FNBO Renews Commitment to Building Stronger Communities

Press Release

Release Date: June 17, 2020

FNBO Renews Commitment to Building Stronger Communities
Announces Impact by FNBO, a strategy that contributes to long-term community success.

OMAHA, Neb. June 17, 2020—Today First National Bank of Omaha (FNBO) announced that it has renewed its longstanding commitment to building stronger communities with the launch of “Impact by FNBO,” the bank’s new community and corporate social responsibility strategy.

“FNBO has always operated with the vision of successful communities in all the places we call home,” announced Alec Gorynski, Vice President, Community Development and Corporate Philanthropy. “Impact by FNBO is our renewed and expanded community strategy that remains committed to that vision and will be leveraged across our seven-state footprint, including Nebraska, Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, South Dakota and Texas.”

This new strategy follows a recent announcement about the  publication of FNBO’s 2019 First in the Community Impact Report, which summarizes the bank’s progress in achieving $85 million in community investments, 100,000 in employee volunteer hours, and specific community goals related to creating/retaining jobs, increasing the availability of affordable housing and bringing individuals closer to self-sufficiency, as defined in its previous “First in the Community” strategy. That previous strategy was designed to run from 2016 through 2019.

Impact by FNBO isn’t limited to a defined timetable, but like its predecessor, it will continue to focus on four community goals in order to provide the greatest impact on the long-term success of the bank’s communities:

• To Improve the availability of affordable housing and the vitality of disinvested neighborhoods
• To help entrepreneurs build new businesses and create jobs
• To create pathways to economic prosperity for individuals
• To positively impact the environment

”Ultimately, we’re striving to ensure every individual has access to the tools, resources and opportunities needed to reach their goals and improve their overall financial well-being,” Gorynski said.

The bank will work toward these four goals by making investments and delivering solutions across five operational areas:

• Supporting community partners that deliver impactful solutions that support the bank’s four goals through investments made in the form of donations, grants, impact investments and employee volunteer hours.
  
  As part of this commitment, FNBO recently announced $880,000 in grants to 47 organizations in support of initiatives that improve the availability of affordable housing and the vitality of disinvested neighborhoods, while helping entrepreneurs build new businesses and create great jobs. FNBO has also committed to providing more than $3 million to help mitigate the financial impact of COVID-19 through grants that address housing stability and workforce readiness needs, as well as investments in community loan funds that provide relief loans to small businesses.

• Financing loans and investments to community partners and underserved individuals and businesses. Examples of this type of financing could include giving a mortgage to a first-time homebuyer and/or in a low-income neighborhood, or by providing a loan to a low-income entrepreneur to start their own business.

• Engaging employees and members of the community so that they can contribute to the long-term success of their communities. FNBO is committed to achieving a 50 percent employee volunteer participation rate from its 4,600 employees. As part of this commitment, the bank provides each employee with eight hours of paid time off each year to volunteer when and where they want.  They also provide employees the opportunity to use their professional skills to make an impact in their communities through a robust financial education program, a pro bono volunteer program and serving on nonprofit boards.

• Purchasing goods and services to support bank operations from local, small and disadvantaged businesses. In 2019, 17% of FNBO’s purchases supported small businesses and 27% supported businesses owned by women, minorities and/or veterans in order to help these businesses and their communities thrive.

• Engaging in proactive efforts to conserve energy, water, and waste so as to meet the needs of today without compromising future generations’ access to natural resources.

FNBO will continue to track and report its community investments and the impacts they achieve through its annual impact report.

For more information, visit www.fnbo.com/community/