Independent Banker - September 2022 - 71

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" [Ledyard just loves] the community, and they
want to support nonprofits however they can
and that feeling really comes through. We love to
work with them. "
DAVE CELONE, WEST CENTRAL BEHAVIORAL HEALTH
" It gave them the opportunity to ...
use our power and our social media
to get their message out there and let
them tell their story of what they were
doing in the community and why they
were important, " Underwood says.
To further boost the nonprofits'
visibility, Ledyard National Bank
promoted the videos in its branches,
put ads in local newspapers and paid
for spots for representatives of those
organizations to be interviewed on
the radio.
By the end of the contest, more
than 2,300 votes were cast and the
bank had awarded $30,000 across the
10 nonprofits, with $10,000 going to
the first-place winner.
According to Underwood, people
who saw the videos showed their
support in more ways than just
voting. She says, " [The nonprofits]
were surprised at how many people
in the community responded with not
just voting but writing a check. "
A history of support
This wasn't the first video contest that
Ledyard National Bank has hosted. In
the past, it's used this tactic to support
nonprofits that cater to low- and
mid-income segments, for example.
And while deciding which nonprofits
to invite to participate in this video
contest, bank leaders assessed which
sectors would benefit most.
" The thing about the 10
organizations is that each one of
them is dedicated to supporting the
low- to mid-income segments of
our population, " says Jeff Marks,
Ledyard's senior vice president and
chief marketing officer. " For this
particular contest, we really wanted
to focus on those organizations
that were supporting people in the
community who needed it the most
from an economic standpoint. "
Participants included Dismas of
Vermont, an organization dedicated
to integrating formerly incarcerated
people into society; Upper Valley
Haven, which provides temporary
shelter and educational programming
to homeless families; and West
Central Behavioral Health, which
offers advanced counseling and
treatment to the community.
The money will be spent at each
of the organizations' discretion.
West Central Behavioral Health, for
example, provides many of its services
for free. Every year, it provides about
$600,000 worth of charitable care
that cannot be reimbursed.
" We offer mental health and
substance use and crisis support
services to people regardless of
what they're able to pay, " says Dave
Celone, West Central's director
of development and community
relations. " The monies that we
receive from Ledyard ... will go to
help people who can't otherwise pay
for mental health or substance use or
crisis support services. "
Looking to the next anniversary
Celone says the contest reflects the
bank's commitment to service within
the community. " They just love the
community, and they want to support
nonprofits however they can and that
feeling really comes through, " he
says. " We love to work with them. "
" I would suspect that for our 35th
anniversary, " says Marks, " we're
going to have a lot of excellent
conversations, and we could do
something very similar, or we might
do something entirely new. We know
that we are committed to doing these
types of things for the community. " 
Tiffany Lukk is associate editor of
Independent Banker.
independentbanker.org Q 71
http://www.independentbanker.org
Independent Banker - September 2022

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