Fidelity Bank Allocates $45,000 over 3 years to Partnership with EforAll
Leominster, MASS – Fidelity Bank , a community bank headquartered in Leominster with 14 full-service offices in central Massachusetts has committed $45,000 over three years to Its partnership with EforAll (Entrepreneurship for All ). EforAll Greater Worcester was launched on October 1. It is EforAll’s ninth location in Massachusetts. “We strongly believe that this partnership will provide ongoing support to a diverse group of entrepreneurs in the region that we serve. ” says Fidelity Bank Senior Vice President and Chief Community Banking Officer Sheila King Goodwin, who is also Chair of the Fidelity Bank Inclusion and Diversity Advisory Board.
EforAll is a nonprofit that focuses on helping all individuals start a business with an emphasis on women, people of color, immigrants, and people who were previously unemployed. “Fidelity Bank is a leader in the business community in Worcester, Fitchburg and North Central Massachusetts,” says John Esler, Founding Committee Chair for E for All’s Greater Worcester program. “With their help, we will be able to reach and mentor a larger group of entrepreneurs who want to start a business.” Applications for the first Greater Worcester Business Accelerator program are due November 12 and the first class will start in January of 2021. Entrepreneurs selected for the 12-month free program receive immersive business training, dedicated mentorship, and access to a professional network. In addition to providing financial support, selected Fidelity Bank colleagues will serve as mentors.
Since it was founded ten years ago, EforAll has helped launch more than 500 startup businesses that have created more than 700 local jobs. Among the businesses started by EforAll participants, 74 percent are owned by women, 58 percent are owned by people of color, 46 percent are owned by immigrants and 39 percent are owned by people who were previously unemployed. They are on track to help start 240 new businesses in the next year including 30 in Greater Worcester.
Fidelity Bank’s financial support for EforAll comes from the Fidelity Bank LifeDesign Community Dividend, which donated more than $330,000 to more than 250 worthy organizations in Central Massachusetts last year. Fidelity Bank has given out more than $2 million since the dividend program was formally named in 2013.
Founded in 1888, Fidelity Bank is one of the strongest independent community banks in Central and Eastern Massachusetts. Fidelity Bank’s unique LifeDesign approach to banking provides the care and clarity needed to make informed decisions with confidence. The Bank offers a range of personal and business banking solutions to clients in 14 full-service offices in Leominster, Worcester, Fitchburg, Needham, Gardner, Stow, Shirley, Barre, Millbury, Paxton, Princeton, and Winchendon. Fidelity Bank has been voted Worcester Telegram & Gazette Best Bank in Central Massachusetts and Best Financial Services, Best Bank by both Leominster Champion and Baystate Parent, and it has been recognized by the Worcester Business Journal as a Top Workplace. In 2019 Fidelity Bank was named to the Boston Globe’s Top Places to Work list for the fifth time. As of September 30, 2020, the bank had total assets of approximately $1.15 billion. For more information, visit www.fidelitybankonline.com or www.facebook.com/fidelitybankma
About EforAll
Entrepreneurship for All (EforAll) is a nonprofit organization that partners with communities nationwide to help under-represented individuals successfully start and grow a business through intensive business training, mentorship, and an extended professional support network. To date, EforAll alumni have launched more than 500 businesses and created more than 700 local jobs. Programs are available in both English and Spanish. EforAll is currently available in the following MA communities: Berkshire County, Cape Cod, Fall River/New Bedford, Worcester, Holyoke, Lawrence, Lowell, Lynn, and Roxbury as well as Longmont CO. To learn more about EforAll, please visit eforall.org.
