04/30/2013
Citizens Bank Foundation awards $40,000 to Comprehensive Community Action Program
Partnership aims to increase financial literacy across the state
Cranston, RI (April 30, 2013) – As part of National Financial Literacy Month, the Citizens Bank Foundation today announced a $40,000 grant to expand the financial literacy programs of the Comprehensive Community Action Program (CCAP). This grant will be used to create the Citizens Bank Foundation FIRST (Financial Information, Resources and Technology) Academy, which will provide comprehensive tools to help low-income people gain the skills and competencies needed to better manage their finances.
The grant is part of Citizens Bank’s new program, Citizens Helping Citizens Teach Money Management. through which the bank is providing $2 million in financial support to local nonprofits throughout its 12-state footprint this month and throughout the year.
“This partnership will support CCAP’s efforts to break the cycle of poverty and promote economic self-sufficiency,” said Ned Handy, President, Citizens Bank, Rhode Island. “Citizens recognizes the need for access to financial education, and we are pleased to be able to provide both financial and volunteer support to CCAP.”
“The Citizens Bank Foundation understands community need and the importance of this new program, said Joanne McGunagle, Executive Director of CCAP. “ We will now have an opportunity to provide much-needed education to our clients on how to manage their financial resources. In the end, that is the way out of poverty and we are truly grateful to the Citizens Bank Foundation for this grant.”
In further support of the partnership, Citizens’ 2013 Community Service Sabbatical recipient, Ana McNamara, will spend three months working full-time at CCAP. Citizens’ Community Service sabbatical is a paid, three-month leave of absence that allows colleagues to work full-time with nonprofit organizations in the community. McNamara, an Attleboro, MA resident and risk management specialist at Citizens, will use her professional skills and expertise to help CCAP with the creation of the Citizens Bank Foundation FIRST Academy as well as other financial education programs offered by the organization.
About the Citizens Bank
Citizens Bank is a division of RBS Citizens, N.A., operating its seven-state branch network in Connecticut, Delaware, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island and Vermont. It has 253 branches and 744 ATMs in Massachusetts.
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 is citizensbank.com and charterone.com 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 the Comprehensive Community Action Program
The Comprehensive Community Action Program, or CCAP, is a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing a variety of supportive social services to disadvantaged people, designed to promote personal and economic self-sufficiency. Serving more than 20,000 clients, CCAP is the second largest Community Action Program in Rhode Island. CCAP’s website is www.comcap.com.
