A financial literacy program to teach young people better money habits. Ongoing training for nonprofit leaders. A food and supplies drive for homeless military veterans, whose donations nearly reach the ceiling.
Those sound like they’re taken right from a community wish list for making the world a better place. In actuality, all of them and numerous other projects are taking place in Orange County as the result of Bank of America initiatives designed to answer pressing issues facing communities.
More Than Words
“For Bank of America, community commitment is the fabric of our being,” says Orange County Market President Allen Staff. “It’s not something we just came up with. Bank of America has always responded to customers’ needs and worked to give back locally to help our customers be more successful.”
The commitment and the effect it’s had on Orange County brought Bank of America the Business Journal’s first Civic 50 award in the large company category.
“Our ability to make a significant impact in communities around the globe depends on leveraging the full power of our company,” says Shari Battle, Orange County Enterprise Business & Community Engagement market manager, “Our size, scope, expertise, partnerships and reach gives us the ability to work with partners in all sectors on building stronger communities and more stable economies.”
Employees volunteer thousands of hours each year to local causes, bolstered by the bank’s program of giving two hours paid time off each week to every staffer, from top-level executives to the newest hire. One person might use the time to read to their children’s class. Another might decide delivering Meals on Wheels is the most impactful use of its two hours. Or an employee might take on a prominent role in the community—Staff, for example, still coaches a Pop Warner football team, though his children are grown.
Last year, employees in the Orange County market donated 40,000 hours to various causes throughout the community, according to Cami Briggs, Orange County human resources manager. At year-end, the company rewards each volunteer by donating grants of up to $500 in their name to the organization of their choice.
“We have a staff here in Orange County of approximately 4,500 people,” Briggs says. “Almost everybody, from the CEO on down, takes part in the volunteer program. It’s really special to see that—so many people excited to make a difference, and knowing they have such strong support to do so.”
Bank of America also sets up team bonding events centered on helping the community. “We used to go bowling or to dinner or something like that,” Briggs says. “Now every team builder is about helping others. One of our recent team builders, for instance, was cooking dinner for families at the Ronald McDonald House. We’ve also built homes for Habitat for Humanity.”
Acting on Needs
As impressive as the employee volunteerism is, it’s just the beginning. The company also developed several initiatives to help build thriving communities. The nationwide Neighborhood Builders, founded in 2004, awards high-performing local nonprofit groups with $200,000 grants in every market.
“Part of the award includes leadership training for two people from the nonprofit, an executive and an up-and-comer,” Battle says. Three times a year, OC market winners meet with those in other markets to learn how to develop stronger strategic plans, chart a succession plan, navigate tough economic times, and enhance funding opportunities.
Last year, Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Orange Coast was the Orange County recipient; past beneficiaries include Girls Inc., Kidsworks, Goodwill of Orange County and Think Together. Since the program’s inception, the bank says it’s invested more than $180 million in 900 nonprofit organizations across the U.S., providing leadership resources to nearly 2,000 nonprofit leaders.
Military veterans initiatives are also a priority, as illustrated by the company’s commitment to hiring veterans—10,000 vets came on board last year—and by its partnership with a Saddleback College program that provides services to homeless or near-homeless veterans as they attend college and work to put their lives back together.
“When they give a request, we totally run with it,” Briggs says. She points to the company’s recent supply drive as an example. “Everyone brought something in. Our entire conference room was filled with notebooks, pens, pencils, paper, Cup O’ Noodles … basically anything and everything a college student needs. We had stacks of supplies probably seven or eight feet high.”
Far-Reaching Impact
Given the nature of Bank of America’s business, it makes sense that there’s a vested interest in helping people become more financially savvy.
That’s why it partnered with Salman Khan, founder of online education resource center Khan Academy, to create Better Money Habits, a website where users find free tools and information to help them make smarter, more-confident financial decisions.
Taking the idea a step further, the bank partnered with California State University-Fullerton to bring the lessons and ideas into the classroom, where its associates volunteer to help students understand the intricacies of financial topics, such as credit, paying for college, planning for retirement. Chapman University and the University of California-Irvine are working with it to set up similar programs at their schools.
“What’s also great about this program is that many of the volunteers are actually alumni from these schools,” Staff says. “They’re back in the classroom, just in a new way.”
The company is “committed to being a true partner to the nonprofits we work with,” Staff says. It’s a long list that includes ACT Anaheim, Community SeniorServ, Consumer Credit Counseling, Families Forward, Mercy House, OneOC, South Coast Repertory, Special Olympics and Taller San Jose.
“It’s not just about writing a check and being done,” Staff says. “Think about the impact that helping just one person has. That person, the one you helped, goes on to affect others in a positive way, to help them. Then that person helps another … The dividends go way beyond that one person.”
