A bank is a bank is a bank. They’ve all got tellers and lenders and can turn checks into cash. It doesn’t matter where you bank. They all do the exact same thing, because they’re all the same.
Except when they don’t. Because they’re not.
In April, we celebrate Community Banking Month, recognizing more than 6,000 banks nationwide that are dedicated to their communities. And these community banks are doing more than just cashing checks.
They’re making jobs.
Community banks employ more than 700,000 Americans across more than 52,000 locations nationwide. Besides their own employees, community banks help create employment locally. Small businesses employ more than 50% of the US private workforce and the funding they receive from community banks helps them do that.
They’re supporting the local economy.
Community banks fund nearly 60% of small business loans under $1 million – reinvesting their deposit dollars back into their community. As a small business themselves, community banks can only thrive when their local customers and communities do the same.
They’re helping local farmers.
Consistently the largest provider of agricultural credit, community banks provide $57 billion in agricultural loans. This makes up more than 70% of commercial agricultural loans in the US.
They’re doing more than writing checks.
Overall, Horicon Bank has contributed over a quarter million dollars alone into their communities towards non-profits. But reinvesting into the community means so much more than a monetary donation. Horicon Bank employees volunteer hundreds of personal hours each year to local community organizations – serving on boards for the Dodge County YMCA, the Beaver Dam Community Hospitals, Big Brothers Big Sisters, United Way, Habitat for Humanity, the National Alliance on Mental Illness and many more. And we get our teams involved. Earlier this year, two offices organized teams to bowl in their county’s annual Big Brothers Big Sisters bowl-a-thon fundraiser.
A community bank isn’t just another bank. Community banks are special. They are a small business in your local community committed to supporting your local community through employment, reinvestment and volunteerism.
Banking locally means your dollars stay in your community – making it an even greater place to live.