Now that you are equipped with a strategy and ideas for bank partnerships, you are ready to reach out and engage banks. For ideas and tips to support your outreach, we suggest your team review the following information.
As you approach a bank with an existing relationship, or a bank official at a bank you would like to develop a relationship, it is important to have your partnership opportunity ideas ready in a structure that will resonate with banks easily and quickly. This is not an easy task as there are many things about vocational rehabilitation (VR) agency operation that can lead a discussion into the weeds for a banker and away from your intent and purpose, just as there are things about the operation of a bank institution that can be confusing or complicated for VR professionals.
Here is a recommended tool designed to support you in effectively telling your story to a bank representative. This resource was developed by the Center for Disability-Inclusive Community Development under the advisement of national bank and regulatory representatives:
Approaching and talking with banks about your ideas for partnership is a strategy all by itself and incorporates many elements.
We recommend reaching out to federal bank regulators first, who can help you connect with appropriate contacts at banks. Once you have completed the market share report and pulled each bank’s regulator and CRA rating (Section I), you are ready to contact your state’s regional community affairs officer at each regulator and share your project ideas. As you build a relationship with your regional community affairs officer with the regulatory agencies, collaborate to identify an approach to connect with a particular bank if appropriate. The regulators may not have a specific relationship with a bank you would like to partner with but can guide you on a potential approach to share your information with banks such as through a CRA Alliance meeting. To find a regional community affairs officer for your state at each regulator, please visit these links.
Why would a bank want to partner with you in community development?
There are numerous benefits for banks to partner with a SVRA.
- Partnering with a SVRA creates opportunities for banks to meet CRA requirements related to low- and moderate-income (LMI) individuals. SVRAs serve individuals with disabilities. In 2022, the poverty rate of working-age people with disabilities in the U.S. was 24.7 percent, compared with 9.6 percent of working-age people without disabilities.
- Many individuals with disabilities enroll in VR services while unemployed or underemployed. All VR participants choose to participate in SVRA services to establish or advance their careers which meets another purpose of the Community Reinvestment Act.
- Banks may also utilize a relationship with a SVRA to develop a talent pipeline for their hiring needs.
- Banks may leverage other community outreach services such as financial literacy training to SVRA participants.
- Some SVRA participants may be unbanked or underbanked. Providing financial literacy training may lead to greater trust in financial institutions and increase the use of formalized banking institutions.
These benefits are possible because an SVRA:
- Is a gateway organization to an LMI population
- Focuses on workforce/career development for that population
- Works with individuals who will benefit from increasing earnings and financial capability
- Is connected to a community network established to support that population
- Has partner organizations which will also benefit from bank relationships, expanding the community partnership network
- Partners with Centers for Independent Living on mutual clients with personal resource management goals focused on financial independence
- Is a resource for fulfilling bank hiring needs with candidates with disabilities and supports employers in meeting Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) Section 503 hiring goals for federal contractors. (Banks are considered federal contractors if they obtain federal deposit insurance, act as an issuing and paying agent for U.S. savings bonds and notes or serve as a federal fund depository.)
With the above considerations, what partnership opportunities are you prepared to offer to banks?
Making a Proposal
If you have completed the toolkit checklists, you are well on your way towards developing a project proposal that a bank would be excited to fund. The ability to tell the story of VR and create a project that will yield success stories will create an effective overall proposal. To make a proposal to a bank, have the following pieces mapped out:
- How the bank accepts requests for funding (How to Approach and Talk to Banks) - Each bank has a different procedure for requests for funding. Some require information to be added in to an online platform and others will request a letter. This may change how you frame the request or what information to include
- The agency narrative, who you serve and general number of individuals served per year (Building Your Narrative )
- Project description to include requested dollar amount and additional match (Program Focus)
- Goals of the project to include the number of people served and potential outcomes (Defining Potential Outcomes)
- Project timeline to include match draw down, project implementation and any key benchmarks within the year of funding (Example Project Timeline)
Now that you have reviewed the toolkit, there are several best practices to incorporate into your collaboration with a bank.
Timely and effective communication is critical for the success of your project. This includes internal and external communication. Identify who will be responsible for receiving the CRA donation and confirming the match for timely follow-up with the bank. Determine who will be responsible for the bank-funded activities and develop a schedule for follow-up. Like the therapeutic alliance between a Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor and their client, the utilization of active listening when developing your partnership, and understanding how and what information the bank would like related to the project, will increase agency outcomes and enhance the relationship for potential future collaboration. Clarify reporting expectations and timelines early in the process. This will lead to better customer service and may open additional opportunities.
As you develop and complete bank-funded projects, think about potential case studies, success stories and other narrative opportunities to share with the bank and their regulators. Creating win-win outcomes allows the bank to also take credit for their funding's impact while the VR agency capitalizes on additional positive programmatic outcomes. Sharing success facilitates stronger collaboration and future opportunities.
Banks are also employers and considered federal contractors when it comes to the Office of Federal Compliance Contracts Programs (OFCCP). This includes the Section 503 aspirational goal that 7% of their workforce include individuals with disabilities. Consider involving your business services staff to connect VR customers to employment opportunities in the banking industry.
Banks also may have other community services available for your VR participants such as financial wellness outreach and education. Are there activities a bank could provide that would assist your VR participants in preparing for employment or more fully taking advantage of employer-sponsored benefits? This could be an easy win for starting a relationship with a bank.