Bank of the Sierra Awards Over $22K in Grants to Coastal and Southern California Nonprofits During Third Quarter
November 19, 2019
Porterville, CA – Bank of the Sierra announced today that $22,500 was given to eight nonprofits in the Bank’s Central Coast and Southern California markets 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.
A Sierra Grant will support operating costs for SLO Noor Foundation clinics. The additional funding will help keep every clinic open for two additional days, providing uninsured residents with free medical, dental, and vision services. The foundation is the only completely free provider of these services in San Luis Obispo County.
OjaiCARES was awarded a Sierra Grant to support its patient navigation program. Patient navigators act as a bridge between a patient, medical team, family, and community to improve the health outcomes of individuals with a cancer diagnosis. Besides patient navigation, the organization’s services include weekly support groups, a caregiver support program, oncology massage and skincare, and much more.
Central Coast Veterans Helping Veterans will use its Sierra Grant to cover operating costs for its Veteran Caregiving Program. The program provides homebound veterans with vital nursing care, support for everyday living tasks, and more services not covered by Veterans Affairs (VA) or private insurance. The grant will allow the organization to expand the program.
“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.
