04/01/2013
RBS Citizens Financial Group kicks off National Financial Literacy Month by announcing $2 million in 2013 grants as part of new financial education initiative
Citizens Bank, Charter One and RBS Citizens to reach more than 100,000 consumers and small businesses in 2013 via Citizens Helping Citizens Teach Money Management program
PROVIDENCE, RI (April 1, 2013) – RBS Citizens Financial Group, Inc., today marked the beginning of National Financial Literacy Month by announcing $2 million in 2013 grants benefitting nonprofit financial education programs in communities served by Citizens Bank, Charter One and RBS Citizens.
In unveiling its new Citizens Helping Citizens Teach Money Management program, the bank will deliver $1 million in financial support to local nonprofits this month, with the remaining $1 million to follow through the year. Between this financial support and related colleague volunteer efforts, RBSCFG in 2013 will contribute to the financial education of more than 100,000 consumers and small businesses. Citizens Helping Citizens Teach Money Management also will include efforts to support the financial education of customers and communities through financial tips shared online, in branches and in social media.
"We know from the community partners with whom we work every day that there is a great need for wider awareness of the financial tools and techniques that individuals, families and small businesses can use to manage their financial future," said Ellen Alemany, Head of RBS Americas and Chief Executive Officer for RBSCFG. "We look forward to partnering with dozens of local organizations to make this happen through Citizens Helping Citizens Teach Money Management this year, and we are proud to see so many of our colleagues volunteering in their local communities as well."
Through Citizens Helping Citizens Teach Money Management, RBSCFG will work with national and local nonprofit partners to develop opportunities for Citizens Bank, Charter One and RBS Citizens colleagues to use their financial expertise to teach consumers and small businesses how to make smart financial decisions.
One of the local organizations involved in the effort, Crossroads Rhode Island, will use a $50,000 grant from the Citizens Charitable Foundation to create an enhanced financial education program for homeless men and women in RBSCFG's headquarters state.
"RBS Citizens Financial Group has been a valued partner to Crossroads Rhode Island for many years, and this new grant from the Citizens Charitable Foundation will enable us to provide our clients with the critical financial skills they need to establish and maintain stability in their lives," said Anne Nolan, president of Crossroads Rhode Island. "We are grateful for this support and proud to be involved in a program as comprehensive and far-reaching as Citizens Helping Citizens Teach Money Management."
Citizens Helping Citizens Teach Money Management gives consumers and small businesses the confidence and resources they need to budget, save, invest and be fiscally healthy. The initiative is part of the bank's broader Citizens Helping Citizens program addressing five key areas: hunger, housing, economic development, financial education and volunteerism. Get more information about RBS Citizens Financial Group's community initiatives online.
About Citizens Helping Citizens
Grounded in the belief that a good bank gives back to its community and to the people who live there, Citizens Helping Citizens is a program embracing the community goals of RBS Citizens Financial Group, Inc. – the commercial bank holding company serving consumer and small business customers as Citizens Bank and Charter One and commercial banking customers as RBS Citizens. The Citizens Helping Citizens program comprises five key initiatives supported directly by RBSCFG and also by its nonprofit charitable foundations, the Citizens Charitable Foundation and the Charter One Foundation: Citizens Helping Citizens Fight Hunger, Citizens Helping Citizens Provide Shelter, Citizens Helping Citizens Strengthen Communities (economic development), Citizens Helping Citizens Teach Money Management (financial education) and Citizens Helping Citizens Give (volunteerism and charitable donations). Across all of these initiatives, Citizens Helping Citizens strives to enhance quality of life and economic vitality in local communities.
About RBS Citizens Financial Group, Inc.
RBS Citizens Financial Group, Inc. is a $128 billion commercial bank holding company. It is headquartered in Providence, R.I., and through its subsidiaries has approximately 1,400 branches, approximately 3,600 ATMs and more than 19,000 colleagues. Its two bank subsidiaries are RBS Citizens, N.A., and Citizens Bank of Pennsylvania. They operate a 12-state branch network under the Citizens Bank brand in Connecticut, Delaware, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Vermont; and the Charter One brand in Illinois, Michigan and Ohio. RBSCFG has non-branch retail and commercial offices in more than 30 states. RBSCFG is owned by RBS (the Royal Bank of Scotland Group plc). RBSCFG's website is citizensbank.com.
