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Investing in Our Communities

In 2019, we continued our purpose-led and performance-driven focus in our community investment strategy. We supported programs and services that were intentional in achieving short-term outcomes and long-term impact around our three community investment strategic priorities:

ECONOMIC and
COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT

ECONOMIC PROSPERITY THROUGH:

  • Affordable housing
  • Job creation
  • Small business development
  • Homebuyer education and retention
  • Neighborhood revitalization and stabilization

Entrepreneurship and small
business initiatives:

  • Inner City Capital Connections conference in St. Louis and Memphis, where 147 small business owners completed a “mini-MBA in a day” program to propel them to the next level of success (Missouri and Tennessee);
  • Central Florida Disability Chamber’s Veterans’ Business Initiative that helped veterans and their spouses become successful business owners in Orlando (Florida); and
  • Junior Achievement (JA) entrepreneurship and financial literacy programs, such as the JA Business Challenge in Birmingham, JA Biztown in Charlotte, JA Finance Park in Nashville, and JA in a Day classroom activities across the footprint (Alabama, North Carolina, Tennessee).

Education and
Workforce Readiness

career PROSPERITY THROUGH:

  • Student competency and skill building
  • College and career readiness
  • Educational access and success
  • Credentials and employment
  • Educator training and resources

Education and workforce
training programs:

  • Jeremiah’s Hope Academy where low- and moderate-income individuals were trained in entry-level healthcare careers and assisted in securing employment (Alabama);
  • Paulding County School District’s Rising Professionals Work-Based Learning Employability Skills Seminar that helped students develop workforce readiness skills and build competitive resumes (Georgia); and
  • Regions Foundation provided a grant to Pellissippi State Community College to help establish a new Workforce Development Center (Tennessee).

financial
wellness

Financial PROSPERITY THROUGH:

  • Financial education to youth, adults and
    vulnerable populations
  • Financial planning tools and resources
  • Integrated asset-building

financial education
and training:

  • EverFi programs provided financial education to over 26,000 high school and college students and 40,000 adults in the 2018-19 school year for a total of 288,000 learners since 2011. Students gained financial knowledge, confidence and habits to help build financial capability;
  • Operation HOPE provided financial education, credit counseling, homeownership workshops and small business training to more than 16,000 community members at Regions HOPE Inside locations throughout the footprint; and
  • Financial Fitness FridaysSM celebrated its seventh year in 2019, offering events every Friday in January, such as financial checkups and customized one-on-one advice to people interested in improving their finances and reaching their long-term goals.

More stories about our investments in the community can be found in our Community Engagement Report, available at ir.regions.com.

Regions’ Financial Education Strategy: Regions Next Step®

Regions Next Step is a Company-wide financial wellness program designed to help students, adults, and business professionals take strides toward achieving their unique financial goals. Through Next Step programming, Regions creates shared value by helping our associates, customers and the communities we serve achieve financial wellness.

As a key component of how Regions seeks to make life better, various areas of the Bank contribute to financial wellness programming. Regions Next Step serves as a unifying umbrella, connecting our many financial education offerings and different audiences. This holistic approach provides operational efficiencies, creating synergy, as well as a common framework and focus in programming. Regions Next Step audience segments include students from kindergarten to college and adults at various life stages and income levels. Regions Next Step also provides resources for businesses of all sizes.

Delivering financial education with a customer-centric approach is what makes the Regions Bank approach to financial education unique. During 2019, we continued to engage our audiences through in-person seminars at businesses and community organizations, as well as through relevant digital programming, including the launch of a new Regions Next Step landing page and podcasts.

The open accessibility of our resources to all, regardless of whether they are a Regions customer, reinforces our dedication to inspiring, motivating and helping everyone during their individual financial wellness journey. Every Regions associate brings different perspectives, backgrounds and skills to our team, but we unite with a passion to serve via Regions Next Step. More information on Regions Next Step content and tools are available at regions.com/nextstep.

Disaster Recovery and Storm Preparedness

A disaster can strike anywhere, anytime. A community that suffers a disaster is at risk of losing population, schools, businesses and revenue, so providing a quick response in emergency situations is imperative. Regions and the Regions Foundation have a history of working with nonprofit organizations in the community to expedite financial support to aid in relief recovery. In 2019, we stepped up our investments, loans, technical assistance and flexible banking to communities impacted by tornadoes in Alabama and Missouri, floods in Arkansas and Louisiana and a hurricane in Florida.

We maintained this resolve to respond quickly as other severe weather events affected areas in our footprint during 2020. In March, tornadoes ravaged Middle Tennessee, and the Regions Foundation provided $250,000 in grants to support nonprofit organizations working on the ground to help those who were affected. We assisted in long-term recovery efforts following tornadoes in Louisiana and Arkansas, floods in Mississippi and a second tornado in Tennessee. In addition to assisting our communities through funding of community organizations, Regions announced a series of disaster recovery financial services to help people and businesses during their economic recovery from these events.

To see how we support our associates during disasters, see here.