CINCINNATI--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Fifth Third Bancorp today announced $282,250 in grants from its Strengthening Our Communities Fund (SOC). Directed by Fifth Third’s Community and Economic Development department, the SOC is designated for Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) initiatives and programs to strengthen CRA lending, investment and service performance across the Company. Since its inception in 2011, the Fund has distributed nearly $3.5 million in the markets Fifth Third serves. Earlier this year, the first-round grants totaling $270,000 were announced.
Fifth Third created the Strengthening Our Communities Fund to provide additional Bank resources for local communities. Fifth Third Bancorp affiliates invite non-profit organizations to apply for funding and awards are made twice a year. The markets receiving funds in the second round of 2014 are: Chicago, Northeastern Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana, and Cincinnati.
“SOC funds enable us to make a direct impact in the communities we serve by enabling our local leadership to determine areas of greatest need,” said Camino Smith, senior vice president and director of Community and Economic Development, Fifth Third Bank. “We are excited to support positive actions through this SOC grant funding to help improve people’s lives.”
Contributions from the SOC must directly benefit low- and moderate-income individuals and/or geographies, designated disaster areas, or distressed or underserved non-metropolitan middle-income geographies. They must also have the primary purpose of community development.
Project descriptions for the markets include:
- Fifth Third Bank (Chicago) was awarded $80,000 to benefit two organizations: Accion Chicago, $40,000, for its small business development program; and Chicago Neighborhood Initiatives, Inc., $40,000 for its micro-finance group.
- Fifth Third Bank (Indiana) was awarded $100,000 for the Local Initiative Support Corporation (LISC) and its Platform Quality of Life program.
- Fifth Third Bank (Northeastern Ohio) was awarded $45,000 for three organizations: Community Building Partnership of Stark County, $15,000, to support Fifth Third Healthy Affordable Homes; Akron Summit Community Action, Inc., $15,000, for its YouthBuild initiative; and City Year, Inc. (Cleveland), $15,000, for its Whole School Whole Child initiative.
- Fifth Third Bank (Kentucky) was awarded $32,250 for Family Scholar House, Inc., for its Building Confidence Futures program. Family Scholar House’s mission is to end the cycle of poverty and transform communities by empowering success and long-term sufficiency for family and youth.
- Fifth Third Bank (Cincinnati) received $25,000 for the Over-the-Rhine Revitalization Corporation’s Business Innovation Grant Challenge program. The organization’s mission is to promote economic vitality and a socially and culturally diverse Over-the-Rhine neighborhood.
Fifth Third Bancorp is a diversified financial services company headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio. The Company has $134 billion in assets and operates 15 affiliates with 1,308 full-service Banking Centers, including 102 Bank Mart® locations, most open seven days a week, inside select grocery stores and 2,639 ATMs in Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana, Michigan, Illinois, Florida, Tennessee, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Missouri, Georgia and North Carolina. Fifth Third operates four main businesses: Commercial Banking, Branch Banking, Consumer Lending, and Investment Advisors. Fifth Third also has a 22.8% interest in Vantiv Holding, LLC. Fifth Third is among the largest money managers in the Midwest and, as of September 30, 2014, had $303 billion in assets under care, of which it managed $26 billion for individuals, corporations and not-for-profit organizations. Investor information and press releases can be viewed at www.53.com. Fifth Third’s common stock is traded on the NASDAQ® Global Select Market under the symbol “FITB.” Fifth Third Bank was established in 1858. Member FDIC.
