M&T BANK ANNOUNCES $6 MILLION IN AMPLIFY FUND GRANTS TO 44 CONNECTICUT NON-PROFITS

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Oct 17, 2022, 14:53 ET

Funds Designated to Groups Addressing Underserved, Marginalized & Overlooked Communities

First Group of Amplify Fund Grants with More to Come Through Future Funding Rounds

BRIDGEPORT, Conn., Oct. 17, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- M&T Bank today announced the first of a group of Amplify Fund-Connecticut grants totaling $6 million awarded to 44 non-profit organizations across Connecticut. First announced in May 2022, the $25 million fund is aimed at providing unrestricted multi-year support to trusted organizations to enable them to improve the lives of their communities through programmatic, capacity-building or policy-based work.

The creation of the Amplify Fund – which serves Connecticut, New York, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Maine, and Vermont – was a result of the merger and conversion between People's United Bank and M&T Bank, which was completed earlier this year, and represents a significant investment in the organizations which serve the communities across M&T's expanded footprint. The grants were awarded based on the responses to proposals submitted by the nonprofits earlier this year.

Amplify Fund grants provide finite, multi-year funding to community-based organizations and intermediaries with a demonstrated commitment to high-need, underserved, or marginalized communities. Priority was given to applicant organizations that most clearly articulated the needs to be addressed, the strategies to be employed in response to those needs, and a plan to demonstrate the effectiveness of those strategies. Additionally, there was a separate category devoted to organizations working to address environmental justice and equity in communities across Connecticut.

RFPs for the next round of grants will be announced at a later date. The work must correspond to documented community need and can include a range of organizational or societal issue areas.

Awarded grants include funding for projects that include but not limited to:

Helping low-income BIPOC individuals find new career pathways via job training and mentorship programs, and direct support to BIPOC and women owned small businesses to help develop and grow their businesses.
Funding and expansion of safe and stable mission-driven housing to low-income households, and expansion of physical and mental health services for homeless youth in Connecticut.
Hiring of additional staff and expansion of organizational capacity across numerous organizations of different types and missions.

"M&T is a community-focused bank, and we are proud to support and stand alongside these impactful organizations to help them do good in the communities which we all value," said Mike Keegan, M&T Bank Senior Executive Vice President and Head of Community Banking. "This first round of Amplify Fund grants being invested in Connecticut is part of a broader commitment to initiatives that are focused on supporting local partners with more capacity to achieve their objectives."

The full list of Connecticut Amplify Fund recipients include:

Alliance for Community Empowerment
Arts for Learning CT
Barnum Museum Foundation, Inc.
Bridgeport Caribe Youth Leaders
Bridgeport Economic Development Corporation (BEDCO)
Bridgeport Neighborhood Trust, Inc.
Capital for Change
Cardinal Shehan Center
Career Resources, Inc.
Central Connecticut Coast YMCA
Community Action Agency for New Haven
Connecticut Association for the Performing Arts (Shubert Theatre)
Connecticut Community Outreach Revitalization Program (ConnCORP)
Connecticut Institute for Refugees and Immigrants
CT Council for Philanthropy
CT Students for a Dream
Eastern Connecticut Housing Opportunities Inc
Fairfield County's Community Foundation
Forge City Works
Habitat for Humanity of Coastal Fairfield County
Hartford Land Bank, Inc
HEDCO, Inc.
Housatonic Community College Foundation
Housing Development Fund, Inc.
International Hartford Ltd.
Junior Achievement of Fairfield County
LifeBridge Community Services, Inc.
Local Initiatives Support Corporation Connecticut
Make the Road Connecticut
Mutual Housing Association of Greater Hartford Inc
Mutual Housing Association of South Central Connecticut, Inc.
Mutual Housing Association of Southwestern Connecticut (Connecticut Housing Partners)
Neighborhood Housing Services oOf New Haven, Inc
Our Piece of the Pie, Inc.
Regional Youth Adult Social Action Partnership (RYASAP)
SCSU Foundation
Sheldon Oak Central, Inc.
The Center for Family Justice, Inc.
The Open Door Shelter
The San Juan Center
The WorkPlace
United Way of Coastal Fairfield County
Women's Business Development Council

The full list of Amplify Fund Equity and Environment Initiative recipients include:

Connecticut Green Building Council
Connecticut Zoological Society, Inc. (DBA Connecticut's Beardsley Zoo)
Greater Bridgeport Community Enterprises, Inc.
Groundwork Bridgeport
Save The Sound
The Trust for Public Land

For more information on the Amplify Fund, please visit www3.mtb.com/homepage/about-us/getting-involved/amplify-fund.

About M&T

M&T Bank Corporation is a financial holding company headquartered in Buffalo, New York. M&T's principal banking subsidiary, M&T Bank, provides banking products and services in 12 states across the eastern U.S. from Maine to Virginia and Washington, D.C. Trust-related services are provided in select markets in the U.S. and abroad by M&T's Wilmington Trust-affiliated companies and by M&T Bank. For more information on M&T Bank, visit www.mtb.com.

Media Contact:
Max Reiss
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Information may contain forward-looking statements regarding M&T Bank Corporation ("M&T") within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Any statements that do not describe historical or current facts are forward-looking statements, including statements regarding M&T's expectations or predictions of future financial or business performance or conditions as well as statements regarding the potential effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on M&T's business, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations.

SOURCE M&T Bank Corporation