Celebrating and Supporting Communities
As part of the People’s United Bank merger agreement, the M&T Bank Charitable Foundation established a new fund committed to deploying $25MM of supplemental charitable giving over 3 years in support of the former People's United Bank communities.
The Amplify Fund
The Amplify Fund is powered by the M&T Bank Charitable Foundation in the first significant philanthropic effort by M&T Bank across the former People’s United Bank footprint.
First announced in May 2022, the Amplify Fund is a $25 million philanthropic investment as part of the merger between People’s United and M&T Bank. The Amplify Fund is a one-time supplemental charitable program to provide further support in the legacy People's United communities throughout New England and New York, to benefit low- and moderate-income communities and underrepresented populations using a racial equity and justice lens.
Importantly, the Amplify Fund does not replace the M&T Foundation’s current charitable giving or sponsorships across the banking footprint, including the former People’s United Bank footprint. It is in addition to it.
Advancing Equity Collaboratives – Phase II Grant Awards
As part of the ongoing Amplify Fund commitment, in 2023, The M&T Charitable Foundation awarded a total of $8.2 million in grants to 68 lead non-profit organizations, with some payments committed over a two- or three-year period.
Grantees in this second phase of funding included non-profit organizations working together to advance equity through systems-change approaches and a host of direct services for individuals and families, centered around family stability, workforce development, health equity and income and wealth equity.
See the full list of Phase II Amplify Fund grant recipients:
- Advancing Connecticut Together, Inc.
- Alliance for Community Empowerment
- Boys & Girls Clubs of Southern Maine
- BOYS AND GIRLS CLUB OF BURLINGTON, INC.
- Boys and Girls Club of Stamford
- Cathedral Square Corporation
- Catholic Charities New Hampshire
- Catholic Charities, Inc. - Archdiocese of Hartford
- Champlain Valley Office of Economic Opportunity, Inc.
- Community Action Southold Town, Inc.
- Concord Area Trust for Community Housing
- Connecticut Children's Foundation, Inc.
- Connecticut Council of Family Service Agencies
- Connecticut Main Street Center
- Connecticut Voices for Children
- Cornell Scott Hill Health Foundation
- EAC Inc.
- Easter Seals New Hampshire, Inc.
- ERASE Racism
- Fairfield County's Community Foundation, Inc.
- Family Centers Inc.
- Fathers' UpLift, Inc.
- Franklin County Community Development Corporation
- Friends of Peterborough Recreation Projects
- Governor's Partnership to Protect Connecticut's Workforce, Inc.
- Greater Bridgeport Community Enterprises, Inc.
- Hall Neighborhood House, Inc.
- HAVEN Violence Prevention and Support Services
- Health and Welfare Council of Long Island
- Housatonic Community College Foundation, Inc.
- Keene Housing Kids Collaborative
- Leadership, Education and Athletics in Partnership, Inc.
- LifeBridge Community Services, Inc.
- Long Island FQHC Inc.
- Manchester Neighborhood Housing Services
- Massachusetts Affordable Housing Alliance
- Mercy Connections, Inc.
- Nashua Police Athletic League
- New Haven HomeOwnership Center, Inc.
- New Haven Promise
- Northwell Health
- Norwalk ACTS, Inc.
- nOURish BRIDGEPORT, Inc
- Opportunity Communities, LLC
- Our Piece of the Pie, Inc.
- Pinetree Institute
- Preble Street
- Project Access of New Haven, Inc.
- Quality Housing Coalition
- Rhino Foods Foundation
- Rockland Independent Living Center dba BRIDGES
- Spurwink Services Incorporated
- The DREAM Program, Inc.
- The Housing Collective
- The Midas Collaborative
- The Opportunity Alliance
- The Stamford Partnership
- The Thomas Merton Center
- United Way of Central and Northeastern CT
- United Way of Coastal and Western Connecticut
- United Way of Southeastern Connecticut, Inc.
- United Way, Inc.
- University of Vermont Health Network
- Vermont Legal Aid ,Inc.
- Wakeman Memorial Association
- Waterbury Bridge to Success Community Partnership
- Waypoint
- Windham & Windsor Housing Trust
Phase I Grant Awards
M&T kickstarted the Amplify Fund initiative in the former People’s United Bank communities through a regional Request for Proposal (RFP) process. The first round of giving was awarded in 2022, totaling more than $11.8 million to 105 nonprofit organizations, with some payments committed over a two- or three-year period.
Funding was provided to specific non-profit organizations based in New England and Metro New York, with a focus on mission-driven and capacity building work, community organizing, equity and environmental initiatives, and financial empowerment and education for individuals and small businesses.
