09/22/2010

Applications for Citizens Bank Rhode Island and NBC 10 Champions in Action awards now available online

Four nonprofits to each receive $25,000 grant and media exposure in 2011

Providence, R.I. (September 22, 2010) - Citizens Bank and NBC 10 today announced the categories for the 2011 Champions in Action® program, which provides financial, volunteer and PR support to small nonprofits doing big things in the community. Economic Development, Food and Nutrition, Neighborhood Revitalization and Homelessness are the four areas of focus for 2011. Applications for the first quarter of 2011 are now being accepted and can be completed online at citizensbank.com/community/champions.

A nonprofit organization that focuses on economic development, which can include community revitalization and stabilization, small business support, workforce development or job creation, will be announced for the first quarter in January 2011. The application deadline for the Economic Development category is Friday, October 8, 2010 at 5 p.m.

Nonprofit organizations focused on the following areas will be selected in 2011:

  • Second quarter topic, Food and Nutrition, will be selected and announced in April 2011. The online application deadline is Friday, January 7, 2011 at 5 p.m.
  • Third quarter topic, Neighborhood Revitalization, will be selected and announced in July 2011. The online application deadline is Friday, March 25, 2011 at 5 p.m.
  • Fourth quarter topic, Homelessness, will be selected and announced in October 2011. The online application deadline is Friday, July 1, 2011 at 5 p.m.

Launched in 2002, the Champions in Action program is designed to recognize and support nonprofit organizations for their contributions to Rhode Island communities. A new champion that addresses the designated social concern is selected each quarter.

Through the Champions in Action program in Rhode Island, Citizens and NBC 10 have committed more than $2 million in grants and free TV airtime to organizations dedicated to workforce development, family support, environmental impact and other social issues.

Each Champion in Action receives:

  • A $25,000 contribution in unrestricted funds from the Citizens Bank Foundation.
  • Media coverage from NBC 10, including public service announcements and television profiles.
  • Volunteer support from Citizens and NBC 10 employees.
  • Public relations support.
  • Promotional support highlighting the Champion in Action in all Citizens Bank branches and on its ATMs.
  • Exposure on both Citizens Bank and NBC 10 Web sites.

Qualifications for being selected as a Champion in Action are:

  • Must be a Rhode Island-based, nonprofit organization that services Rhode Island and address the designated social concern for the quarter as a core focus of the organization’s mission.
  • A demonstrated history of strong fiscal responsibility and leadership.
  • An ability to show how the organization will make effective use of the support and resources being awarded.
  • A unique approach to dealing with the specific social concern.
  • Provide verification of tax-exempt status under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.
  • Have a total agency operating budget of $5 million or less.

For more information about the Champions in Action program, visit citizensbank.com/community

About 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 82 branches and 188 ATMs in Rhode Island.

RBS Citizens, N.A. is a subsidiary of Citizens Financial Group, Inc., a $140 billion commercial bank holding company headquartered in Providence, R.I. CFG’s 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. CFG has non-branch retail and commercial offices in about 40 states. CFG is owned by RBS (The Royal Bank of Scotland Group plc).

About NBC 10

WJAR-TV/DT is the most watched television station in the Providence-New Bedford television market and NBC 10 News is southern New England’s leading news station. WJAR was first launched as a radio station in 1922 and then became the market’s first television station in 1949. WJAR-TV/DT is owned by Media General, Inc.

About Media General

Media General is a multimedia company operating leading newspapers, television stations and online enterprises primarily in the Southeastern United States. The company’s publishing assets include three metropolitan newspapers, The Tampa Tribune, Richmond Times-Dispatch, and Winston-Salem Journal, 22 daily community newspapers in Virginia, North Carolina, Florida, Alabama and South Carolina, and more than 150 weekly newspapers and other publications. The company’s broadcasting assets currently include 30 network-affiliated television stations that reach more than 33 percent of the television households in the Southeast and more than 10 percent of those in the United States. The company’s interactive media assets include more than 75 online enterprises that are associated with its newspapers and television stations. Media General also owns a 33 percent interest in SP Newsprint Company, a manufacturer of recycled newsprint.