04/03/2017

Citizens Bank Announces $110,000 in Contributions to Organizations in Cleveland and Northern Ohio through the Citizens Helping Citizens Manage Money Initiative

Donation to help local organizations provide training and tools to help students, residents, workers make responsible financial decisions and plan better for the stages of life

 

As part of its ongoing commitment to give consumers the confidence and tools they need to be fiscally healthy, Citizens Bank announced today that 10 nonprofit organizations in Cleveland and Northern Ohio will receive $110,000 in contributions as part of the Citizens Helping Citizens Manage Money financial literacy initiative.

 

“We are helping our customers bank better by improving their financial literacy. Learning how to manage money is the first step individuals can take in achieving their financial goals,” said Joe DiRocco, president, Citizens Bank, Ohio. “With Citizens Helping Citizens Manage Money, we are providing resources to give our fellow citizens the confidence and tools they need to budget, save, invest and be fiscally healthy.”

 

April is National Financial Literacy Month.  Funding recipients in the Cleveland and Northern Ohio region - which includes Cleveland, Akron, Youngstown, Canton and Toledo - are:

  • Growth Opportunity Partners, Inc., $35,000. The funds will support financial education for Northeast Ohio’s most promising job-creating small businesses, operating in primarily low- and moderate-income, under-resourced communities.
  • Economic and Community Development Institute Inc., $20,000. The funds will support financial literacy workshops for entrepreneurs and small business owners.
  • University Circle Inc., $15,000. The funds will support the Financial Essentials for Small Business Owners program.
  • Community Building Partnership of Stark County, $10,000. The funds will support workshops for Stark County residents as they travel the path of not only purchasing their own home but learning how to become fiscally responsible.
  • Enterprise Community Partners, $10,000. The money will be used for the Cuyahoga Earned Income Tax Credit Coalition, which provides free tax preparation and access to one-on-one financial counseling for low-income families.
  • Empowering and Strengthening Ohio’s People, $5,000. The money will go to the Senior Financial Empowerment Initiative, financial capabilities programs for low-to-moderate income seniors in Northeast Ohio.
  • Home Repair Resource Center, $5,000. The money will be used for a comprehensive financial literacy and education program for prospective homebuyers.
  • Junior Achievement of North Central Ohio, $5,000. Funds will go to an elementary school program in the Akron Public School District.
  • Junior Achievement of Northwestern Ohio, $3,000. Funds will go to a program for seventh-graders in Toledo schools.
  • Junior Achievement of Mahoning Valley, $2,000. Funds will go to a program for eighth-graders in Ashtabula, Columbiana, Mahoning and Trumbull counties. 

Michael Jeans, president and CEO of Growth Opportunity Partners, said the Citizens grant will help his organization offer financial education and support to both business owners and residents in the economically disadvantaged areas they serve in and around Cleveland. “Our organization provides education and capital to small businesses,’’ he explained, “but we also make financial education available to the people who live in the communities where those businesses are located.’’

 

Jeans said the organization focuses on business projects that offer employees “meaningful wage jobs. Our priority is not to fund a project that creates 30 minimum wage jobs. The market has a sufficient supply of those jobs. At Growth Opps, we focus on the quality of the job, which begins with access to a better wage, with an opportunity to participate in other company benefits as well.’’

 

Nonprofit organizations from across the bank’s 11-state footprint were chosen in a competitive application process based on their track record of success providing financial education programs, clear and measurable goals for the program and a demonstration to incorporate sustainability in their program plans.

 

Citizens Helping Citizens Manage Money is part of the bank’s broader Citizens Helping Citizens program, which addresses four key areas: hunger, economic development, financial education and volunteerism.

 

Leveraging the financial expertise of its bankers and its partnerships with local nonprofits focused on financial education, the Citizens Helping Citizens Manage Money program this year includes $1.4 million in donations to 80 nonprofits and volunteer outreach by more than 400 trained Citizens colleagues to teach financial literacy in communities throughout the bank’s footprint.

 

Throughout the year, Citizens Helping Citizens Manage Money is expected to improve the financial acumen of more than 260,000 individuals seeking a better understanding of financial topics ranging from the basics of checking accounts to the intricacies of household budgeting and long-term financial planning.

 

Citizens has launched a new Financial Fundamentals hub on its website (www.content.citizensbank.com/financialfundamentals) to provide consumers with information on budgeting and saving, home ownership, protecting identity, and more. The bank is also inviting those interested in learning more about money management to join a “Make It Count” challenge on its Facebook page throughout the month of April to learn and share tips about topics such as goal-setting, saving, and managing credit.

 

For additional information on Citizens Helping Citizens Manage Money, visit Citizens’ website. 

About Citizens Financial Group, Inc.

Citizens Financial Group, Inc. is one of the nation’s oldest and largest financial institutions, with $149.5 billion in assets as of December 31, 2016. Headquartered in Providence, Rhode Island, Citizens offers a broad range of retail and commercial banking products and services to individuals, small businesses, middle-market companies, large corporations and institutions. In Consumer Banking, Citizens helps its retail customers “bank better” with mobile and online banking, a 24/7 customer contact center and the convenience of approximately 3,200 ATMs and approximately 1,200 Citizens Bank branches in 11 states in the New England, Mid-Atlantic and Midwest regions. Citizens also provides wealth management, mortgage lending, auto lending, student lending and commercial banking services in select markets nationwide. In Commercial Banking, Citizens offers corporate, institutional and not-for-profit clients a full range of wholesale banking products and services including lending and deposits, capital markets, treasury services, foreign exchange and interest hedging, leasing and asset finance, specialty finance and trade finance. 

Citizens operates through its subsidiaries Citizens Bank, N.A., and Citizens Bank of Pennsylvania as Citizens Bank, Citizens Commercial Banking and Citizens One. Additional information about Citizens and its full line of products and services can be found at www.citizensbank.com.