Bank of the Sierra Awards $40K in Grants to Central Valley Nonprofits During Third Quarter
November 19, 2019
Porterville, CA – Bank of the Sierra announced today that $40,000 was given to 14 nonprofits in the Central Valley during the third quarter. The Bank awards $1,000-$5,000 grants to 15-25 nonprofit organizations each quarter as part of its Sierra Grant program. Overall in the third quarter, Bank of the Sierra awarded a total of $62,500 to nonprofits in the eight counties it serves.
The Kern Partnership for Children and Families will use its Sierra Grant to help fund Operation Fresh Start. The program helps foster children and resource families during a funding gap between the time a child is placed in a caregiver’s home and the resource family receives final approval from the state. The children and families receive clothes and other personal care items they might not receive until after approval.
A Sierra Grant will help the Boys & Girls Club of the Sequoias with its Sports Park Library Project. High school students will set up a portable library at the Farmersville Sports Park and read to young siblings of athletes during games and practices. The Boys & Girls Club is a lead organization for Lea Conmigo Farmersville.
The State Center Community College Foundation received a Sierra Grant to support its Feed the Need proposal. The foundation wants to expand Reedley College’s food bank to include weekend services, which would help approximately 300 students that have little money to spend on food during the weekends. The grant will pay for student employees to run the food bank, additional food materials, and more.
“We’re thrilled to give back to the organizations that do so much for our communities,” said Kevin McPhaill, Bank of the Sierra President and Chief Executive Officer. “We’ve given over $2.2 million in Sierra Grants since the program started, and we look forward to giving even more!”
About the Sierra Grant Program
Since its inception in 2004, the Sierra Grant Program has been responsible for donating over two million dollars to organizations that improve local communities. Nonprofits 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 42nd 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 and an SBA center. In 2019, Bank of the Sierra was recognized as one of the strongest and top-performing community banks in the country with a 5-star rating from Bauer Financial.
