Award Winners

City/State: Richmond, VA
ABA Asset Size: Medium
Program Name: Future Impact Makers Intern Grant Program
Atlantic Union Bank’s Future Impact Makers Grant addresses a critical gap in workforce development by funding paid internships for low- and moderate-income students. Atlantic Union Bank also provides a robust professional development curriculum for interns and managers. Grant recipients work closely with interns to identify and tailor professional development opportunities that align with their career goals. A portion of the grant is dedicated to the recipient’s recruitment and hiring endeavors and requires them to invest about 5% of the grant in an additional professional development activity. Since its launch, the program has grown from one to 50 annual awards, investing over $350,000 and impacting more than 100 students and nonprofits.

City/State: Ridgeland, MS
ABA Asset Size: Medium
Program Name: BankPlus Disaster Relief Program
In the wake of devastating Mississippi tornadoes in 2023, BankPlus launched a collaborative disaster recovery initiative that has become a replicable model for community-centered relief. Their approach combined grassroots partnerships, industry collaboration and financial expertise to deliver long-term support to those most in need. The bank worked with the Mississippi Bankers Association and other institutions to establish a secure giving channel in partnership with a local nonprofit, enabling widespread fundraising — raising nearly $700,000. As a certified CDFI, BankPlus guided six families through the FHLB Dallas grant application process, securing over $70,000 for critical home repairs. The bank also facilitated 10 business recovery grants totaling $200,000 and developed a forgivable loan product which helped 17 families transition from FEMA trailers to permanent housing.

City/Sate: Coudersport, PA
ABA Asset Size: Small
Program Name: Giving Back, Giving Together Program
Giving Back, Giving Together (GBGT) is C&N’s employee-led community giving program. Now celebrating its 10th anniversary, GBGT has raised over $850,000, donated more than 42,000 essential items and contributed 1,600+ volunteer hours supporting 245 nonprofits across Pennsylvania and New York. Each year, employees nominate a shared focus area and partner with local nonprofits of their choice, designing fundraisers, donation drives and awareness campaigns. In 2025, GBGT focused on supporting individuals and families affected by cancer. The bank raised over $108,000, donated 2,100 care items and volunteered 164 hours to 11 nonprofits working directly with patients.

City/State: Wilmington, NC
ABA Asset Size: Medium
Program Name: The Forward Fund Initiative: A Self-Sustaining Model for Career Advancement
Live Oak Bank made it their mission to raise household incomes in Wilmington, NC. The bank made a $1 million investment over five years to support the Forward Fund, a program that provides financial support for education and training to help individuals in Southeastern NC advance their careers. The "pay it forward" model — the first of its kind in North Carolina — creates a powerful cycle: people who receive training and land better jobs contribute back to the fund, enabling others to follow the same path. The result? More families earn better wages, more businesses finding the skilled workers they need and a stronger local economy that benefits everyone.

City/State: Louisville, KY
ABA Asset Size: Medium
Program Name: Alberta O. Jones Park Wi-Fi Project
The Parks Alliance of Louisville and Stock Yards Bank & Trust partnered to bring 5G Wi-Fi to Alberta O. Jones Park, making it the first park in west Louisville to offer free, high-speed internet access to all visitors. This connectivity was made possible through a $42,000 contribution from Stock Yards Bank & Trust. The Wi-Fi access allows parents to manage essential tasks, such as scheduling appointments, applying for jobs or accessing mobile banking, while their children play nearby. This project reflects a shared commitment to community connectivity, digital equity and honoring local history, while providing a valuable resource to residents of west Louisville.

