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You are now leaving the Independent Bank website.

Linked web pages are not under the control of Independent Bank, its affiliates or subsidiaries. Be aware the privacy policy of the site to which you are going may differ from that of Independent Bank. Independent Bank provides external links as a convenience and is not responsible for the content, accessibility, or security of any linked web page.

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Donation Campaigns

2014 - 150 Ways in 150 Days

As we celebrated our 150th Anniversary, we gave back to our communities "150 Ways in 150 Days." Each branch dedicated its time to two or more community-giving projects, whether it was collecting clothes for the needy, helping to build a Habitat for Humanity home, or cleaning up a park, each employee positively impacted their community. We also held "Jeans Days" on Fridays for the whole year. Employees had the option to donate $1.50 each Friday to wear jeans to work, with donations totaling $55,000. This money was allocated to 11 different organizations:

  • American Cancer Society - Relay For Life
  • Big Brothers Big Sisters of Michigan
  • Michigan Humane Society
  • Make-A-Wish Foundation of Michigan
  • Helen DeVos Children's Hospital
  • American Red Cross of Michigan
  • Children's Miracle Network Beaumont Hospital
  • Wounded Warrior Project
  • Toys for Tots of Michigan
  • Ronald McDonald House of Grand Rapids/Mid-Michigan
  • St. Jude Children's Hospital

Investing With You

In 2015, instead of making corporate donations to organizations chosen by Independent Bank, we wanted our communities to help us decide what organizations deserved those donations. Our Investing With You program allowed community members to help decide how we allocated $60,000: $5,000 each to 12 local organizations. The program had three segments, and in each we gave away $20,000.


Phase 1

The first segment of the contest focused on local schools. We had 476 schools nominated and over 81,000 votes cast! The winners each received $5,000 donations.

Our school winners include:

  • Trinity Lutheran Monitor School - Bay City
  • Our Lady of Lake Huron Catholic School - Harbor Beach
  • DeWitt High School - DeWitt
  • Oxbow Elementary - White Lake

Phase 2

The second segment of the contest supported local non-profits in the following categories: Animal, Health, Human Services, and Military/Public Services. We had 212 organizations nominated and over 126,000 votes during the voting period! The winners each received $5,000 donations.

Our non-profit winners include:

  • Animal: Crash's Landing & Big Sid's Sanctuary - Grand Rapids
  • Health: Compassion Pregnancy Center - Clinton Township
  • Human Services: The After 26 Depot Cafe - Cadillac
  • Military/Public Services: Bikers 4 Books - Charlotte

Phase 3

The third phase of the contest focused on Supporting the Arts in our communities. We had 63 organizations nominated and over 67,000 votes during the voting period! The winners each received $5,000 donations.

Our non-profit winners include:

  • Clio Cast and Crew Inc. - Clio
  • Midland Center for the Arts - Midland
  • Greater Port Austin Art & Placemaking Fund - Port Austin
  • Grand Rapids Youth Symphony - Grand Rapids

Investing In Youth

We're investing in youth by giving away $60,000

After completing our successful donation campaign, Investing With You, in 2015, we are back to donate once again! This time we will focus our donations for the entire year toward schools. The campaign will be broken up into three phases with $5,000 each given to the four schools with the most votes in each phase. The first phase will be dedicated to improving or enhancing academics. Phase two will support the arts within schools, and athletics will be the focus of phase three.


Phase 1 - Academics

The first segment of the contest focused on improving or enhancing academics in our local schools. Schools that are within the counties we serve, or are within 10 miles of an Independent Bank branch were eligible for nomination. The four schools with the most votes each won $5,000. K-12 public, private, and non-profit charter schools were all eligible. Schools that won during the first phase of our Investing With You contest in 2015, were not eligible.

Our four winners are:

  • Bad Axe Elementary School - Bad Axe, MI
  • Bay City Central High School - Bay City, MI
  • Freeland Learning Center - Freeland, MI
  • Woodworth Elementary School - Leslie, MI

 

Phase 2 - Arts

The second segment of the contest focused on improving or enhancing arts, music, and theater programs in our local schools. Schools that are within the counties we serve, or are within 10 miles of an Independent Bank branch, were eligible for nomination. The four schools with the most votes each won $5,000. K-12 public, private, and non-profit charter schools were all eligible. Schools that won during our Investing With You contest in 2015, or the first phase of this year's Investing In Youth contest were not eligible.

Our four winners are:

  • Freeland Middle School - Freeland, MI
  • Bad Axe High School - Bad Axe, MI
  • St. Peter Lutheran School - Hemlock, MI
  • White Pine Middle School - Saginaw, MI

Phase 3 - Athletics

The third and final phase of the contest focused on improving or enhancing athletics and physical education programs in our local schools. Schools that are within the counties we serve, or are within 10 miles of an Independent Bank branch, were eligible for nomination. The four schools with the most votes each won $5,000. K-12 public, private, and non-profit charter schools were all eligible. Schools that won during our Investing With You contest in 2015, or the first and second phases of this year's Investing In Youth contest were not eligible.

