16 SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER 2020 The objectives are: to provide quality entertainment and cultural opportunities in one central location; to demonstrate the potential of the Courthouse Plaza, constructed as part of an area revitalization effort; and to encourage business in downtown Greenfield by attracting people to the area on Friday evenings throughout June and July. At all performances, the bank has four to six employees in attendance to hand out schedules, engage attendees and assist with seating. Each week, a different bank officer introduces the performances. The first year of the program, approximately 3,000 members of the community attended 13 performances, with more recent seasons averaging a total of 8,000 to 10,000 attendees. Horizon Bank, Michigan City In 2019 Horizon Bank donated over $500,000 to hundreds of organizations with a focus on housing efforts, education and children. Its Diversity and Inclusion Business Council directs bank-wide initiatives and outreach. The bank is active in the Diversity Roundtable and last year opened a bilingual branch to provide financial solutions to Spanish-speaking customers. The bank also offers charitable grants through its Horizon Cares program that supports education, economic development, arts and housing efforts. Additionally, the bank operates two school branches that give job and scholarship opportunities to students, and staff also conduct a nine-week financial literacy workshop. Other educational outreach includes a workshop series to teach area high school students about banking and first-time homebuying. Further initiatives include loan and deposit programs such as Home Pride Mortgage, Fresh Start Loan and Fresh Start Checking; and a partnership with the Federal Home Loan Bank of Indianapolis to provide grants for down payment, rehab and accessibility modification. Merchants Bank of Indiana, Carmel A longtime supporter of affordable housing and community building, Merchants Bank of Indiana works with King Park Development Corp. to serve Indianapolis neighborhoods in need of: quality homes for all income levels; affordable homebuying options for those who earn less than 80% of the area median income; and a loan fund to provide for future homeownership programs. To address these needs, the bank designed HomeSmart, a loan program that would meet the 30% affordability requirement in place for Indianapolis projects. The bank also provides employees opportunities for community service, such as MPACT Service Day to develop affordable housing in surrounding neighborhoods, Habitat for Humanity rehabilitation projects, and backpack giveaways for students. The MPACT Program supports the initiative of Positively Advancing Communities Together through employee volunteer service hours. At the time of award submission, the bank was sill tracking 2019 data, but in the prior year more than 50 employees logged a total of 520 volunteer hours. The National Bank of Indianapolis The National Bank of Indianapolis partners with 300+ organizations, including United Way of Central Indiana to identify groups in need. Examples of support are providing: 1,000+ snack kits for children; 400+ items for a toy drive; more than two tons of canned goods for Meals on Wheels; 2,000+ school supplies to Teachers’ Treasures; reduced-cost banking services to nonprofit organizations; and job interview training through Dress for Success and Goodwill. Each employee is given one paid workday annually to volunteer at a nonprofit of choice, in total donating 1,500+ hours within a one-year span. Outreach includes financial literacy, with the bank providing space, materials and dinner to teach young people in foster care or recently emancipated about budgeting and writing checks. The bank’s workforce also makes up one of the largest volunteer driving teams for Meals on Wheels. Since its inception, the bank has provided more than $11 million in direct financial support to community needs. Peoples Bank, Munster “Community” is one of the four pillars of the core values of Peoples Bank, which allows employees to volunteer during work hours when possible and highlights staff community service at an annual dinner. Outreach includes participation in the Voluntary Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program for qualifying individuals/households. The bank also hosts two free shred days each year. Another example is the bank’s financial education program, implemented in partVolunteers from the Lima Road branch of Horizon Bank donate time and talent to the community. Photo by Jeffrey Crane, Business People. Merchants Bank of Indiana employees lend building skills through the bank’s MPACT program. Staff of The National Bank of Indianapolis build an accessibility ramp through Servants at Work Inc.
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