Community Philanthropy Awards: Bank of America, North Bay

Bank of America takes its role as a good corporate citizen seriously and understands the part businesses need to play in addressing social and economic challenges.

“Dating back to BofA’s founder, A.P.Giannini, community involvement has always been part of our DNA,” said Massey Bambara, senior vice president, senior credit product manager and North Bay market president.

Bambara leads by example, encouraging employees to give hundreds of hours of volunteer time, while personally serving as a leader in the community on The Commonwealth Club of California’s Board of Governors, the nation’s oldest and largest public affairs forum.

Bambara is also a member of the North Bay Leadership Council and was formerly board chair of the United Way of Sonoma, Lake and Mendocino Counties.

Community spirit starts at the top, driven by Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan’s challenge to employees to volunteer two million hours in their local communities nationwide.

In appreciation of how much the bank’s top management values these efforts, Moynihan personally thanks each employee who volunteers more than 25 hours annually.

Last November, bank employees went on site to various nonprofits and community partners to learn about their efforts in the North Bay.

BofA employees awarded these nonprofits with grants related to human services, including a $10,000 donation to Community Action of Napa Valley and a $5,000 donation to Cope Family Center.

In October, associates participated in two North Bay Habitat for Humanity housing builds in Novato and Cotati.

Following the severe wildfires in 2015, BofA stepped up and provided a $100,000 donation to the American Red Cross’ Annual Disaster Giving Program benefiting fire victims in the North Bay.

Bank associates are also involved in fundraising for the annual AIDS LifeCycle Ride and participate in the San Francisco Pride Parade.

In 2015, BofA employees volunteered more than 4,200 hours and donated $640,000-plus in collective giving to 200 nonprofits in the Sonoma, Marin and Napa county market area, along with employee participation on various local nonprofit boards.

Bank of America continues to give back to employees as well, with an internal focus on award-winning employee benefits, including those for military veterans and LGBT couples.

Not only do these contributions support recruitment and retention, the bank is also regularly named among the best places to work for veterans, young people and working moms.