Bank of the Sierra recently announced eight non-profits in the bank’s coastal markets received grants totaling $19,500 through its Sierra Grant Program. Every quarter the Bank awards 15 to 20 non-profit initiatives with $1000-$5000 grants depending on the specific needs of the organization. The Bank received a record number of Sierra Grant applications this quarter, awarding grants to 26 non-profits throughout the Bank’s footprint including the following along the Coast:
Family Care Network, Inc. received a grant to support the organization’s Transitional Age Youth Housing Programs, which provides current and former fostered youth ages 16 to 24 with safe and affordable housing. The program also provides a living stipend, one-on-one life skills training, education, and case management counseling.
Son Care Foundation Inc., doing business as New Life K9s, received a grant to fund training for one service dog for a year. New Life K9s are given to veterans and first responders who suffer from PTSD at no cost. The organization partners with state prisons where trained inmates teach the service dogs, providing them with a new sense of purpose.
HELP of Ojai was awarded a grant to fund its Isolated Senior Program. The program provides assistance to elderly citizens who live in the 80 square mile radius of Ojai Valley, and serves as the “neighborhood watch” for seniors living isolated from outside care. Members of the community call HELP when hazardous conditions or other instances of concern arise. The grant will partially fund an additional social worker for a year.
Kevin McPhaill, Bank President and Chief Executive Officer, expressed his support saying, “We are incredibly humbled and embrace the opportunity to work together with non-profits in our communities.” He continued, “As a community bank, it is our duty to help support those in need in the communities we serve.”
About the Sierra Grant Program
Since its inception in 2004 the Sierra Grant Program has been responsible for donating over $1.7 million to organizations that improve local communities. Non-profits who wish to apply for a Sierra Grant can pick up an instructional brochure at any Bank of the Sierra branch, or visit the bank’s web site at www.bankofthesierra.com/resources/sierra_grant_program.
About Bank of the Sierra
Bank of the Sierra is in its 41st year of operations and is the largest independent bank headquartered in the South San Joaquin Valley. Bank of the Sierra is a community-centric regional bank, which offers a full range of retail and commercial banking services with full-service branches located within the counties of Tulare, Kern, Kings, Fresno, Los Angeles, Ventura, San Luis Obispo, and Santa Barbara. The bank also maintains an online branch, and provides specialized lending services through an agricultural credit center, a real estate industries center, and an SBA center. In 2018, Bank of the Sierra received a Bauer Financial 5-star rating, an honor only awarded to the strongest financial institutions in the country.