City/State: Wheeling, WV
ABA Asset Size: Medium
Program Name: New Markets Impact Fund
WesBanco Bank launched the New Markets Impact Fund (NMIF) as a mission-driven initiative that reinvests interest income from loans made under the New Markets Loan Program (NMLP) to support low-income and economically distressed communities, as well as disadvantaged businesses. Funded through New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC), the NMIF provides investments, loans, lines of credit, deposits, grants and philanthropic contributions. Eligible applicants include CDFIs, NMTC-eligible entities, CDCs, minority- and women-owned financial institutions, community loan funds, non-profits and governmental or quasi-governmental tax-exempt entities. The NMIF supports programs that promote job creation and retention; provide childcare, education, health care, social services and workforce development; or revitalize communities through infrastructure, facilities and economic opportunities.

City/State: Terrell, TX
ABA Asset Size: Medium
Program Name: Keys to Your Future Program
Realizing the dire need for young people, especially in marginalized communities, to access financial education, the American National Bank of Texas formed the Keys to Your Future program. The bank partnered with EVERFI from Blackbaud, a leader in K-12 financial education, to teach nearly 1,500 students from 20 low- to moderate-income schools about important money management topics. The program’s reach spanned the Dallas and Mesquite Independent School Districts — reaching a wide range of students, of whom more than 97% identified as Hispanic, Latino, Black or African American. Thanks to the Keys to Your Future program, these students were provided key resources about personal finance and various post-secondary and workforce options.

City/State: Farmington, MO
ABA Asset Size: Small
Program Name: FSCB IMPACT
First State Community Bank is committed to the communities they serve — taking action through an initiative called FSCB IMPACT. FSCB IMPACT projects are annual bank-wide community service efforts that engage each employee to address critical community needs by supporting developmental goals and civic initiatives, including funding educational programs and aiding charitable and faith-based organizations. Employees volunteer their time to landscape, paint, prepare meals, teach financial literacy and more. Since FSCB IMPACT began in 2016, bank employees have contributed more than 17,750 volunteer hours for more than 202 organizations. Through these projects alone, First State Community Bank has gifted more than $875,000 to organizations within their communities.

City/State: Oakland, WV
ABA Asset Size: Small
Program Name: Finture®
Finture® is First United Bank & Trust’s comprehensive financial education initiative, created to empower individuals across our communities with the knowledge, tools and personalized support needed to achieve the financial future they seek. Through strong partnerships with local organizations, we deliver customized education programs, offer free online resources and provide one-on-one guidance for people of all ages and life stages. Beyond education, First United is committed to deepening its community impact by volunteering time and offering financial support through charitable giving and foundation grants that strengthen the partnerships that help our communities thrive.

City/State: Meredith, NH
ABA Asset Size: Small
Program Name: MVSB Middle School Business Loan Program
The MVSB Middle School Business Program, which began in 1996, is a community-focused, financial-education initiative aimed at letting young students experience the real-world dynamics of business, finance and entrepreneurship. As part of the program, students form teams to brainstorm business ideas and develop them into comprehensive business plans. If a panel approves their plans, the teams are granted loans to kick-start their projects. Students secure and manage these loans, equipping them with practical business skills and other financial literacy fundamentals including the responsibility of repaying loans, interest, and cost and profit. An example of a student project is “Adopt a Rock,” where students sold rocks as emotional support items.

City/State: Sturgis, MI
ABA Asset Size: Small
Program Name: School Savings Program
Since 1991, Sturgis Bank has partnered with schools across Southwest Michigan for the School Savings Program, with 15 schools currently enrolled and more on the horizon. Each week during the school year, bank representatives visit participating schools on designated Banking Days to help students open School Savings or Teen Checking accounts, collect deposits, encourage consistent saving habits and provide small incentives that make saving fun. To increase access, the bank recently expanded eligibility for the School Savings account. Previously limited to students at participating schools, now any child is eligible to open an account. In the past year, 150 new accounts were opened, bringing the total to 1,118 active accounts.

