Latest comments for http://www.ababj.com , comment 0 to 3 out of 3 comments http://www.ababj.com Sat, 25 May 2013 10:04:06 +0100 FeedCreator 1.7.2 http://www.ababj.com/myblog/how-is-your-bank-handling-charitable-contributions-these-days-2550.html#pc_1103 Demands have been increasing over the last several years, and the requests do indeed exceed the capacity of both the bank's budget and that of our charitable foundation. As a result, we have tried to establish several parameters when considering providing support: 1. We have set an absolute limit of $50,000 for any capital campaign, with that in the form of a pledge spread over a 3 to 5 year period, depending on the amount granted. 2. We have directed our giving to two general categories: a. Grants to meet basic human needs (food pantries, homeless shelters, heating subsidies, and the like); and b. Grants to organizations that our employees are actively involved with. We want to make sure we support the efforts that employees make and to encourage them to continue to volunteer their time and effort to help local community organizations. - Rheo Brouillard, president and CEO, Savings Institute Bank and Trust Co., Willimantic, Conn. Thu, 22 Dec 2011 19:09:31 +0100 http://www.ababj.com/myblog/how-is-your-bank-handling-charitable-contributions-these-days-2550.html#pc_1102 One of the smartest steps we took as a bank was the establishment of a charitable foundation. When we converted our mutual organization to a stock company, we set aside $1.2 million in cash and stock to fund it. The amount of money that is provided annually by the foundation was equivalent to the contributions we were making at the bank level. This allowed us to move a substantial portion of the contributions the bank was making to the foundation. This improved the bank's profitability and provided a more formalized review process for granting contributions. We established a foundation board consisting of bank directors and outside directors to review the requests. We defined very specific activities the foundation would fund, which makes it easier to sort through the requests. By bringing in the outside directors, we were able to extend our relationships with community leaders while not having to place them on the bank board. The bank still maintains a budget to fund other charitable contributions that fall outside of the foundation, though that amount is smaller than had been given in prior years. Our branches are given their own contribution budget to fund those local activities that are important to those offices, but may be too small to deal with at the bank level. By coupling the bank funds with the foundation money, we have been able to deliver overall more contributions to the community. - Larry Myers, president and CEO, First Savings Bank, F.S.B., $536.8 million-assets, Clarksville, Indiana Thu, 22 Dec 2011 15:25:43 +0100 http://www.ababj.com/myblog/how-is-your-bank-handling-charitable-contributions-these-days-2550.html#pc_1101 Money is tighter. The need is greater. So how did MidWestOne Bank adapt its charitable giving during the downturn in the economy? By not changing anything about our processes and giving even more. Our customer service surveying tells us that we are known in our markets as being generous and supportive of community projects and needs. We've built that reputation in our 77 years of existence. We're not going to let a few down years change who we are. MidWestOne's philosophy is to give to projects that will do the most good and benefit the most people. We work to establish relationships to foster the greatest amount of recognition and opportunity for bank employees to contribute in a hands-on manner. Our Bank operates within 19 markets. Each market maintains its own charitable budget and decision making. There is also a corporate budget for larger commitments and those that affect multiple markets. Additionally, the bank has established a foundation which supports long-range capital projects. It's very important that decision making is done locally. Our market presidents know their consumers better than anyone at a regional or corporate office ever can. They know they have the ability to work with the community projects that are the best fit for them, their staff, and their community. It isn't one-size-fits-all. In 2012 we will introduce a new initiative: The MidWestOne Bank Community Impact Grant. We will invite each of our branches to apply and compete for a one-time $50,000 gift to a project in their community. We aim to make this an annual program. As the saying goes, "dance with the one that brought you." We got to where we are by being a community bank. Even with a downturn in our earnings we stuck by our giving philosophy and have continued to increase our contributions over the past three years. - Nick Pfeiffer, Marketing Officer, MidWestOne Bank, $1.63 billion-assets, Iowa City, IA Thu, 22 Dec 2011 14:53:03 +0100