See the full list of Phase I Amplify Fund grant recipients:
- 350 Vermont Inc.
- Arts for Learning CT
- Accompany Capital
- Alliance for Community Empowerment
- ANHD
- Ascendus (formerly Accion East/CDFI)
- Asian Americans For Equality, Inc.
- Audubon Vermont
- Barnum Museum Foundation, Inc.
- BOC
- Bridgeport Caribe Youth Leaders
- Bridgeport Economic Development Corporation (BEDCO)
- Bridgeport Neighborhood Trust, Inc.
- Capital for Change
- Cardinal Shehan Center
- Career Resources, Inc.
- Center for Law and Human Values
- Central Connecticut Coast YMCA
- Central Islip Civic Council
- Chhaya
- Citizens Campaign Fund for the Environment
- CNYCN
- Community Action Agency for New Haven
- Community Action Southold Town Inc. (CAST)
- Community Development Corporation of Long Island
- Community Voices Heard, Inc.
- Connecticut Association for the Performing Arts d/b/a Shubert Theatre
- Connecticut Community Outreach Revitalization Program (ConnCORP)
- Connecticut Green Building Council
- Connecticut Institute for Refugees and Immigrants
- Connecticut Zoological Society, Inc. (DBA Connecticut's Beardsley Zoo)
- CT Council for Philanthropy
- CT Students for a Dream
- Cypress Hills Local Development Corporation
- Dorchester Bay Economic Development Corporation
- East Brooklyn Congregations
- East New York CLT Inc.
- Eastern Connecticut Housing Opportunities Inc
- Ecology Education Inc.
- Economic Opportunity Council of Suffolk, Inc.
- Fairfield County’s Community Foundation
- Fifth Avenue Committee, Inc.
- Flatbush Development Corporation
- Forge City Works
- Futures Ignite
- Good Old Lower East Side, Inc. (GOLES)
- Greater Bridgeport Community Enterprises, Inc.
- Groundwork Bridgeport
- Groundwork Lawrence
- Habitat For Humanity
- Habitat for Humanity of Coastal Fairfield County
- Harris Center for Conservation Education
- Hartford Land Bank, Inc
- HEDCO, Inc.
- Housatonic Community College Foundation
- Housing Development Fund, Inc.
- International Hartford Ltd.
- Intervale Center
- Junior Achievement of Fairfield County
- La Fuerza CDC
- La Fuerza Unida, Inc.
- LifeBridge Community Services, Inc.
- LIHP
- Local Initiatives Support Corporation Connecticut
- Long Island Progressive Coalition Education Project
- Maine Farmland Trust
- Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association (MOFGA)
- Make the Road Connecticut
- Make the Road New York
- Merrimack River Watershed Council
- MHANY
- Mutual Housing Association of Greater Hartford Inc
- Mutual Housing Association of South Central Connecticut, Inc.
- Mutual Housing Association of Southwestern Connecticut dba Connecticut Housing Partners
- NE Grassroots Environment Fund
- Neighborhood Housing Services Of New Haven, Inc
- Neighbors Together Corp.
- Northwest Bronx Community & Clergy Coalition
- NY Renews Education Fund, a Project of the Tides Foundation
- OLA (Immigrant Services)
- Our Piece of the Pie, Inc.
- Pratt Area Community Council, Inc.
- Red Hook Initiative
- Regional Youth Adult Social Action Partnership (RYASAP)
- Right to Counsel NYC Coalition
- Riverkeeper, Inc.
- Save the Sound
- SCSU Foundation
- SEPA Mujer
- Sheldon Oak Central, Inc.
- St Nicks Alliance
- The Center for Family Justice, Inc.
- The Crenulated Company Ltd. DBA New Settlement
- The Open Door Shelter
- The San Juan Center
- The Trust for Public Land
- The WorkPlace
- UHAB
- UNHP
- United Way of Coastal Fairfield County
- Urban League LI
- Vermont Natural Resources Council Inc.
- We Stay/Nos Quedamos, Inc.
- Women's Business Development Council
- Youth Ministries for Peace & Justice, Inc.
Next Phase – 2024
Coming Soon
The Amplify Fund is designed to drive sustainable impact that is equitable, accessible, and responsive to local needs. Regional representatives of the Foundation will continue to meet with local community leaders to help inform the strategic direction for the final round of the Fund’s giving efforts in 2024.
