IRVINE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Opus Bank (“Opus”) (NASDAQ: OPB) is proud to announce it has been recognized in the Civic 50 Orange County as one of the most community-minded companies in Orange County, California by OneOC, Points of Light, and the Orange County Business Journal.
Stephen H. Gordon, Chairman, Chief Executive Officer, and President of Opus Bank, stated, “We take tremendous pride in seeing Opus Bank recognized for this honor. This is a recognition earned by our team members, who spend countless hours volunteering in their communities, and by our company for recognizing and encouraging these efforts to enrich the communities in which we operate.” Gordon continued, “To be included alongside 49 other remarkable companies, all champions of corporate engagement, is a cultural achievement of which we are immensely proud.”
To encourage and support community philanthropy, the Opus Community Foundation was established concurrently with Opus Bank. Its mission is to have an impact on the lives of children and families living and working in Opus Bank’s service areas through grant awards, matching gift donations, and volunteer service. The Opus Community Foundation awarded 210 grants to Orange County nonprofits since inception, in addition to numerous others across the western region. Opus team members, together with the Opus Community Foundation through its matching gifts program, have provided financial support to 349 charities nationally.
Throughout the year, Opus inspires team members to continue strengthening their communities by giving generously of their own time and compassion through the “Great Works” volunteer program. Company organized efforts include serving food to the hungry, tutoring at-risk youth, teaching financial literacy, providing job skills training, organizing food and school supply drives, and restoring nature preserves. Team members also mobilize through board service at numerous local nonprofits including Mary Erickson Community Housing, Boys and Girls Clubs of Central Orange Coast, United Way, California Council on Economic Education, and many more.
Katie Ellis, Executive Director of the Opus Community Foundation, added, “We are honored by our inclusion on the Civic 50 and are fortunate at Opus to have team members who are generous with their time, leadership skills, and donations; all of which make meaningful differences in the communities in which we serve here in Orange County, as well as up and down the West Coast.” Ellis concluded, “Opus’ Great Works team continually searches out opportunities to inspire, ignite, and unite our team members, clients, and communities to maximize the benefits and impact from their efforts to enrich the lives of those in our communities.”
Community engagement is also encouraged through Opus’ internship program. Over the past two years, 22 college aged students and 14 high school students gained experience in their selected field working side by side with senior management. They also attended professional job training sessions called “Opus U,” and wrote and presented grant awards to the Foundation Board of Directors for funding. In addition, each high school student was paired with a college mentor to further engage and inspire them to pursue their career.
The Civic 50 Orange County winners are public and private Orange County companies and are selected based on four dimensions of their U.S. community engagement program:
- Investment: How extensively and strategically does the company apply its resources to community engagement in the United States, including employee time and skills, cash, in-kind giving and leadership?
- Integration: How does the company integrate their U.S. community engagement programs into key business functions, including employee engagement, marketing/PR, diversity and inclusion, recruiting, stakeholder relations and skill-development?
- Institutionalization: How does the company support community engagement in the United States through organizational policies, systems and incentives?
- Impact: How does the company measure the social and business impact of their U.S. community engagement program?
The Civic 50 measures corporate civic engagement and recognizes companies that incorporate socially-responsible practices and community leadership into their culture. A working group of leading researchers, industry thought leaders and corporate advisors provided strategic guidance on the program's objectives, including defining indicators, developing methodology, and identifying partners and participants. The Civic 50 is the only survey and ranking system that exclusively measures corporate involvement in communities.
About Civic 50 Orange County
Since 2012, The Civic 50, an initiative of Points of Light, has recognized the 50 most community-minded companies in the nation each year as determined by an annual survey developed by True Impact. For the first time in a local market, the Orange County Business Journal presents the Civic 50 Orange County in partnership with OneOC, which recognizes the 50 most community-minded small, medium, and large Orange County companies.
About OneOC
OneOC is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization committed to accelerating nonprofit success through volunteer, training, consulting and business services. Serving Orange County, California, OneOC provides support and solutions to more than 750 nonprofit organizations and community initiatives each year. In 2015, OneOC launched its Center for Business and Community Partnerships, a one-stop shop that provide smart, easy and impactful giving and volunteering services to companies. OneOC is affiliated with Points of Lights Institute, enabling participation in national community service initiatives and connection to a larger movement of change. For more information, visit www.OneOC.org.
About Points of Light
Points of Light, the world’s largest organization dedicated to volunteer service, mobilizes millions of people to take action that is changing the world. Through affiliates in 250 cities and partnerships with thousands of nonprofits and corporations, Points of Light engages four million volunteers in 30 million hours of service each year. We bring the power of people where it’s needed most. For more information, visit www.pointsoflight.org.
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About Opus Bank
Opus Bank is an FDIC insured California-chartered commercial bank with $7.7 billion of total assets, $5.2 billion of total loans, and $6.3 billion in total deposits as of June 30, 2017. Opus Bank provides superior ideas and solutions, and banking products to its clients through its Retail Bank, Commercial Bank, Merchant Bank and Correspondent Bank. Opus Bank offers a suite of treasury and cash management and depository solutions and a wide range of loan products, including commercial, healthcare, public finance, media and entertainment, corporate finance, multifamily residential, commercial real estate and structured finance, and is an SBA preferred lender. Opus Bank offers commercial escrow services and facilitates 1031 Exchange transactions through its Escrow and Exchange divisions. Opus Bank provides clients with financial and advisory services related to raising equity capital, targeted acquisition and divestiture strategies, general mergers and acquisitions, debt and equity financing, balance sheet restructuring, valuation, strategy and performance improvement through its Merchant Banking Division and its broker-dealer subsidiary, Opus Financial Partners, LLC, Member FINRA/SIPC. Opus Bank’s alternative asset IRA custodian subsidiary has $15 billion of custodial assets and approximately 50,000 client accounts, which are comprised of self-directed investors, financial institutions, capital raisers and financial advisors. Opus Bank operates 51 banking offices, including 31 in California, 17 in the Seattle/Puget Sound region in Washington, two in the Phoenix metropolitan area of Arizona and one in Portland, Oregon. Opus Bank is an Equal Housing Lender. For additional information about Opus Bank, please visit our website at: www.opusbank.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
This release may include forward-looking statements related to Opus Bank’s plans, beliefs and goals, which involve certain risks, and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. The forward-looking information presented in this press release is not a guarantee of future events, and actual events may differ materially from those made in, or suggested by, the forward-looking information contained in this press release. Forward-looking statements generally can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as “intend” or “expect” or variations thereon or similar terminology. All such statements speak only as of the date made, and Opus undertakes no obligation to update or revise publicly any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
