Fifth Third Bank, Northeastern Ohio, an affiliate of Fifth Third Bancorp, has 86 full-service locations and more than 140 ATMs in Northeastern Ohio and employs more than 850 people locally.
Fifth Third Bank, Northeastern Ohio, recently announced investments totaling $200,000 to five local nonprofit organizations. The investments will be used by the Akron Community Urban League, Esperanza Inc., Friends of Breakthrough, Inc., Neighborhood Progress, Inc. and University Park Alliance to support education, community development and economic revitalization initiatives throughout Northeastern Ohio.
The $200,000 investment was made possible by Fifth Third’s Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) Enterprise Investment Fund (EIF), which is designed to strengthen CRA lending, investment and service performance across the bank’s footprint. Contributions from the CRA EIF 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.
To date, Fifth Third has invested over $1,362,500 throughout the bank’s footprint through the CRA EIF Fund.
“Fifth Third Bank has a long-standing history of philanthropic giving as the first financial institution to establish a corporate foundation in 1948. We are committed to the wellbeing of our community and we are pleased to help make an impact on the lives of those in the neighborhoods we serve with these grants,” said Jerry Kelsheimer, president and CEO, Fifth Third Bank, Northeastern Ohio.
Fifth Third is partnering with these organizations because of a strong desire and capacity to improve communities. “We are excited to partner with organizations whose strategic initiatives are aligned with Fifth Third’s goal to assist underserved individuals and neighborhoods in need,” said Emmanuel T. Glover, senior vice president and director of Community Development. “We are proud to be able to make a difference in the community.”
Fifth Third’s investment with the Akron Community Urban League will assist in the development, growth, and sustainability of African-American and Hispanic owned small businesses.
Esperanza Inc.’s grant will be used to support the implementation of their new and vital strategic plan to improve education and increase the graduation rate among area high school students.
Friends of Breakthrough, Inc. will assist Breakthrough Charter Schools with meeting the funding gap they face per pupil and more importantly add to the quality of education experienced by the students. Breakthrough Charter Schools provides high-quality educational opportunities for children in Cleveland’s under-served neighborhoods and has successfully demonstrated that every child, no matter the circumstance, has the ability to achieve academic excellence and graduate from college.
Neighborhood Progress Inc. will utilize their grant to fund neighborhood development and economic revitalization projects through their successful Green Model Blocks Program. This initiative supports the City of Cleveland’s objective to eliminate vacant and abandoned properties in nine strategic neighborhoods throughout the City.
University Park Alliance (UPI) based in Akron will utilize their grant award to develop a strategic plan for the economic revitalization of a 50 square block area surrounding The University of Akron. This project will create affordable housing (including rentals), renovate existing housing and provide retail development in the University Park neighborhood on Akron’s Westside. When completed, this development will act as a catalyst to stimulate economic development throughout University Park and Downtown Akron.
Fifth Third Bank, Northeastern Ohio, an affiliate of Fifth Third Bancorp, has 86 full-service locations and more than 140 ATMs in Northeastern Ohio and employs more than 850 people locally.
Fifth Third Bancorp is a diversified financial services company headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio. The company has $115 billion in assets and operates 15 affiliates with 1,314 full-service Banking Centers, including 103 Bank Mart locations open seven days a week inside select grocery stores and 2,437 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 49 percent interest in Vantiv, LLC, formerly Fifth Third Processing Solutions, LLC. Fifth Third is among the largest money managers in the Midwest and, as of September 30, 2011, had $273 billion in assets under care, of which it managed $23 billion for individuals, corporations and not-for-profit organizations.
