Strengthening Our Community: Spirit United Winner The National Bank of Indianapolis
"Greater Indianapolis is our home, and we believe in being able to contribute to our community," says Morrie Maurer, President and CEO of The National Bank of Indianapolis. Yet the bank does much more than just contribute to the community -- it wholeheartedly serves and supports Central Indiana in some amazing ways. Since its founding in 1993, The National Bank of Indianapolis has focused on superior service, local ownership and community involvement. Serving the community -- especially local nonprofits -- is simply part of their every day work. "We provide products, services and financial support to nonprofit partners here, plus support through time and volunteering," says Morrie. Because their company is 100% locally owned, they feel it's their calling to give back in any way they can to Indianapolis. "Our employees and directors all live and work in greater Indianapolis and are proud to support the local community. 100% of our time, money, energy and community resources go to greater Indianapolis," Morrie shares. From providing specialized, reduced cost banking services to nearly one-third of the local nonprofit organizations in Indianapolis, many of which are United Way agencies, to contributing over $60,000 and countless volunteer hours to United Way last year, The National Bank of Indianapolis is a game changer for the city of Indianapolis. "We partner with United Way because we believe in strengthening our community. United Way focuses its resources on very important issues: education, financial stability, health and basic needs. Those are all factors that are very important in building a strong community," states Anne Merkel, SVP and Chief Market Development Officer at The National Bank of Indianapolis. Because of the many ways they are strengthening the greater Indianapolis area, The National Bank of Indianapolis was recognized with United Way of Central Indiana's Spirit United award during the 2018 Annual Meeting.
"We provide support directly to United Way because it makes our community as a whole stronger. It’s important for us as an employer to have a community that is healthy, educated and financially stable," Anne shares. One way The National Bank of Indianapolis focuses on strengthening our community is through their massive partnership with Meals on Wheels, a United Way partner agency. "Food insecurity for our senior citizens is a big issue here in Central Indiana," Anne shares. The National Bank of Indianapolis is the largest corporate provider of drivers for Meals on Wheels, as well as host of the biggest food drive. "We donated almost 2 tons of canned goods to Meals on Wheels last year, which was the largest food drive in the history of Meals on Wheels. We look forward to the challenge of exceeding that donation in 2018," Anne exudes. Yet the bank's dedication to community doesn't stop there: For the past eight years, they've provided at-risk youth in foster care, or who have come out of foster care, financial literacy classes through their Save Up program. A dedicated group of 15 employees run weekly classes on topics such as how to prepare a budget, write a check and save for the future. The classes are run completely by volunteers from the bank on their own time, after hours. "It's very hands on and one-on-one. They teach them the basics they need to succeed in the world," Anne says. Morrie and Anne are incredibly proud of their employees for raising their hands for Central Indiana, and glad that United Way can help point them in the right direction on what the community needs. "I really appreciate the strategic focus of United Way, you are picking out specific areas of need and focusing resources on those specific areas of need," Morrie remarks. One need United Way helped the bank identity this year was what school supplies teachers are in desperate need of. Inspired by United Way's Restock the Classroom event, The National Bank of Indianapolis donated over 2,000 school supplies to Teachers Treasures as their Handraisers for 100 volunteer event. Related Article:What Happens When You Ask the Community to Help Their Neighbors in Need? 5,640 Hands Unite!
United Way is proud to recognize The National Bank of Indianapolis as one of our 2018 Spirit United award winners for their incredible work in our community. If your business, employer or organization is interested in partnering with United Way to make positive change in Central Indiana, consider starting a workplace campaign to jump start your organization's community involvement and engagement.