A collection of Greater Cincinnati nonprofits are set to receive a total of $207,500 in grant funding from First Financial Bank and the First Financial Foundation.
The bank’s 2023 Annual Grant Campaign awarded organizations working with community groups to create positive change in the areas of workforce development, education and neighborhood development, with a particular emphasis on low-income communities.
A group of 16 organizations in Hamilton County received $130,000 through this year’s program. They area:
- Beech Acres Parenting Center
- Cincinnati Works
- Community Shares of Greater Cincinnati
- Cornerstone Renter Equity
- Economic and Community Development Institute, Inc.
- Flywheel Social Enterprise Hub
- Forever Kings
- Junior Achievement of OKI Partners
- Ladies of Leadership-Ohio
- Local Initiatives Support Corporation, or LISC
- MORTAR Cincinnati
- North Fairmount Community Center
- Over-the-Rhine Community Housing
- People Working Cooperatively
- Rosemary’s Babies
- Urban League of Greater Southwestern Ohio
“First Financial Foundation’s commitment to supporting workforce development and job readiness programs brings extra excitement and motivation to our coaches at Cincinnati Works,” said Tianay Amat, Cincinnati Works’ president and CEO.
Cincinnati Works received $10,000. Amat noted that the new funding will provide Cincinnati Works’ coaches with additional resources to implement financial wellness programs contributing to the overall success of its members.
“Cincinnati Works extends its utmost gratitude to the First Financial Foundation for their continued support,” Amat continued.
This year marked the First Financial Foundation’s largest grant campaign to date. In total, First Financial Bank and the First Financial Foundation awarded $510,000 to 66 organizations serving residents spread across Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana through this year’s grant campaign.
That includes $25,000 total to Blue North in Covington, Ky. and Brighton Center in Newport, Ky. Lifetime Resources, Inc., in Dearborn County, Ind., received $10,000. Organizations in Butler County, Ohio, are set to receive a total contribution of $42,500.
First Financial noted its ability to have an even greater impact by adding external funding from CREA, a low-income housing tax credit organization, to the dollars that came from its foundation.
The bank recently completed a five-year community benefits agreement where it achieving 192% of its goals in multiple categories, with almost $3.3 billion in mortgage lending, small business lending, community development lending, and investments, philanthropy and marketing. In 2022 alone, First Financial Bank and the First Financial Foundation provided over $4 million in community donations.
To mark the 160th anniversary of its opening in Butler County, First Financial committed earlier this year to giving $160,000 to community groups in Hamilton and surrounding communities over the next four years.
“Our work to help communities thrive and grow often takes the form of collaboration with strong local organizations and projects such as these, and I’m confident that our work together will deliver a powerful lift to the neighborhoods, towns and cities we serve,” said Roddell McCullough, chief corporate responsibility officer for First Financial Bank.