MPACT

Merchants Capital is proud to support a safe, value-based environment for our staff and clients that extends out into the community, where many of us who are based at the company’s Indianapolis headquarters live and work. That’s why, when we were presented with the opportunity to partner with Indianapolis college and career preparatory high school Providence Cristo Rey (PCR), we jumped in headfirst. Providence Cristo Rey High School offers a “transformational educational experience to students with economic need” to those living in Indianapolis. The coeducational high school prepares students for the job world by enrolling each student in a corporate work study. This experience at PCR is unique in that all students work one day each week for their designated company, and the money that they earn goes directly towards tuition – keeping costs low for families. Industries that students can work in include law offices, accounting firms, hospitals, universities, nonprofits and financial services like Merchants Capital. Every student receives a Career Mentor at their company, one who guides them and trains them in professional and soft skills to prepare them for life after school. After four years, a graduate of PCR will have earned over 1,000 hours of professional work experience. PCR partners with more than 60 companies from Indianapolis and Carmel, and Merchants Capital is honored to be one of them. We are currently in our fifth year of our partnership together. We started with just one participant, and we’ve now grown to host two incredibly dedicated, smart and talented PCR students each school year. Every Monday and Wednesday, one of the students comes to our offices to learn about a career in the mortgage banking industry. The students are educated on everything from lending, insurance and public speaking to affordable housing, underwriting and critical thinking. Merchants Capital is proud to open our doors to play a lasting and instrumental role in the lives of these students. It has been an enlightening experience to witness the immense personal growth, increased self-confidence and enhanced education our students have received here at Merchants Capital. We’ve provided them a platform and an opportunity, and they have taken it and run with it. Additionally, during the 2020 holiday season, Merchants Capital provided our PCR students with support to spread a little Christmas cheer and thank them for their hard work throughout this unprecedented year. We understand the importance of making an MPACT like this one. Launched in 2018, our MPACT Program supports the initiative of Positively Advancing Communities Together to make an impact in our communities. Our goal with PCR is that the young adults of today can make an MPACT on our future. We are proud to partner with Providence Cristo Rey and look forward to what we can continue to do together in the years to come.

Merchants Bank of Indiana is committed to the communities we serve.  In 2018, we launched the MPACT Program to foster and support our corporate initiative of Positively Advancing Communities Together through employee volunteer service hours. With the launch of the MPACT Program, we wanted to encourage and foster the ideals of community service and adopted a new culture of volunteerism by donating both time and resources to encourage our employees to get more involved and make an “MPACT” in the communities where they live, work and play.  Each Merchants employee is awarded 16 PTO hours per year to use towards local volunteer services. In keeping with the mission and core values of Merchants Bank and its employees, involvement within our communities is focused on advancing affordable housing, connecting people in their communities, promoting and improving education and financial literacy, stimulating community and economic development, and supporting the interests of employees and customers. Last month, we hosted the first-ever MPACT Awards to recognize our dedicated employees and thank them for their valued service. We named four 2018 MPACT Catalyst winners.  These individuals were selected from various markets for making an impact in the program or creating a change in the mindset for volunteer efforts. Aretha Hutchins (Merchants Capital, Carmel) Kelley Leix (Merchants Bank, Carmel) Dinese Watson (Merchants Bank, Lynn) Josh Canan (Merchants Capital, Saint Paul) We also recognized Angela Mazura (Merchants Mortgage, Carmel) as our 2018 Volunteer of the Year and awarded her with a surprise $1,000 check for her incredible efforts as a mentor for a future homeowner through Habitat for Humanity of Greater Indianapolis.         Over the course of 2018, our team members joined together for a variety of activities where groups of volunteers could participate.  This included the MPACT Service Day to preserve, enhance and develop high-quality affordable housing in Indianapolis’ best neighborhoods, a Habitat for Humanity home rehabilitation project, and a backpack give-away for IPS students in Indianapolis through Indy Backpack Attack and Partners in Housing. We also provided meals at St. Vincent House for families with seriously ill family members experiencing financial hardship, adopted several families to provide Thanksgiving meals and Christmas presents, and collected donations for the Horizon House – just to name a few. In 2018, more than 50 employees logged a total of 520 volunteer hours in the communities we serve. Nearly 400 of those hours were put towards Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) community development in Indianapolis, and another 41 hours were dedicated to CRA community development in Lynn, Indiana. CRA is federal regulation designed to encourage commercial banks and savings associations to help meet the needs of borrowers in all segments of their communities, including low- and moderate-income neighborhoods.