Change Your Mindset #14- Community involvement means more than serving the community – become visibly involved

It is typical of community banks to assume that they are involved in their community, simply because they have a local branch serving the area. While most financial institutions claim to have a commitment and involvement in the community, the question remains what is considered true community involvement?

Community involvement goes beyond sponsorships and donations. These monetary contributions need to be reinforced with visible community activity that requires time and hands on volunteering, working side by side with members of your community.

By becoming visibly involved, banks can begin to stand out and gain the attention of the local community. It is important to choose a community activity that matches your bank’s message and goal as an institution. For example, if your bank’s objective is to help customers achieve home ownership, it would make sense to become involved in a community project like Habitat for Humanity, where the bank is helping others realize the dream of having a home. Community activities can turn into an opportunity, for essentially, free publicity. Local newspapers or television stations may publicize the event, and you will be able to showcase your involvement and commitment to the community.

Umpqua Bank is an example of an institution that has taken the spirit of community involvement above and beyond monetary donations and sponsorships. Umpqua offers a true commitment of employee time and not only community involvement, but a since of community unity. The community service motto is “together making a difference where we live and work”. The phrase creates a feeling of connectedness within the community and provides a sense that it is everyone’s responsibility to make the community better.

Umpqua created the Connect Volunteer Network, which provides full time employees up to 40 hours of paid volunteer time a year during work hours. The volunteer programs are focused primarily on youth, education, and community development. There is a running tally on the website that shows the number of hours bank employees have given to the “communities we serve”.

Umpqua is an example of a large institution, but it can be accomplished on a smaller scale. Iowa State Savings Bank in Creston, IA (assets of $112 mil.) is an example of a community bank that focuses its efforts on becoming visible in the area. The tagline throughout the website is “Bankers make great volunteers”. In this way, the bank’s ongoing community commitment is showcased on every page of the website, as opposed to being buried in the “About Us” section.

Iowa Sate Savings Bank realized that education issues were very important to their customers, so it began participating in community projects to improve youth development. The Bank partnered with Youth Plus and created the Excellence in Education Program, to reward people who are helping to improve education. It also started a program to send employees to volunteer in reading programs with local schools at the end of the work day. While it may cost the company some time during the day, the program allows bank employees to become visible within the community and to create a link between the bank and local educational programs.

The importance of community involvement can not always be measured in monetary expense and gain but rather an investment of time and effort in the community. The benefit of this level of involvement extends well beyond name, recognition to include public relations opportunities, reinforcing and crafting perceptions of your brand, and ultimately having a meaningful and tangible impact on your community.