Our four winners are:

  • Leslie High School - Leslie, MI
  • Herbison Woods Elementary School - DeWitt, MI
  • Bad Axe Middle School - Bad Axe, MI
  • Sycamore Elementary School - Holt, MI

Investing in Communities

We're investing in communities by giving away $80,000 in 2017


We were proud to continue our donation efforts in 2017, with our campaign, 'Investing in Communities.' The biggest change was that we gave away $80,000 to 16 local non-profit organizations.

The campaign was broken up into four phases throughout the year, focusing on different ways we could make a difference in our communities—feeding, protecting, housing, and serving our community members. Non-profits that are within the Michigan counties we serve, or are within 10 miles of a Michigan Independent Bank branch or loan production office, were eligible for nomination (see Official Rules). The four organizations with the most votes in each phase each won $5,000. Non-profits that won during our Investing With You contest in 2015, were not eligible.

Phase 1 - Feeding our Communities

The first phase of the contest focused on feeding our communities, with food banks, food pantries, and soup kitchens being the benefiting organizations.

Timeline:

Nominations – Community members nominated non-profit organizations that met the criteria above on March 1, 2017 at 9 am (ET) through March 8, 2017 at 5 pm (ET) at IndependentBank.com. To nominate an organization, you must have had a valid Facebook account and be at least 18 years of age.

Voting  Voting began March 15, 2017 at 9 am (ET) and ended March 29, 2017 at 5 pm (ET) at IndependentBank.com. Voters must have had a valid Facebook account, be at least 18 years of age, and a legal resident of Michigan. Each qualified voter was able to vote up to once per day during the voting period. 

Phase 1 Winners

Investing_In_Communities_Winners_Ph1_LivoniaKids

Livonia Kids and Families - Wayne County

Investing_In_Communities_Winners_Ph1_Pinconning

Pinconning Area Emergency Food Pantry - Bay County

Investing_In_Communities_Winners_Ph1_PantryAtRives

The Pantry at Rives - Jackson County

Investing_In_Communities_Winners_Ph1_SharedBlessings

Shared Blessings Food Pantry - Huron County

Phase 2 - Protecting our Communities

The second phase of the campaign focused on protecting our communities, and supported animal shelters, humane societies, and animal rescue centers.

Timeline:

Nominations – Community members began nominating non-profit organizations that met the criteria above on June 1, 2017 at 9 am (ET) through June 8, 2017 at 5 pm (ET) at IndependentBank.com. To nominate an organization, you must have had a valid Facebook account and be at least 18 years of age.

Voting  Voting began June 15, 2017 at 9 am (ET) and ended June 29, 2017 at 5 pm (ET) at IndependentBank.com. To vote, you must have had a valid Facebook account, be at least 18 years of age, and a legal resident of Michigan. Each qualified voter was able to vote up to once per day during the voting period. 

Phase 2 Winners

AmazingGraceAnimalRescue

Amazing Grace Animal Rescue - Saginaw County

humanesocietyofwestmichigan

Humane Society of West Michigan - Kent County

MichiganPitBullEducationProject

Michigan Pit Bull Education Project - Oakland County

SaginawCountyAnimalCareAndControl

Saginaw County Animal Care and Control - Saginaw County

Phase 3 - Housing our Communities

The third phase of the contest focused on housing our communities, benefiting homeless shelters, housing projects, and home building groups.

Timeline:

Nominations – Community members nominated non-profit organizations that met the criteria above on September 1, 2017, at 9 am (ET) through September 8, 2017, at 5 pm (ET) at IndependentBank.com. To nominate an organization, you must have had a valid Facebook account and be at least 18 years of age.

Voting  Voting began September 15, 2017, at 9 am (ET) and ended September 29, 2017, at 5 pm (ET) at IndependentBank.com. To vote, you must have had a valid Facebook account, be at least 18 years of age, and a legal resident of Michigan. Each qualified voter was able to vote up to once per day during the voting period. 

Phase 3 Winners

CityRescueMissionOfSaginaw

City Rescue Mission of Saginaw - Saginaw County

CommunitiesFirstInc

Communities First, Inc. - Genesee County

Hope101MinistryInc

Hope 101 Ministry, Inc. - Newaygo County

ib-community-home-solutions

Community Home Solutions - Bay County

Phase 4 - Serving our Communities

The fourth and final phase of 'Investing in Communities' focused on serving our communities, and benefited veterans programs, military outreach groups, and active duty support services.

Timeline:

Nominations – Community members began nominating non-profit organizations that met the criteria above on November 1, 2017 at 9 am (ET) and ended on November 8, 2017 at 5 pm (ET) at IndependentBank.com. To nominate an organization, you must have had a valid Facebook account and be at least 18 years of age.

Voting  Voting began November 15, 2017 at 9 am (ET) and ended November 29, 2017 at 5 pm (ET) at IndependentBank.com. To vote, you must have had a valid Facebook account, be at least 18 years of age, and a legal resident of Michigan. Each qualified voter was able to vote up to once per day during the voting period. 

Phase 4 Winners

LibertyTrailerProject

Liberty Trailer Project - Ionia County

RollingThunderMICh4

Rolling Thunder Michigan Chapter - Muskegon County

YellowRibbonGuard

Yellow Ribbon Guard - Saginaw County

ib-american-legion

American Legion Post #491 - Ingham County