Merchants Bank and Merchants Capital announced on Wednesday the creation of Merchants Foundation, a private charitable foundation supported by the Merchants family of companies with its roster of 600 employees located in nine states across the country.
The Foundation, which commits to being a catalyst within the communities it serves, brings forth hope and well-being by expanding access to housing, healthcare and education – three factors that greatly contribute to the overall health of an individual and their community.
Team members spanning across Merchants Bank, Merchants Capital, and Merchants Foundation itself nominate local causes and charitable organizations within the regions where they live, work, grow, and bank. In tandem with employee-nominated giving, the Foundation strives to uplift those living in the communities where Merchants directly provides deposit and lending products and investment services.
“Access to housing, healthcare, and education are three social determinants of health that arguably play the biggest role in shaping a successful future,” Merchants Foundation Executive Director Julia Kaercher said. “Our hope for our Foundation is to become a beacon of opportunity, supporting the nonprofits and initiatives important to our employees, stakeholders and larger communities.”
Efforts already supported throughout the piloting of Merchants Foundation in 2023 include:
- North End Apartments, a mixed-use housing community based in Carmel, received the Foundation’s first gift. This housing community features businesses on its grounds, a farm-to-table restaurant and integrated living support from the Village of Merici through an urban farm with a greenhouse that is anticipated to open this year. The construction of this greenhouse will help spark further opportunities for meaningful employment and volunteer opportunities each season for members of the community with disabilities.
- Local Indianapolis organizations – NeighborLink Indianapolis, Gennesaret Free Clinics and Brightlane Learning – all received gifts of $5,000 as these three partners each represent one of the Foundation’s guiding pillars. Each organization attended the Foundation’s launch, which was a “volunteer expo” for our employees. The nonprofit organizations each garnered new volunteers from the staff of the Merchants family of companies that attended.
- Merchants’ Giving Tuesday initiative brought together the employees at each of Merchants’ branches and offices across the country to collect canned goods and non-perishable food items for each location’s identified local partner. Team members collected more than 2,500 pounds of food in total, and the Foundation gifted a total monetary contribution of $10,000.
“We’ve already begun to see the impact that Merchants Foundation’s gifts have had within each served area, improving lives and strengthening neighborhoods and whole communities,” Kaercher said. “Our efforts will be even greater this year as we strengthen and develop further relationships with gift recipients, building for a brighter, healthier future together.”
To learn more about Merchants Foundation and its impact, visit merchantsfoundation.org or find Merchants Foundation on LinkedIn and Instagram.