The Coop & Habitat for Humanity Helping Local Families Secure Homes

capeandcoastbk on March 25, 2019

Helping Local Families Secure Homes

An Important Partnership

The Cooperative Bank of Cape Cod is helping local families secure homes through a partnership with Habitat for Humanity.

The Coop is providing home financing for two families moving into new homes in Marstons Mills. The homes, located on Dickinson Drive, were built by community volunteers, local families and donors from Habitat for Humanity of Cape Cod.

“A home is where families grow, memories are made and possibilities arise. But sadly, not everyone has a safe, healthy place to call home. Instead, many Cape Codders struggling to get by, forced to live in substandard housing,” said Charlotte Green, Residential Mortgage Sales Manager, Officer. “The Coop believes everyone deserves decent, affordable housing on Cape Cod. That’s why Habitat for Humanity of Cape Cod and The Coop are partnering together to provide financing for families in Marstons Mills.”

Added Victoria Goldsmith, Executive Director of Habitat for Humanity of Cape Cod: “We are thrilled to have The Cooperative Bank join us as an important partner to the success of this project. Their participation as mortgage lender increases our capacity to offer the opportunity of affordable home ownership to more local families.”

Home Dedication

A home dedication and open house will be held on April 9th at 4 PM to welcome the families into their new homes. The community is welcome to attend.

 

Help More Local Families Secure Homes on The Cape

The Coop Foundation Announces Grants Totaling $75,000

capeandcoastbk on March 8, 2019

foundation grants collage of signature images representing beneficiary organizations

Seven New Grant Recipients

The Cooperative Bank of Cape Cod Charitable Foundation Trust announced that it will award grants totaling $75,000 to local organizations for the first quarter of the year, with an initial $62,500 to be awarded this month.

Grants for the first quarter of 2019 ($25,000 over two years, and an additional $30,000 in sponsored events over the next 3 years) were awarded to:

Investing in a Thriving Community

“These awardees provide much needed services to the Cape Cod community,” said Lisa Oliver, President and CEO of The Cooperative Bank of Cape Cod, and President of The Coop Foundation Board of Trustees. “We are thrilled to invest in their efforts through the Foundation.”

The Coop Foundation was launched as an extension of the bank’s long-standing charitable giving programs. “We’ve given back to the community throughout the Bank’s 98-year history. Creating the Foundation solidifies our commitment to invest the communities we serve in perpetuity,” added Oliver. “We look forward to supporting the work of numerous local organizations through grants in the years ahead.”

“We are so grateful to The Cooperative Bank of Cape Cod Charitable Foundation Trust for their generous donation to help serve more kids with a mentor,” said JR Mell, Regional Director of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Cape Cod & the Islands. “We are honored that the Foundation has invested in our next phase of strategic growth with a multi-year commitment to our mission. This gift enables us a solid foundation to support the next 3 years of defending potential for under-resourced families right here on Cape Cod.”

Added Wendy Cullinan, Director of Resource Development, Habitat for Humanity of Cape Cod: “We are delighted and deeply appreciative that The Cooperative Bank of Cape Cod Charitable Foundation Trust has made such a significant donation to the Rotary’s Campaign to raise $100,000 for Habitat for Humanity of Cape Cod. We rely on the support of our community to serve our mission and this is community at its best.”

About The Coop Foundation Trust

Launched in December of 2018, The Coop Foundation awards grants to 501(c)(3) organizations that enhance quality of life through programs and initiatives that meet the fundamental needs of people in the communities the bank serves. The Foundation identified five core areas of impact that will be considered for grants initially.  They include economic development and self-sufficiency, community vitality and sustainability, thriving youth and families, education and learning, and health and human care.

The Coop Foundation solidifies and formalizes The Coop’s commitment as a mutual bank to give back to the community, earmarking funds for philanthropy that won’t decrease according to the bottom line, but increase as the assets of the Trust grows. The Coop Foundation serves as an extension of the Bank’s current community giving program by enhancing and expanding it.

For more information on the Foundation and how to apply for a grant:

Charitable Giving

30 Guys in 30 Days-Big Brothers Big Sisters of CC&I

capeandcoastbk on March 5, 2019

30 Guys in 30 DaysAfter a successful start last year, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Cape Cod & the Islands is relaunching its “30 Guys in 30 Days” campaign. The agency is seeking to recruit more men on Cape Cod and Martha’s Vineyard to support the high demand for mentors.

