national headquarters in Dallas.
“At the ad agency, you’re selling pizza, sneakers, and sugar water — you’re selling a product,” he explained. “In public health, you’re selling behavior change; you’re selling ‘eat right, don’t smoke, exercise more.’ It’s not something you buy, it’s behaviors, and it’s marketing that’s a lot more challenging and rewarding.”
Desiring a return to the Northeast — he was born
in Dedham and attended UMass Amherst — Bannister accepted the role of senior vice president of Marketing and Corporate Responsibility at PeoplesBank, a position with a broad job description that includes corporate responsibility but now also includes marketing, media relations, and social-media management.
And when it comes to charitable giving, he said the bank’s goal is to “say yes as often as you can,” he noted.
“Our philosophy is to give a little to a lot of groups, and not a lot to a few groups,” he explained. “That’s because
almost every nonprofit is worthwhile and doing good work.” Elaborating, he said that, while he supports a wide array of
nonprofits and causes, within the giving strategy is an emphasis on certain areas, such as economic development, literacy,
food insecurity, and public health, which translates into larger donations to some groups, such as the Food Bank of Western Massachusetts, Girls Inc. of the Valley, and Revitalize CDC.
An Involved Process
These have, in fact, become Bannister’s personal points of emphasis as he chooses the organizations and causes to get personally involved with — and there are many invitations to weigh.
As noted earlier, this involvement is the primary reason why he is part of the Difference Makers class of 2024. He said it’s a part of his job, and also a way to see first-hand the work being
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Bannister
was at the time when a 25-cent tax was put on every pack of cigarettes sold, with the money going toward smoking-cessation programs and preventing youth uptake.
“Every ad agency had a beer, a car, a fast-food chain ... now, a brand-new category was created — a $100 million category because of all the revenue that was being created,” he went on. “And it was untilled, fertile soil.”
Overall, it was more rewarding work than selling cars or
Revitalize CDC congratulates our Board Vice Chair,
Matt Bannister
on being named a Difference Maker!
Thank you for everything you do to support our community!
413-788-0014 revitalizecdc.com
240 Cadwell Drive Springfield, MA 01104
A10 2024
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