Understanding the unique, specific needs of our communities is a hallmark of M&T’s approach as a bank. Amplify was designed with the input of local leaders and community partners. We will continue listening and shaping our investments with that localized input and information in mind.
Amplify Fund - New York (AF-NY)
Eligible Counties: Rockland and Westchester Counties; Long Island (Nassau and Suffolk Counties); and the five boroughs of New York City (Bronx, Kings, New York, Queens and Richmond Counties)
Fund Overview:
AF-NY will provide finite, multi-year funding to community based organizations and intermediaries with a demonstrated commitment to high-need, frequently underserved, marginalized or overlooked communities that actively connect to the Community Development movement through community organizing.
The objective of this program is to provide support to trusted organizations that can help improve the lives of their communities through programmatic, capacity-building, and policy-based work with community focus as the change agent. This work should correspond to documented community needs and can include a range of issue areas, where organizing intersects with a built environment.
Priority will be given to applicant organizations that utilize community and tenant organizing as a way to improve the lives of their communities and social policy.
Given the time-limited nature of this funding, and the broad geographical reach of the Fund, we are asking that interested applicants first submit a Letter of Interest (see details in the LOI document). We will closely review each LOI, with the goal of inviting a limited number of applicants—no more than two dozen in total—to apply for funding.
Please note further that an invitation to submit a full application is not a guarantee of funding.
Timeline:
May 16, 2022: Letter of Interest (LOI) and Request For Proposal (RFP) information is released
July 1, 2022: Last day to submit an LOI for AF-NY
July 18 - 22, 2022: RFP will be disbursed to organizations moving forward for completion
September 9, 2022: RFP submission deadline
October 7, 2022: Selected organizations will be notified
Amplify Fund - Connecticut (AF-CT)
Counties Eligible to Apply: Any county in the state of Connecticut
Fund Overview:
AF-CT will provide finite, multi-year funding to community-based organizations and intermediaries with a demonstrated commitment to high need, and to constituencies frequently underserved, marginalized, or overlooked communities.
The objective of this program is to provide unrestricted support to trusted organizations to enable them to improve the lives of their communities through programmatic, capacity-building, and/or policy-based work. This work should correspond to documented community needs and can include a range of organizational or societal issue areas.
Priority will be given to applicant organizations that can clearly articulate the needs to be addressed, the strategies to be employed in response to those needs, and the plan to demonstrate the effectiveness of those strategies.
Given the time-limited nature of this funding, and the statewide reach of the Fund, we are asking that interested applicants first submit a Letter of Interest (see details in the LOI document). We will closely review each LOI, with the goal of inviting a limited number of applicants to apply for funding.
Please note further than an invitation to submit a full application is not a guarantee of funding.
Timeline:
May 23, 2022: Letter of Interest (LOI) and Request for Proposal (RFP) information is released
July 11, 2022: Last day to submit an LOI for AF-CT
August 8 - 12, 2022: RFP will be disbursed to organizations moving forward for completion
September 16, 2022: RFP submission deadline
October 14, 2022: Selected organizations will be notified
Amplify Fund - Equity & Environment Initiative (AF-EEI)
States & Counties Eligible to Apply: Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut, the lower Hudson Valley of New York, the five boroughs (Bronx, Kings, New York, Queens and Richmond Counties), and Long Island.
Fund Overview:
AF-EEI will provide finite and non-renewable, two-year funding to community regional and statewide organizations working to advance environmental justice through programmatic initiatives and/or policy-based work.
The objective of this program is to provide support to trusted organizations that are engaged in environmental justice work to improve the lives of those in the communities they serve. This work should respond directly to documented needs, with the goal of reducing environmental harm and enhancing wellbeing.
Priority will be given to applicant organizations seeking to effect environmental improvement in communities facing one or more environmental justice concerns. Applicant organizations should be able to clearly articulate the needs to be addressed, the strategies to be employed in response to those needs, and the plan to demonstrate the effectiveness of those strategies.
Given the time-limited nature of this funding, and the broad geographic reach of the EEI, we are asking that interested applicants first submit a Letter of Interest (see details in LOI document). We will closely review each LOI, with the goal of inviting a limited number of applicants — not to exceed two dozen — to apply for funding.
Please note further that an invitation to submit a full application is not a guarantee of funding
Timeline:
May 31, 2022: Letter of Interest (LOI) and Request for Proposal (RFP) information is released
July 18, 2022: Last day to submit an LOI for AF-EEI
August 18 - 22, 2022: RFP will be disbursed to organizations moving forward for completion
September 23, 2022: RFP submission deadline
October 21, 2022: Selected organizations will be notified