The Fifth Third Foundation has announced a total of $2.5 million in
grants from its Strengthening Our Communities Fund in 2017. The Fund
awards grants to designated nonprofit programs that support
homeownership, affordable housing, small business development and
financial stability for individuals and families. Programs in these
areas strengthen and stabilize communities and make them a better place
to live, work and thrive.
“The Strengthening Our Community grants are important because they
result in people’s lives being positively changed, and they allow
organizations the opportunity to expand their reach,” said Heidi Jark,
managing director, Fifth Third Foundation. “Through these grants, we are
able to continue building lasting relationships and help strengthen the
communities we serve.”
The fund in 2017 had an impact on more than 355 people through
neighborhood revitalization projects and nearly 5,200 people who
received workforce development and financial education services. More
than 1,640 households were assisted with resources for home repair and
rehab programs that helped senior citizens maintain their homes and
through homeowner assistance programs that helped people achieve the
American dream of homeownership. Nearly 2,200 more people were helped by
economic development programs, including technical assistance and
micro-lending for small businesses.
Fifth Third Bank’s Western Michigan region received $250,000 in SOC
grants. “We are humbled and grateful to be a Strengthening Our
Communities grant recipient alongside some outstanding organizations,
and to mobilize these funds in the Roosevelt Park neighborhood of Grand
Rapids,” said BriAnne McKee, executive director of Habitat for Humanity
of Kent County. “Fifth Third Bank’s generosity and commitment to
affordable housing and strong neighborhoods is bringing the neighbors of
Roosevelt Park one step closer to realizing their vision for their
neighborhood.”
Other organizations in the region that received SOC funds were the
Literacy Center of West Michigan, for linking their adult and financial
literacy programs, and Start Garden, for its Start Garden loan pool fund.
Nationally, SOC grants were awarded to nearly 60 organizations across
Fifth Third’s 10-state footprint. Some of those organizations in the
Bank’s regions included:
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Central Ohio ($250,000): Funds will be used by The United Way
of Central Ohio’s leadership academy; Partners Achieving Community
Transition’s home repair program; Community Development for All
People’s healthy neighborhoods and families program; the Ohio Minority
Supplier Development Council’s supplier diversity executive education
program; and Habitat for Humanity MidOhio’s Habitat Housing Initiative.
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Florida ($250,000): Funds will be used by the Central Florida
Urban League’s Meet the Bankers program; Affordable Homeownership
Foundation’s program for affordable housing for low-to-moderate income
home buyers with disabilities; Corporation to Develop Communities of
Tampa’s comprehensive asset building project; Florida Housing
Coalition’s nonprofit rental development capacity; Florida Gulf Coast
University’s growth acceleration and new market development
initiatives; the Hispanic Business Initiative Fund of Florida’s
technical assistance program; University of South Florida Foundation’s
Florida Small Business Development Center; and the Urban League of
Broward County’s Entrepreneurship Center.
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North Carolina ($150,000): Funds will be used by the North
Carolina Development Initiative’s Building Capacity and Meeting the
Need fund; Charlotte Mecklenburg Housing Partnership’s Homeownership
Center of Charlotte; Charlotte Housing Authority/CORE’s Destination
Homeownership program; Community Link’s VITA/Homeownership Asset
Building program; North Carolina Institute of Minority Economic
Development’s small business technical assistance program; and the
Renaissance West Community Initiative’s computer literacy training
program.
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Georgia ($100,000): Funds will go to the Urban League of
Greater Atlanta for its Housing and Community Development Program;
Georgia Advancing Communities Together for its Capacity Building
Initiative; Access to Capital for Entrepreneurs for the ACE Business
Advisory Services program; and the Atlanta Neighborhood Development
Partnership’s Neighborhood by Neighborhood Initiative.
“The Bank strives to improve lives by supporting programs and
initiatives that create strong, vibrant communities and provide pathways
to opportunity for as many people as possible,” said Byna Elliott,
senior vice president and director of Community and Economic
Development, Fifth Third Bank. “We are committed to creating strategic,
philanthropic community partnerships that align with programs and impact
focus areas for the purpose of empowering communities and the people in
them.”
The Fifth Third Foundation invites nonprofit organizations to apply for
SOC funding. Awards are made four times per year. Grant awards begin at
$25,000 and are for a one-year period.
About The Fifth Third Foundation
Established in 1948, the Fifth Third Foundation was the first
philanthropic foundation established by a financial institution. The
Fifth Third Foundation supports worthwhile organizations in the areas of
education, health and human services, community development and the arts.
About Fifth Third Bancorp
Fifth Third Bancorp is a diversified financial services company
headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio. As of Sept. 30, 2017, the Company had
$142 billion in assets and operated 1,155 full-service Banking Centers
and 2,465 ATMs in Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana, Michigan, Illinois, Florida,
Tennessee, West Virginia, Georgia and North Carolina. In total, Fifth
Third provides its customers with access to nearly 55,000 fee-free ATMs
across the United States. Fifth Third operates four main businesses:
Commercial Banking, Branch Banking, Consumer Lending and Wealth & Asset
Management. Fifth Third also has an 8.6 percent interest in Vantiv
Holding, LLC. Fifth Third is among the largest money managers in the
Midwest and, as of Sept. 30, 2017, had $348 billion in assets under
care, of which it managed $36 billion for individuals, corporations and
not-for-profit organizations through its Trust and Registered Investment
Advisory businesses. Investor
information and press
releases can be viewed at www.53.com.
Fifth Third’s common stock is traded on the Nasdaq® Global
Select Market under the symbol “FITB.” Fifth Third Bank was established
in 1858. Member FDIC.
Fifth Third
Danielle Jones, 513-534-0162
513-534-NEWS