HYANNIS – The Cooperative Bank of Cape Cod announced the launch of a new foundation on Thursday.
The bank has created The Cooperative Bank of Cape Cod Foundation Trust.
Bank employees, Foundation Trustees, members from the Bank’s Board of Directors and area residents gathered for a celebration where four initial grants, totaling $45,000, was awarded to local, non-profit organizations.
“The Coop Foundation will allow us to expand upon the bank’s 97-year tradition of giving back to the community,” said Lisa Oliver, President and CEO of The Cooperative Bank of Cape Cod.
“The Coop Foundation brings an additional component to our Charitable Giving Program and solidifies and formalizes our commitment to give back to the community. While we’ll continue to sponsor events and organizations through the Bank’s Corporate Giving, The Foundation will extend and increase the reach of our philanthropy by providing earmarked funds that will increase as the assets of the Trust grows, regardless of the net earnings of the Bank.”
Grants will be given to 501(c)(3) organizations that enhance quality of life through programs and initiatives that meet the fundamental needs and challenges of the communities the bank serves.
The Bank has identified the five core areas of impact that will be initially considered for grants as economic development and self-sufficiency, community vitality and sustainability, thriving youth and families, education and learning, and health and human care.
“The Coop Foundation will award grants to non-profit foundations that enhance the quality of life through their programming and their scope of work,” explained Cooperative Bank of Cape Cod Senior VP Lee Ann Hesse.
“We worked hard to come up with five areas of impact that will help us assess grants and to determine what our investment in the community will look like.”
Four initial grants were awarded during the reception to organizations across the Cape that qualify for at least one of the areas of impact.
The Boys Scouts of America Cape & Islands Council received $5,000 to fund a new Welcome and Education Center at historic Camp Greenough in Yarmouth. Additionally, The Foundation pledged to donate an additional $5,000 each year for the following four years.
The Cotuit Center for the Arts was awarded $10,000 to support the Center’s Capital Campaign to redevelop the campus and build upon the newly purchased 1.5 acres. The Foundation pledged to donate an additional $10,000 each year for the following four years.
The Falmouth Housing Trust got $25,000 to fund renovations and repairs at the Gerald Flynn House.
The Lower Cape Outreach Council, received $5,000 to continue to families on the Lower Cape struggling financially.
The celebration took place at around 4:00 p.m. at the West End in Hyannis“When we say, ‘The Cooperative Bank of Cape Cod is a community bank,’ we’re really telling you a story in a nutshell.”
“Community banks are also often defined as being small, but we prefer to call it local,” Oliver added.
“We have a simple business model. Deposits that customers make at The Coop go back directly to Cape Codders. From loans that help start new businesses, grow businesses, to help businesses dream and expand, to helping people with mortgages.”
By TIM DUNN, CapeCod.com News Center
About CapeCod.com NewsCenter
