First Financial Bank (Nasdaq: FFBC) and the First Financial Foundation have awarded $38,500 in grants to organizations in Northwest Indiana, in a collaborative effort that aims to help people and communities in the area to thrive and grow. The 2022 Annual Grant Campaign from First Financial includes 59 organizations in Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky and Illinois.
“First Financial and our associates are proud of our roles as neighbors, leaders and supporters in the communities we serve,” said Roddell McCullough, chief corporate responsibility officer for First Financial Bank. “By teaming up with these impressive local organizations, we advance our mission to positively impact our communities, and we are excited about the lives that will be touched along the way.”
Grant awards in this year’s campaign are directed toward neighborhood development, workforce development and education, and culture and the arts, with a particular emphasis on low-income communities.
In Northwest Indiana, First Financial provided grants to Habitat for Humanity of Northwest Indiana, Legacy Foundation, Northwest Indiana Community Action and Northwest Indiana Reinvestment Alliance.
“Banks have responsibilities to help improve our communities and when they do it genuinely, with local people for local support, the impact is doubled,” said NWICA CEO Jen Trowbridge. “First Financial is making a comfortable place in Gary where NWICA and community agencies can use space to meet people where they live. First Financial is our local bank that creates an environment of opportunity, and we are grateful for their support.”
Total funding from all sources for this campaign is $494,000, making it the largest campaign in First Financial history. First Financial has broadened the impact by adding funding from external sources to funding from the First Financial Foundation. External funding sources include CREA, a low-income housing tax credit organization, and the Ohio Capital Impact Corporation, which funds programs specifically directed to benefit residents and neighborhoods in areas with affordable housing.
Grants for the campaign have pushed First Financial’s total amount of community donations to more than $18.3 million since 2018, far exceeding the goal of $8.5 million originally established in its Community Benefits Agreement (CBA) for 2018-2022. As further demonstration of its commitment to local communities, First Financial also earned the highest overall rating of Outstanding last year from the Federal Reserve Board for its performance under the Community Reinvestment Act, an evaluation that took into account its leadership position in providing an excellent level of qualified community development donations and investments.
About First Financial Bancorp.
First Financial Bancorp. is a Cincinnati, Ohio based bank holding company. As of September 30, 2022, the Company had $16.6 billion in assets, $9.8 billion in loans, $12.3 billion in deposits and $2.0 billion in shareholders’ equity. The Company’s subsidiary, First Financial Bank, founded in 1863, provides banking and financial services products through its six lines of business: Commercial, Retail Banking, Investment Commercial Real Estate, Mortgage Banking, Commercial Finance and Wealth Management. These business units provide traditional banking services to business and retail clients. Wealth Management provides wealth planning, portfolio management, trust and estate, brokerage and retirement plan services and had approximately $3.0 billion in assets under management as of September 30, 2022. The Company operated 134 full service banking centers as of September 30, 2022, primarily in Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky and Illinois, while the Commercial Finance business lends into targeted industry verticals on a nationwide basis. Additional information about the Company, including its products, services and banking locations, is available at www.bankatfirst.com.
