Community First Bank wins IBA’s Commitment to Community Award

Community First Bank received the C2C (Commitment to Community) Award. (From left) Bea Wiles, Londee Davis and Kim LaFollette, Community First Bank of Indiana; Amber Van Til, Indiana Bankers Association; and Robb Blume, Janelle Campbell and Bob Hickman, Community First Bank of Indiana. (Photo provided)

Community First Bank of Indiana (CFB) has been honored with the Indiana Bankers Association (IBA) Commitment to Community (C2C) Award for outstanding community service performed during 2020. CFB won in the category of banks with assets below $500 million.

In 2020 alone, CFB supported over 75 local organizations with hands-on service projects and monetary donations. The bank contributed over $15,000 in employee-donated funds and over $160,000 in bank-donated funds to its communities.

With the economic uncertainty created by COVID-19, CFB helped by putting all fees earned on nonprofits’ Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans back into the hands of those organizations, to be used for the betterment of their communities. In total, the bank donated over $96,000 in this unique way.

The awards were presented during the IBA Mega Conference in Indianapolis. The Association created the C2C Awards in 2018 to celebrate exceptional bank outreach and to raise public awareness of the diverse ways that banks support the communities they serve.

Twenty-two banks submitted nominations for the 2020 C2C awards, providing a sampling of statewide community service performed by the more than 120 member banks of the IBA. Nominations stories are posted on IBA social media under hashtag #C2CAwards.

The following banks submitted nominations in the under $500 million asset size category for the 2020 IBA Commitment to Community Awards:

  • Alliance Bank, Francesville – finalist
  • Bath State Bank
  • Community First Bank of Indiana – winner
  • Farmers and Mechanics Federal Savings Bank, Bloomfield
  • First Federal Savings Bank, Huntington
  • Home Bank, Martinsville – finalist
  • Hoosier Heartland State Bank, Crawfordsville
  • Indiana Trust Wealth Management, Mishawaka
  • Mutual Savings Bank, Franklin
  • The New Washington State Bank, Charlestown
  • Tri-County Bank, Roachdale

IBA President and CEO Amber Van Til said, “The Indiana Bankers Association appreciates all the nominations for the 2020 C2C Awards. Each nomination tells the winning story of banks’ commitment to the communities they serve.”

About Community First Bank

Community First Bank was chartered in 2003 in Kokomo, where currently there are three branches, along with two branches in Westfield, and a branch and loan production office in Noblesville. CFB is also opening its newest branch at 93rd and Meridian streets in Indianapolis in the coming months. Additional information can be found at CFBIndiana.com. Member FDIC. Equal Housing Lender.

About the Indiana Bankers Association

The Indiana Bankers Association supports Indiana banking through issues advocacy, professional education, and products and services that enhance financial institutions’ ability to help build better communities.