City/State: Honolulu, HI
ABA Asset Size: Medium
Program Name: Hui Kapili Accelerator
Hui Kapili — which means “building together” in Hawaiian — is a free, 10-week accelerator created by American Savings Bank and Hawaii Home + Remodeling Magazine to grow the capacity of small and mid-size construction-related businesses in Hawaii. Hui Kapili provides hands-on business education in strategic planning, financial management, workforce development, technology integration and social impact. Participants receive one-on-one consultations with senior ASB leaders, connect with industry experts and collaborate on real-world solutions to community needs. Hui Kapili equips skilled tradespeople with the business acumen needed to survive in a unique and highly competitive market. In place of a program fee, each participant completes a community service project, ensuring the program builds both economic and social resilience.

City/State: Ridgeland, MS
ABA Asset Size: Medium
Program Name: CreditPlus Program
BankPlus created the CreditPlus program in 2008 to address the financial challenges faced by unbanked and underbanked individuals in Mississippi — where predatory payday lending is widespread. CreditPlus offers a safe, affordable alternative: a small-dollar, short-term secured loan paired with a linked checking and savings account, designed to build credit and foster lasting financial independence. To qualify, participants must attend a three-hour financial literacy seminar based on the FDIC’s Money Smart curriculum. Led by BankPlus employees, these sessions emphasize budgeting, credit education and savings. Since its launch, CreditPlus has funded more than 35,700 loans totaling over $26 million. Participants have improved their credit scores by an average of 47 points, with some seeing gains over 100 points. Thousands of new checking and savings accounts tied to the program now hold over $5 million in balances.

City/State: Kansas City, MO
ABA Asset Size: Small
Program Name: Finance Makes Cents Program
Finance Makes Cents is a community-centered financial literacy program that Country Club Bank launched in April 2024 using the FDIC’s free and customizable Money Smart curriculum. The bank trained 23 employee volunteers — representing departments across the bank, including executive leadership — to deliver in-person workshops tailored to community needs. The first classes were delivered in October 2024. The program offers three personal finance sessions and six small-business modules targeting adults, especially those with limited access to financial education. Offered in English and Spanish and fully accessible via printed materials, the classes help participants build both foundational and practical knowledge.

City/State: Virginia Beach, VA
ABA Asset Size: Medium
Program Name: Fatherhood Program for Formerly Incarcerated Individuals
Since 2010, the mission of the Fatherhood Program is to generate awareness of the importance of a father’s participation in the lives of his children, and to promote social behavior and practice that monetary child support is not viewed as debt but as a responsibility. This program also provides males re-entering society from incarceration the opportunity to learn a trade, learn how to start a business (if desired), become financially literate, how to begin and/or improve their personal finances and provide generational wealth for their children and families, how to purchase a home and become good citizens in our society. Portsmouth Social Services and ESHR Inc. provide this program free of charge to any man living in the City of Portsmouth. The program is conducted in 10-week hybrid in-person and virtual meetings three times a year.

City/State: Washington, PA
ABA Asset Size: Small
Program Name: The Washington Financial Bank A Little LIFT Committee
A Little LIFT (ALL) is an innovative initiative developed in 2017 by Blueprints, a nonprofit organization. ALL identifies a program participant who has hit a barrier to self-reliance such as a need for new tires, broken appliances and family supplies (diapers, formula and clothing), which perpetuates the need for additional services and dependence on those services. The ALL initiative is an opportunity for community members or groups to easily prevent small problems from becoming catastrophes for local families. Recognizing the importance of ALL, the Senior Management Team of Washington Financial Bank created and funded The Washington Financial Bank A Little LIFT Committee that fulfills these needs through grants administered by a group of diverse bank employees.

