BATESVILLE, Ark.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Located at the foothills of the Ozarks Mountain range is Arkansas’ oldest surviving city, Batesville. Batesville’s picturesque downtown area is encircled by the White River, and while natural beauty surrounds the area, the buildings and storefronts in downtown Batesville have needed some help recently.
Thanks to $16,000 in Partnership Grant Program (PGP) funds to Main Street Batesville from Merchants and Planters Bank and the Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas (FHLB Dallas), efforts to revitalize the Batesville downtown area will be expanded. The funds will be used for organizational capacity building and contractual services, including funding the second phase of a new park space.
Representatives from the banks were joined by Main Street Batesville leadership at a check presentation yesterday announcing the grant. Main Street Batesville Executive Director Shannon Haney, who found out about the grant program through Merchants and Planters Bank, said the grant funds will be put to good use.
“Our greatest recent accomplishment is the update to the cityscape, through which we installed 43 new green spaces, new parking and paving,” she said. “The PGP allows us to continue to beautify the downtown area, as well as open up possibilities we wouldn’t have had without the grant.”
Merchants and Planters Bank’s Vice President of Marketing Tara Salinas emphasized Merchants and Planters Bank’s commitment to supporting the community.
“The Partnership Grant Program allows us to reinvest in the community, which is our responsibility as a community bank,” said Ms. Salinas. “We are thankful for financial partners such as FHLB Dallas, who help us make an impact in the community we hold so dear.”
The structure of the PGP enables FHLB Dallas member institutions like Merchants and Planters Bank to make a contribution of $500 to $4,000 to a community-based organization (CBO), which FHLB Dallas will match at a 3:1 ratio. In 2017, FHLB Dallas awarded $300,000 in Partnership Grant Program (PGP) funds through 31 member institutions to assist 30 community-based organizations. Combined with the $104,550 contributed by FHLB Dallas members, a total of $404,550 was awarded to the organizations.
“Partnership is the cornerstone of the Partnership Grant Program,” said Bruce Hatton, vice president and Affordable Housing Program manager at FHLB Dallas. “This wouldn’t be possible without the participation of our members such as Merchants and Planters Bank.”
Ms. Haney said she is thankful for the grant.
“In the past, we’ve been able to stretch every grant dollar we received and we have every intention of making it worthwhile to the banks who have entrusted us with this gift,” she said.
To learn more about the PGP, visit fhlb.com/pgp.
About Merchants and Planters Bank
M&P Community Bancshares, Inc. currently has assets exceeding $250 million and is the holding company for Merchants and Planters Bank and M and P Insurance and Investment Services. Merchants and Planters Bank has offices serving the communities of Batesville, Des Arc, McCrory, Newport, Newark, Searcy, Southside and Swifton. For more information, please visit www.mandp.bank.
About the Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas
The Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas is one of 11 district banks in the FHLBank system created by Congress in 1932. FHLB Dallas, with total assets of $62.9 billion as of June 30, 2017, is a member-owned cooperative that supports housing and community development by providing competitively priced advances and other credit products to approximately 850 members and associated institutions in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico and Texas. Visit fhlb.com for more information.
