Community Banks Think Local, Support Local

Not long ago, a Carson City nonprofit called FISH — Friends in Service Helping — was looking to tackle an important community revitalization project.

Executive Director Jim Peckham credits his team with developing the FISH Revitalization Project, a student housing initiative and transitional career training space aimed at reinforcing Nevada’s Northwest region through affordable housing and a skilled workforce.

“But as a nonprofit, we had challenges identifying a funding source for our revitalization project,” Peckham said. “Plumas Bank listened and understood our needs. We’ve been around for 45 years, and Plumas Bank believed in the good we’re doing for our community.”

Not only did Plumas Bank manage to be that funding source that allowed the project to reach completion, but it also came forward with a $15,000 donation.

“Plumas Bank was absolutely committed to helping us make it happen — and it did!” Peckham added.

The Service of a Neighborhood Bank + the Reach of a Major Financial Institution

This anecdote illustrates the power of community banks, and it also reflects Plumas Bank’s guiding principle: “Here. For Good.” Community banks like Plumas Bank are uniquely capable of tailoring products and services to the individual client and to their individual needs, just like it did for the Carson City FISH project.

This is how community banks operate, accepting local deposits from local, trusted people and then using those funds to make loans to other local, trusted people. It’s a cycle that serves business owners, the community, and even the community bankers. Plumas Bank is staffed by people who live, work, and play where they serve. So, it stands to reason that they’re driven to help bolster their communities — to fund resources, facilitate important projects, and do what they can to improve lives — not only because it’s their job, but also because their families are counting on it.

“Plumas Bank got its start 43 years ago in the rural regions of Northern California, which we continue to serve today,” said Director, President, and CEO Andrew Ryback, adding that its network now also extends to 15 branches, two lending offices, and a loan administrative office.  “While we have grown as a business, we continue to ‘think local’ at every level of our organization.”  

This is why Plumas Bank helped raise $250,000 toward rebuilding the community after the devastating Dixie Fire in Northeastern California. This is also why it waived fees for consumers and businesses impacted directly by the Dixie Fire, as well as firefighters, law enforcement and all other first responders. And this is further why Plumas Bank provided loan forbearance for clients during the pandemic and never closed its doors.

“We understand our important role in providing financial services to relatively underserved rural communities,” Ryback said. “We therefore feel a particular responsibility to support our clients through thick and thin — through pandemics, wildfires and recessions.”

Plumas Bank’s 4 Pillars of Community Engagement

To support the causes that are most meaningful to employees and the surrounding communities they serve, each Plumas Bank branch has its own community engagement program, through which they make monetary and time-based donations. Their four key focal areas include:

•    Literacy and education: For example, facilitating courses on the importance of saving, how to build credit and improving financial literacy in schools for children K-12. 
•    Health and wellbeing: Supporting activities and organizations that promote health in our communities, such as heart health awareness and elder financial abuse. 
•    Helping distressed citizens and families: Providing food and clothing for those in need, supporting fire victims with basic needs, and helping seniors, veterans, and underserved populations.
•    Local economic development: Supporting local organizations and non-profits in building prosperous communities.

For more information on the results of these programs please view Plumas Bank’s 2023 Corporate Citizenship Report.  

Plumas Bank Celebrates Community Banking Month

April is Community Banking Month, an annual reminder of the importance of banking locally by the Independent Community Bankers of America®.

“Community banks are unique in their approach to lending and customer service,” said Rebeca Romero Rainey, President and CEO of the ICBA. “The unrivaled access they provide in answering their customers’ needs and questions, along with their strong ties to the community, mean that they are on your corner and in your corner for the long haul.”

So, this April and throughout the year, Plumas Bank reminds local banking clients and small businesses that it’s here — local, accessible, and not going anywhere. And it’s also committed to doing good, giving back in tangible ways to the communities it serves.  

Do you need a loan solution for your small business? Or perhaps you have a community engagement project that will benefit one of the regions Plumas Bank serves.

Contact your community banker
 

Photo credit of Ty Nebe, SVP, Sierra Nevada Regional Loan Manager: Lauren Casto 
Photo credit of Jim Peckham: Lauren Casto

Member FDIC and Equal Housing Lender