Associated Bank Announces Additional $1 Million Investment in Northeast Wisconsin

Associated Bank has announced an additional $1 million commitment to support nonprofit programs in Northeast Wisconsin. These funds are in addition to the company’s annual $1 million in regional philanthropic giving and are designed to strengthen the Greater Green Bay and Fox Cities region by focusing on mental health, workforce readiness, and small business development.

“Northeast Wisconsin is the birthplace of Associated Bank. We are doubling down on our commitments to meet the evolving needs of the communities we have served for more than 160 years,” said Dennis DeLoye, executive vice president, head of community markets and Northeast Wisconsin regional president at Associated Bank. “We are focusing our support in the areas our colleagues, customers and community partners have told us are most important for the area to thrive.”

The company will donate $100,000 to each of the following organizations over five years:

• Catalpa Health, a pediatric outpatient mental health and wellness organization that serves more than 9,000 kids annually through-clinics in Appleton, Oshkosh and Waupaca, in addition to over 50 school-based therapy sites.
• Bay Area Workforce Development Board, an organization dedicated to meeting business and job seeker needs today, and striving to build, develop and sustain the skilled workforce of tomorrow.
• Family Services, a non-profit, human services agency offering more than 35 programs that support the people of Northeast Wisconsin during challenges and transitions in their lives.
  N.E.W. Community Clinic, a community partner providing mental health, dental, medical assistance, and outreach care to Green Bay residents who are uninsured or on BadgerCare Plus, or Medicaid.

“We are grateful to be a recipient of the Associated Bank grant that will allow our clinics to enhance our behavioral health services,” said Kim Franzen, MSN, RN, CEO of N.E.W. Community Clinic. “The funding will support our new behavioral health department. Specifically, it will allow additional staff training for child and adolescent care, allowing us to increase our scope of practice and care for younger children. This grant will allow an additional 600 people to receive access to care at the clinics over a one-year period.”

A commitment of $300,000 will be provided to local college and chamber of commerce programs, including:

• $150,000 over five years to support both the Northeast Wisconsin Technical College scholarship programs and scholarships for low- to moderate-income (LMI) students attending University of Wisconsin-Green Bay Cofrin School of Business. These local Green Bay commitments will help make college accessible for need-based students and encourage a path towards graduation with recuring scholarships supporting and elevating the local community.
• $150,000 over three years to support the Greater Green Bay Chamber’s food based and consumer products small business incubator program. This is the second phase of the chamber’s incubator program, which focuses on small businesses under one million dollars in revenue and minority-owned businesses.

Associated Bank is committing an additional $300,000 in program funding to support young people in educational attainment and career readiness.

“Our local partners have told us higher education is the key to affecting positive change and growth, but many are unable to afford it,” said Andy Harmening, president and CEO of Associated Bank. “These funds help expand who has access to education while also elevating our support of small businesses and the incredible roles they play in our communities.”

Associated Bank engaged both colleagues and community advisors who have a true understanding of the local communities in reviewing grant opportunities. Collectively, the grants aim to strengthen the Northeast Wisconsin region long-term by focusing on building capacity for mental health, workforce readiness providers and education for underserved communities in Northeast Wisconsin. These are a few of several elements that make up a healthy, thriving community that Associated Bank is committed to creating.

“Supporting small and diverse-owned businesses in this food accelerator will nourish the growing food industry here in Greater Green Bay and create long-term, sustainable businesses,” said Kelly Armstrong, vice president economic development, Greater Green Bay Chamber. “We are thankful to have Associated Bank as the pivotal sponsor and to share in our vision of building community.”

As part of its Community Commitment Plan, Associated Bank designates 1% of its annual pretax profits for charitable purposes with the majority of that total supporting community development programs. In 2021, this equated to more than $3.1 million in Community Development grants and more than $4.3 million in total donations to various nonprofit organizations across its three core states of Wisconsin, Illinois, and Minnesota. In addition, the company’s colleagues committed more than 42,000 hours of volunteer time, including 150 financial education seminars last year.