Alliance Bank, Francesville, and First Savings Bank, Jeffersonville, have been honored with the Indiana Bankers Association Commitment to Community Awards for outstanding community service performed during 2019.
The nomination for the $340 million Alliance Bank cited its civic community engagement as well as philanthropic efforts. The bank enlisted other local institutions for a “We’ve Got Spirit, How About You?” social media challenge when a local high school headed to state finals in girls basketball. It donated a total of $55,000 to economic development and educational organizations, as well as scholarships to students and funds to fire departments, food banks and parks. Other recipients of the bank’s largesse include United Way community foundations, libraries, schools, veterans’ organizations, youth recreation, and arts and historical preservation groups.
Alliance staff contribute to these efforts by actively identifying gifting priorities, initiating acts of giving and holding “Giving Tuesdays,” which engage staff in local philanthropy. The bank also supports financial literacy through Junior Achievement and by maintaining a junior board of directors to give hands-on board experience to local high school students.
In 2019 the $1.7 billion First Savings gifted $445,151 to nonprofits across its footprint and volunteered more than 7,200 hours to help 407 organizations. Causes include financial literacy, service on nonprofit and community development boards, and volunteering at homeless shelters. It was named Most Generous Medium-Sized Company by Louisville Business First.
The bank’s charitable foundation, First Savings Charitable Foundation, focuses on financial literacy and has awarded more than $280,000 in grants in 2019 in the southern Indiana and Louisville metro areas, totaling more than $1.38 million in grants since its inception.
Employees also contribute to community outreach, with their default log-in screens featuring a thermometer graphic showing overall progress toward the bank’s annual service hour goal. The bank also has an employee-led and funded charity fund.
Alliance Bank won in the category of banks with assets below $500 million; other finalists in the category were Bedford Federal Savings Bank and Community First Bank of Indiana, Kokomo. First Savings Bank won in the category of banks with assets of $500 million and above; other finalists were Merchants Bank of Indiana, Carmel, and Peoples Bank, Munster.
“The Indiana Bankers Association applauds all of the banks that submitted nominations for the 2019 C2C Awards,” said IBA President and CEO Amber Van Til. “These nominations share the story of banks’ helping to build better communities.”
The IBA created the C2C Awards in 2018 to celebrate exceptional bank outreach and to raise public awareness of the diverse ways that banks support the communities they serve. Twenty-five banks submitted nominations for the 2019 C2C awards, providing a sampling of statewide community service performed by the more than 100 IBA member banks.
The award announcements were made on Nov. 17 during the IBA’s virtual Mega Reimagined conference.