JR Mell, the organization’s regional director, said “It is a misconception that being a mentor is a huge commitment. We ask for volunteers to commit to a minimum of a year with a child in the community, meeting them two to three times each month for a few hours each time doing activities that you’d probably already be doing and enjoying. All of the bigs that I have talked to who have come forward and joined find that it’s very, very manageable. They feel like they almost get more out of it than the kids do, but it is a very rewarding volunteer opportunity on both sides.” Even though the minimum commitment for volunteering is one year, Mell says that most matches will continue as a lifetime friendship when the child outgrows the program. Mell volunteered as a big brother for close to ten years and feels that it’s the most rewarding thing that he has ever done.

A need for male ‘bigs’

Finding male mentors continues to be the biggest need for the organization. For every one girl who is referred or signed up for the program there are four boys. On the volunteer side, for every male volunteer who signs up there are four women who become mentors. “We are left with this large imbalance that we are trying to address with this campaign,” Mell said.

Big Brothers Big Sisters currently has 80 youth on a wait list for mentors with 63 percent of them being boys.  The “30 Guys in 30 Days” campaign was started last year as the wait list for boys had really grown. “We found it to be really successful in the community.” The campaign will be promoted across the region through digital videos and in-person events to show men what it means to be a mentor with the organization. The enrollment team, which matches bigs with littles, get to know volunteers as a person and match them with children who have similar interests.

Many other community organizations already come forward to help with the campaign. Barnstable Police Officer and Big Brother Corey Frederickson, Cape Cloth’s Founder Sean Fitzpatrick, and Peter Rice with the Cooperative Bank of Cape Cod and a Big Brother will all be featured in video clips highlighting the need for male volunteers. You can watch Peter’s video below.

Cape Cod Young Professionals and The Entrepreneurial Networking Group of Cape Cod will partner with the agency at their March events to help raise awareness and recruitment opportunities for potential volunteers.

Interested volunteers can learn more at www.bbbsmb.org/cape-cod/.
Groups or organizations who may want to help the agency with the campaign should contact Mell at jrmell@bbbscci.org or by calling 508-771-5150 extension 101.


 

Tax Season Financial Fitness Tips

capeandcoastbk on March 1, 2019

piggie bank with headband next to dumbellsTax season.  Those two words conjure up stress for many people.  But whether you’re getting a refund or hit with a hefty payment, we love tax season for another reason entirely.  Filing forces us to take a hard look at our financial big picture. By diving into last year’s numbers, we can make adjustments and get a clearer picture of the coming year’s financial outlook.  Tax season presents a new fiscal beginning and a fresh start towards financial fitness. Here are 4 tips for getting on the right track this year.

1. Review Your Credit Report

It’s not enough to just monitor your credit score.  At least once per year, you should review the contents of your report. Believe it or not, a staggering one in four people have an error on their report.  That can significantly impact your credit score.  The three main credit bureaus – TransUnion, Equifax and Experian – are required by law to provide you with one free copy of your report annually.  Review it carefully for any accounts that you don’t recognize, inquiries to your credit that are unfamiliar or reported late payments that are inaccurate. Little errors can lead to big problems when it comes time to finance a home or other important purchases.

2. Ensure You Never Miss A Payment

On-time payments are one of the biggest factors that determine your overall credit score.  A payment that is thirty days late can drop your score by as many as 100 points. One of the most effective ways to ensure you never miss a payment is to put it on autopilot. Using your bank’s automatic payment system you can set up recurring payments each month.  For those bills that vary from month to month (like your credit card or electricity bill), you can have those bills automatically sent to our Bill Pay system and we’ll send you a reminder prior to their due date.  Online banking makes it easier than ever to keep from missing a payment.

Learn more about our online and mobile banking services and features that can help you manage your payments:

Online Banking Options and Features

3. Save More

Sounds easy, right?  Many of us vaguely resolve to “save more”, but without a solid plan, that pledge can quickly lapse.  Establish your savings goal for the year and then break that down into manageable monthly installments.  When you add this installment as a line-item in your monthly budget, you’ll soon stop missing it — all the while squirreling money away in an interest-bearing account for your future. To make it even easier, set up automatic, recurring transfers so you’re not tempted to skip a month.

We have interest bearing savings accounts that can help:

Savings Account Options

4. Have an Emergency Fund

An emergency fund is your financial security blanket.  While we all hope we won’t need it, the fact is that emergencies and unexpected things happen – it could be a medical emergency, a job loss or major car repair.  Things simply happen that are beyond our control (good example: the recent shutdown of the Federal Government). These unexpected events, while temporary, can be catastrophic if you’re not financially prepared.  We recommend having between three and six months of living expenses saved in this fund.  When you need it, you’ll benefit from the security it provides for you and your family; and if you don’t need it, you’ll benefit from the peace of mind it provides.
Read more about planning for your future, or talk to one of our financial planning advisors.

