U.S. Bank provides billions of dollars in community development investments across the country each year. This commitment to strengthening the foundations of our communities includes community development loans, tax credit investments, U.S. Bank Foundation grants, corporate giving, nonprofit sponsorships and employee volunteerism. Our community development efforts are designed to provide affordable housing, transform previously abandoned buildings into new spaces with new purposes and restore communities through the acquisition and renovation of foreclosed properties, the development of renewable energy facilities and the generation of commercial economic activity in underserved communities. Some of the diverse projects include a science center near Los Angeles to encourage math and science literacy, a community center in tornado-damaged Kentucky, a new retail plaza in a distressed Brooklyn neighborhood and financing equipment for a manufacturing plant in rural Wisconsin.

Extending a hand — our employees tutor, feed, plant and build

Our commitment to communities is not only financial, but also personal through partnerships with nonprofit organizations and through the extraordinary volunteer energy of our 67,000 employees. Last year, U.S. Bank volunteers reported more than a quarter of a million volunteer hours supporting thousands of organizations and causes. U.S. Bank encourages employees’ participation by providing up to 16 hours of paid time off each year for them to volunteer at nonprofits. U.S. Bank’s Dollars for Doing program also recognizes employee volunteerism with contributions from the U.S. Bank Foundation to match volunteer time.

U.S. Bank invests hundreds of millions of dollars of financing every year for the development of affordable housing in communities across the nation through our Community Lending division and through our subsidiary U.S. Bancorp Community Development Corporation. U.S. Bank partners with both nonprofit and for-profit developers who are bringing to life a full range of rental living options for families, seniors and those with special needs. Together with these partners, U.S. Bank helps address the shortage of affordable housing that exists in nearly every state where we do business. Over the past five years, U.S. Bank has also partnered with Habitat for Humanity in the development of nearly 3,000 for-sale Habitat homes spanning 30 states. Here we show how affordable housing can complement the character of neighborhoods and be real assets to communities.

Shown, clockwise left to right: Hillcrest Villas, developed by a nonprofit affordable housing and service provider in Thousand Oaks, California; Bancroft School Apartments, a LEED certified renovation and new construction affordable housing project in the Manheim Park Neighborhood of Kansas City, Missouri; Germantown Village, a new, 60-unit affordable-housing community in Dayton, represents a major milestone for the Germantown-Broadway area as the first completed development in a neighborhood revitalization initiative.

Donating a dollar to charity introduces our customers to online bill pay

U.S. Bank Bill Pay Giving has generated $450,000 in contributions from our customers to four nonprofit organizations since it began in 2011 and nearly $166,000 in 2013 alone. Nearly 340,000 customers have made a charitable contribution through Bill Pay Giving. The program was designed to introduce customers to online bill paying by making their first “payment” a $1 contribution to charities supporting disaster relief, environmental protection, education and arts, and hunger and poverty relief. U.S. Bank matches customers’ “payment” donations up to $50,000 annually. U.S. Bank was awarded the “Best Corporate Social Responsibility Initiative” in 2012 by London-based Retail Banking International and our company also been recognized by United Way and Junior Achievement.

Helping customers and communities make dreams come true

It is not just special financing, grants or gifts that U.S. Bank can offer to communities. At the very heart of what we do is to offer financial literacy programs and provide a full menu of high-quality products and services that meet the diverse needs of our customers and help them achieve their financial goals. We’re helping to provide an economic foundation for our customers because, in turn, financially healthy residents support and encourage economically and culturally strong communities.