Page 17 - BusinessWest March 18, 2024

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A team of PeoplesBank employees volunteers at Kent Memorial Library in Kent, Conn.
Philanthropic Priorities
Bannister made it clear that banks are required, to some degree, to be involved in their communities in a charitable way, noting that bank examiners make sure a bank’s locations and loan activities are represen- tative of where it does business — meaning not just serving and lending to those with high incomes or profits — and they also ask how the insti- tution gives back to the community.
“The challenge with that is there’s no right answer. We just have to go to the examiners each year and say, ‘here’s what we did.’ And when we give, we make sure a substantial amount that we give away benefits LMI — lower- to middle-income communities.”
Area banks and credit unions have increasingly inspired employees and customers to involved in giving efforts as well. In 2023, Freedom Credit Union contributed $181,898 to more than 70 charitable organiza- tions throughout the four counties of Western Mass.
Of that, corporate charitable giving accounted for $130,432, but throughout the year, Freedom also conducts Month of Giving campaigns, in which customers can support a specific organization each month; those programs raised $17,316 in 2023. And local branch and depart- ment giving contributed an additional $34,150 to local charities.
“Oftentimes, we can supplement or replace a monetary donation with volunteers, whether it’s picking vegetables at a local farm to be donated out, or helping nonprofits clean up the facility, or doing outdoor work like volunteering with Habitat for Humanity.”
“Our members and staff are passionate about supporting the commu- nity where we live, work, and serve,” Freedom Credit Union President Glenn Welch said. “In 2023, we were proud to donate funds for a wide variety of deserving institutions.”
Other institutions take customer involvement to the polls. Both Flor- ence Bank and Monson Savings Bank boast popular programs — called the Customers’ Choice Community Grants Program and the Community Giving Initiative, respectively — that complement other bank philanthro- py by letting customers vote for nonprofits to support.
Through that initiative, Florence Bank awarded $150,000 to 46 area nonprofits in 2023, the 21st year of the program; the higher-than-usual total commemorated the bank’s 150 years in business.
“It’s amazing to see so many community organizations being recog- nized, and the fact that the recognition comes from Florence Bank cus- tomers in the form of votes is really special,” President and CEO Matt Garrity said.
Meanwhile, in the 14th year of its community-giving program, Mon- son Savings Bank awarded a total of $15,000 to the 10 top vote-getting nonprofits.
“Everyone’s passion for our annual Community Giving Initiative is
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