The past two years have taught us more about the power of community than we could have ever imagined. At Merchants Bancorp, we pride ourselves in adopting a culture of dedicating our time and resources to our community – from the heart of Indianapolis to Washington, D.C. and every city in between. Launched in 2018, our MPACT Program supports the initiative of Positively Advancing Communities Together to make an “MPACT” in the communities where our employees live and work. The program's mission is aimed at supporting the advancement of affordable housing, improving education with an emphasis on financial literacy, stimulating economic development in our community and supporting the interests of our customers.
On May 25, we hosted our 2021 MPACT Awards, honoring our dedicated employees and recognizing them for their invaluable service last year. With many of our staff located across the country, and with many who work from home, we conducted a hybrid ceremony both in-person at the Carmel, Indiana office (for the first time in two years!) and virtually.
Since 2018, our employees have reported more than 5,400 volunteer service hours, with nearly 2,400 of those qualifying for Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) efforts, a federal regulation designed to encourage commercial banks and savings associations to help meet the needs of borrowers in all segments of their communities, including low- and moderate-income neighborhoods. In 2021, our employees reported 2,200 total volunteer hours, with nearly 700 of those qualifying for CRA efforts.
Many of these volunteer hours come from Merchants’ group activities, coordinated by the bank and supported in all of our offices. Highlights from 2021 included financial literacy training at various local organizations (Kenwood Place Apartments, Village of Merici, Junior Achievement BizTown and more); supporting local teachers and students through Teachers’ Treasures; collecting books, games and puzzles for three affordable housing properties; coordinating landscaping for the Horizon House; making blankets for ill children in Saint Paul, Minnesota; completing projects for the Hoosier Veterans Assistance Foundation; building homes with Habitat for Humanity; collecting contributions to help kids and families in Richmond, Indiana during Christmas; packing 12,000 meals for the Million Meal Movement; adopting a family for the local fire department’s community assistance program; preparing holiday boxes with essential items at our D.C. office; and much more.
During the ceremony, we named five 2021 MPACT Catalyst Award winners, all selected from various markets for their specific volunteer efforts in the program. Each Catalyst winner was determined based on their efforts embracing and championing the MPACT program’s mission. The five winners each received a cash award and a commemorative trophy.
2021 MPACT Catalyst Winners
2021 Volunteer of the Year
Traci Saunders
Merchants Bank of Indiana, Richmond IN
Following the announcement of our Catalyst winners, we honored Traci Saunders (Merchants Bank of Indiana; Richmond) as our 2021 Volunteer of the Year, with a gold commemorative trophy and a $1000 cash award. Traci manages the retail side of the Richmond market, leading all online account openings for the company with energy and enthusiasm. In Richmond, Traci dedicates her time, talent and treasure to several organizations in her community, including Communities In Schools, Junior Achievement, Wayne County Area Chamber of Commerce, in addition to conducting in-depth financial literacy sessions at local schools.
Thank you to all of our Merchants employees for your continued, dedicated service to your communities each and every day. We’re setting our goals high this year for even more hours spent towards bettering our community. We can’t wait to see what we make happen together!