City/State: Stamford, CT
ABA Asset Size: Medium
Program Name: Community-led Banking comeback in the Bronx
A community-led banking comeback in the Bronx: Lower East Side People’s Federal Credit Union Opens New Branch in the South Bronx When the community gathered in the Bronx, New York, on April 4, 2025 to celebrate the ribbon-cutting at the new brick and mortar branch of the Bronx People’s Federal Credit Union, an expansion site of Lower East Side People’s Federal Credit Union, Webster’s Corporate Responsibility team was there to help celebrate a unique chapter in the neighborhood’s comeback story. The chapter began in 2021 when four long-standing Bronx community housing groups came together to form the Bronx Financial Access Coalition (BxFAC). The coalition found a willing partner in Sterling Bank, which was in the process of its merger of equals with Webster Bank. In 2022 Webster began funding the coalition. Fast forward three years and today the Bronx People's Federal Credit Union represents a unique partnership and the tradition of community residents taking the lead in investing in their neighborhoods in ways that keep people in place while building wealth and ownership. The community event was an opportunity to celebrate the dedication, hard work and shared vision to bring quality and convenient banking services to the South Bronx.

City/State: Wheeling, WV
ABA Asset Size: Medium
Program Name: The Habitat for Humanity of Findlay/Hancock County Financial Opportunity Center
A program that began at Premier Bank but will continue at WesBanco Bank following their merger, the Habitat for Humanity of Findlay/Hancock County (HFH) Financial Opportunity Center (FOC) is an initiative focused on long-term financial empowerment for low- to moderate-income (LMI) families. Launched in April 2021, this FOC enables LMI clients to open traditional checking and savings accounts — an alternative to costly neobanks and pay cards. This partnership also led to the creation of the Gateway Loan, a matched savings credit-building tool designed in collaboration with Premier Bank that helps clients build credit while accumulating savings, giving them the confidence and capacity to plan for the future.

City/State: Bethany, MO
ABA Asset Size: Small
Program Name: BTC Bank Fraud Prevention
BTC Bank’s weekly fraud committee meeting and real-time fraud reporting through a reporting platform allows the institution to stay on top of fraud at our branches and determine what action to take. By staying updated, BTC is able to be proactive in educating employees and customers about fraud.

City/State: Wellsboro, PA
ABA Asset Size: Small
Program Name: MoneyArmor Program
C&N’s MoneyArmor Program unifies C&N’s fraud prevention, cybersecurity tools, customer education and employee training under one umbrella. It bridges generational gaps and fosters a culture of awareness, offering resources tailored to all ages, especially the specific needs of older adults, families and caregivers. Whether it’s learning how to spot phishing scams, understanding mobile app security, or using credit monitoring and financial oversight tools, MoneyArmor empowers individuals to protect themselves and each other in an increasingly digital world. The program is led by a dedicated internal team focused solely on cybersecurity education and fraud prevention. A key component of MoneyArmor is C&N’s partnership with Carefull, a financial monitoring platform that provides oversight for older adults and their caregivers.

City/State: Dallas, TX
ABA Asset Size: Small
Program Name: NDBTech Program
The NDBTech Program, which began as basic troubleshooting sessions for seniors, has grown into a fully formed curriculum designed to equip seniors at Willie B. Johnson Recreation Center with the skills needed to protect themselves and their finances. Digital literacy has now become a crucial component of financial literacy, and providing seniors with the knowledge to navigate the online world offers critical protection against common scams and financial exploitation. The program explores important topics such as elder financial abuse, common scams, identity theft and protection, artificial intelligence, mobile banking and online safety. NDBTech connects with seniors through presentations, engaging activities, and games that build their knowledge and independence.

City/State: McLean, VA
ABA Asset Size: Small
Program Name: Wrapping Our Seniors Up with Love
Wrapping Our Seniors Up with Love: How you — caregivers, bankers, and law enforcement — can prevent elder financial abuse Elder Financial Abuse has become a national crisis. According to the Department of Justice, 2.6 million persons 65 or older have been victims of identity theft but only one in 44 victims reports the crime. As fraud and cybercrime incidents rise, more and more criminals are targeting seniors. Diane Beirne, director of corporate social responsibility at Primis Bank, has collaborated with Alison Martin, assistant commonwealth’s attorney of Henrico County, local police and other organizations to educate seniors and their loved ones on the dangers of elder financial abuse, ways to identify common scams and how to safeguard your family. This public-private partnership is a unique initiative between the bank and the Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office.