MVI receives Citizens Bank grant during financial literacy month

Mon Valley Initiative was one of seven Pittsburgh area non-profits to receive support from Citizens Bank during Financial Literacy Month.

MVI will share in $112,000 contributed by the bank under its Citizens Helping Citizens Manage Money program, along with East Liberty Development, Inc., Junior Achievement of Western Pennsylvania, Neighborhood Housing Services, Inc., Pittsburgh Community Reinvestment Group, Riverside Center for Innovation and Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corp.

Citizens Helping Citizens is the bank’s effort to teach financial literacy throughout the communities it serves, a spokesman said. This year, the bank will provide more than $1.5 million in contributions to 80 nonprofits.

Laura R. Zinski, MVI’s chief executive officer, attended an April ceremony on Pittsburgh’s North Side, along with April Hoover, MVI’s chief financial officer, and Jonathan Weaver, MVI housing counselor.

“Financial literacy is an important part of the programming that we offer at MVI, including through our housing counseling and workforce and business development programs,” Zinski said. “Citizens Bank has been a valuable partner of MVI for many years, and we are grateful for its support.”

Mark Latterner, Western Pennsylvania market president for Citizens Bank, made the official presentation during a ceremony at CoLab18, a new hub at Allegheny Center where businesses, non-profit groups and individuals can gather to network, collaborate and learn about technology.

Citizens Bank’s support of Riverside Center for Innovation will enable the organization to hold a series of workshops at CoLab18 for minorities, women, veterans and others who want to start or run businesses in low-to-moderate income neighborhoods, said Judy McNeil, program coordinator for Riverside.

Across Citizens Bank’s footprint, the Citizens Helping Citizens program will provide $1.5 million to support financial literacy programs that impact 350,000 people, Latterner said. In addition, more than 400 Citizens Bank employees have been trained to provide financial education through the FDIC’s Money Smart program.

“We want to provide advice every day to help people purchase a home, pay for college, plan for retirement or figure out how to grow their businesses,” Latterner said. “That’s part of our bank’s culture.”