Troy, Michigan-based Flagstar Bank revealed its new charitable arm, Flagstar Foundation.
However, the venture isn’t new. Instead, the foundation formalizes a process of giving back to the community that Flagstar has been doing for decades.
The bank said it established the Flagstar Foundation to focus its charitable giving on specific areas that align with the bank's community reinvestment activities, employee board memberships, and volunteer activities.
"Flagstar has a 30-year tradition of investing in its communities," said Beth Correa, president of the foundation. "We now want to formalize that investment through a foundation that will support our corporate goals as well as our employees' involvement in the nonprofit world. Our objective is to make focused, impactful grants in the communities where we do business."
With this new foundation, the bank has an official conduit for its grant-making. The bank defined the following areas for support:
- Apprenticeship and workforce readiness
- Addresses training to prepare people for job opportunities
- Arts and culture
- Supports collaborations with community organizations to maximize exposure to arts and culture
- Financial well-being
- Seeks to build financial capabilities with a special focus on financial literacy and homebuyer education
- Community Reinvestment Activities
- Supports nonprofits whose mission is affordable housing, community service, economic development or rehabilitation, and stabilization for low- to moderate-income individuals, families, and communities
Flagstar Foundation added that it will accept grant applications until Sept. 30, with the deadline for the second cycle of applications on Dec. 31, 2017. Subsequent deadlines for applications will be set at each quarter-end.