Saving for Your Future

 

Sheryl Walsh headshotSheryl Walsh is a SVP and Chief Consumer and Small Business Banking Officer with The Cooperative Bank of Cape Cod. 

Cape Cod’s Best 2019 – Vote for the Coop!

capeandcoastbk on March 1, 2019

Thank you to all of our customers and friends that have supported us.

We are honored and humbled to be nominated as one of Cape Cod’s Best 2019 in Cape Cod Times’ Community Choice Awards

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If you would like to continue your support, The Coop has been nominated in the following categories:
Cape Cod's Best of the Best Vote for Us
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Local Services:
People & Places: 
Vote for The Coop, and tell your family and friends!
If you vote in more than 25 categories, you’ll be entered in a sweepstakes to win $250! Votes can be placed between March 1st and March 24th.
It’s easy to do. Simply choose a category, place your vote and fill in your email address.
Continue and complete the registration form.

Coop Team Members Appointed to Local Board of Directors

capeandcoastbk on February 15, 2019

smiling staff from The Coop

Left to right: Laurie Maul, Kirsten Wickson, Charlotte Green

As a community bank, we take pride in the role we play on Cape Cod by helping our friends and neighbors achieve their financial goals and dreams. But, we do so much more than that. We support hundreds of nonprofit organizations, sponsor events, and volunteer for local charities. To that end, we would like to honor and congratulate a few of our employees who volunteer their time and were recently appointed to serve on a nonprofit board of directors.

WE CAN

Laurie Maul, VP and Human Resources Manager, was appointed as the Personnel Committee Chair to the WE CAN Board of Directors. Laurie joined WE CAN because she has long admired the organization’s ability to provide women with dignity and support as they develop the necessary skills to turn their unique challenges into opportunities for growth and empowerment.

Cape Cod Center for the Arts

Kirsten Wickson, the Bank’s CRM Administrator joined the Board of Directors for the Cape Cod Center for the Arts, the organization that oversees the Cape Playhouse in Dennis Village. The playhouse has undergone significant changes over the past few years and Kirsten is excited to help them as they unfold their strategic plan, which includes launching a capital campaign to update the aging buildings.

Cape Cod Young Professionals

Charlotte Green, our Assistant Residential Mortgage Sales Manager, was appointed to the Cape Cod Young Professionals Board of Directors this month. CCYP connects Cape Cod’s emerging workforce and community leaders, engages them in the community, and supports their efforts to advance, personally and professionally. The Coop has been a Premier Sponsor of the organization for over 6 years and we’re glad to continue to give back to the organization through volunteer support as well.

We’re proud to support the communities where we live and work and grateful for the Positively Different people who work for us!

Tax Identity Theft Awareness Week

capeandcoastbk on January 30, 2019

IRS form 1040 with red SCAM written in marker across the top

Tax Identity Theft Awareness Week is January 28 to February 1. This annual campaign aims to help consumers be more informed about protecting themselves from tax-related identity theft and scams. Tax-related identity theft occurs when someone steals a Social Security number and uses it to claim a tax refund or get a job.

We’ve assembled some useful resources to help our customers to be more aware of potential tax and identity scams:

Bank on it: Reflecting on 2018

capeandcoastbk on January 16, 2019

Coop CEO Lisa Oliver

As we start the new year, it’s a time to reflect, review and celebrate.  And we had a lot to celebrate in 2018.

While our fiscal year doesn’t end until March, we are on track to surpass our revenue and return on asset targets.  Said differently, we are succeeding in our focus on adding value to our client relationships by delivering advice, solutions, speed and ease.

Our success isn’t incidental. We’ve built, and are continually growing, a team of professionals who are passionate about serving our clients and community. We significantly expanded our Residential Lending team with the addition of several new loan officers. We added strength to our branches with new managers and invested in both our commercial banking and government outreach divisions.

I’m exceptionally proud of our current team and proud of The Coop’s commitment to investing in our employees through education and professional development.  That includes all levels, from branch employees and senior leadership members, to our Board and the CEO.  We don’t just talk about fostering growth, we actively embrace it.

