When community banks talk about creating a better banking experience for account holders, it’s not simply a business proposition. Regional banks strive to give better products and services to people and businesses in their communities – neighbors and business owners, families and retirees, business leaders and teachers, little league coaches and firefighters – the people who make their communities what they are. When you do business with regional banks, you are working with organizations that actively invest in their communities.
Renasant Bank, Berkshire Bank and Camden National Bank, represented at Passerelle’s April 27 Regional Banking Roundtable, are no different. These community banks give back to their communities in a myriad of ways. Camden National Bank created Hope@Home – a program that gives $100 to homeless shelters for every new home it finances. The bank has donated more than $700,000 to more than 50 shelters in Maine, New Hampshire and Massachusetts since 2015. Renasant Bank leased its original corporate headquarters to a non-profit art museum for $1 a year and donated $250,000 to Georgia HEART Hospital Program in 2022. As part of Berkshire Bank’s BEST Community Comeback initiative, the regional banking leader made more than $2.8 million in philanthropic investments in Massachusetts, New York, Connecticut, Rhode Island and Vermont in 2022.
For our Regional Banking Roundtable, Passerelle is donating to nonprofits supported by our speakers and their banks. During the event, participants will be able to vote for their favorite nonprofit, and Passerelle will make an additional donation for every vote. Nonprofits selected by our panelists are:
Josh Nash, Camden National Bank
Hope@Home launched in 2015 when Greg Dufour, CNB’s President & CEO, saw a group of children in his hometown boarding the school bus from a local motel. He quickly realized this was because their families were living at the motel without anywhere else to sleep the night before. Immediately, he began consulting with local housing experts to create a program that would bring direct support to these families and children in need. Eight years later, with thousands of homes financed and over $700,000 donated, Camden Nation Bank is helping strengthen the fabric of the communities where its team members and account holders love to live, work, and play.
Troy Carmichael, Renasant Bank
The Boy Scouts of America (BSA) provides the nation’s foremost youth program of character development and values-based leadership training, which helps young people be “Prepared. For Life.®” The Greater Alabama Council of BSA serves 20 Counties in North & Central Alabama, operates 5 camping properties, and has 2 offices. It partners with schools, PTAs/PTOs, service clubs, religious organizations, local agencies, and more to offer programs in your area for girls and boys ages 6-21 that have been proven to foster and strengthen self-confidence, ethics, respect for others, academic skills, and leadership abilities that stay with them their entire lives.
Peter Love, Berkshire Bank
Dana-Farber cares for adults and children challenged with cancer, blood disorders, and related diseases. World-renowned specialists provide comprehensive and personalized care for each patient and support for their families. Specialized treatment centers are staffed by teams of experts who work closely together to offer patients the latest therapies and strategies, including access to innovative clinical trials. As a research hospital, Dana-Farber remains true to its founder, Sidney Farber, MD, and his vision of a cancer center that is just as dedicated to discoveries in cancer research as it is to delivering expert, compassionate care. Through strategic investment in research, Dana Farber supports scientific leaders and young investigators, develops new therapies, and ensures a spirit of collaboration and innovation.
Register today for the Regional Banking Roundtable. Panelists will discuss challenges facing regional banks today, what features they look for when making new technology investments, and how they foster adoption of new tools and measure success.