As a community bank, we are here for one reason only and that is you.  We are driven to continually evolve, add and modify our products and services to deliver solutions that are right for you. Whether you bank in our branches, on your phone or on your computer, we rolled out products in 2018 designed to make banking easier, faster and more convenient for you.  For the small business owner, we’ve made it easier for you to get a cash advance in the event of an accounting error or cash flow shortage.  For the commercial customer, we began offering longer term (10 year) fixed rate loans.  Our client focus from the commercial team also earned us the distinction as the Small Business Association of Massachusetts Third Party Lender of the Year. And through our new relationship with Allpoint network, we are proud to be the only community bank on Cape Cod that offers access to thousands of ATMs with no fees. And those are just the highlights. Our products, services and digital offerings are on par with any major, national bank.

Lastly, but certainly not least, I want to recognize the bank’s continued commitment to giving back to the communities we serve. In 2018, we launched The Cooperative Bank of Cape Cod Charitable Foundation Trust, which marks an exciting next chapter in our story of giving.  The Coop Foundation will allow us to significantly extend and increase the reach of our philanthropy.  We celebrated the Foundation’s debut in December by awarding $105,000 in one time and multi-year grants to four charitable organizations. What an exciting way to kick off the Foundation and close the year!

As always, we thank you for choosing The Coop as your community bank.  We wish all of you happiness and success in the year ahead.

Jeans Day Employee Charitable Giving Program #CharityJeansDay

capeandcoastbk on January 12, 2019

The Cooperative Bank of Cape Cod Jeans Day

Employees of The Cooperative Bank of Cape Cod wearing Yarmouth Police Foundation’s Thin Blue Line t-shirts during the special #CharityJeansDay benefiting the family of fallen Yarmouth Police Sergeant Sean M. Gannon.

The impetus for #CharityJeansDay created in 2009, was to give employees an opportunity to create some good for the local community in a fun and engaging way. We really wanted to design a program that the employees could “own.” This program is completely managed by employees. A great side-benefit is we get to dress more comfortably and casually a couple of days each month…the banking industry, as you know, is pretty conservative!

How it works:
Every other Friday, all employees at The Coop are given the option to wear jeans to work. That includes employees in the executive offices and on the front lines in the branches. The only requirement is that the employee has to make a minimum donation of $5 to the Jeans Day fund.
Every other week, a charitable organization is designated as the beneficiary. The organizations are nominated by employees and selected by the employee-based Jeans Day committee. The only criteria for nominations is that the organization be affiliated with Cape Cod and a registered 501(c)3.

Why it works:
Employees appreciate the opportunity to dress more casually at work on a Friday, but also love the chance to support local non-profit organizations in our community. Because the employees help choose the organizations that benefit, they feel invested in the program. This is truly an employee-owned program that’s a win for everyone!

Who it helps:
The organizations we’ve supported range from small groups that fly under the radar to well-known programs like “Stuff a Bus” and “Be a Santa To a Senior.” It also gives us an opportunity to respond to tragedies that unexpectedly impact our community. After the tragic death of Sgt. Sean M. Gannon, for example, our employees initiated a special Jeans Day and raised $2,270 for The Cape Cod Foundation in care of Sgt. Gannon’s family.
With more than half of our employees participating on a regular basis, and often donating more than the $5 minimum, we’re on track to hit our goal of raising $25,000 in 2018! That includes a pledge from the Bank to match up to $500 of each Jeans Day donation.

 

For more on The Coop’s #CharityJeansDay:

 

Want to help?

To learn more about some of the organizations we’ve helped through our #CharityJeansDay program, you can visit their websites below:

 

Headshot of Johanna Zarra, Residential Lending Sales Assistant

 

My name is Johanna and I’m part of the Residential Mortgage team at The Coop. I’m also part of an internal team that’s been running a very cool employee program – “Charity Jeans Day.”

Music & More Concert Series

capeandcoastbk on January 4, 2019

Music & More, Cape Cod Museum of ARTThe Coop is thrilled to sponsor The Cape Cod Museum of Art’s popular “Music & More!” Concert Series.

The 13 Concert Music & More series offers a great variety of musical performances that include pop, folk, blues, classical, jazz and more.

Music & More, which has been bringing joyful music to Cape Codders for 16 years, opens the New Year with a spirited performance of Blues and American Roots Music by Jerry Portnoy and Brother Phil.

After the performance, guests mingle with the musicians over coffee, tea and cookies.

​Tickets are $18; $15 for CCMoA members.  Season Subscriptions are also available for $150; $120 for CCMoA members. Reservations recommended.  Order online, or call 508-385-4477 x 20.​ To purchase tickets or learn more visit the Cape Cod Museum of Art website