Phoenix (STN) – The check presentation was a surprise, and the setting made it even better.
At the end of a panel on workforce development during the October episode of ‘It Happens at STN,’ Bank of America announced $400,000 in unrestricted funding for two Phoenix-area nonprofits, with $200,000 each going to Dress for Success Arizona and New Pathways for Youth.
The money comes through Bank of America’s Neighborhood Builders program. Mary Noor, senior vice president and market executive at Bank of America, said the program is aimed at “workforce and economic mobility.”
The announcement came moments after Noor; Tamala McBath, CEO of Dress for Success Arizona; and Mark Garcia, Vice President of Learning Systems at New Pathways for Youth, talked about what it takes to help teens and adults build careers.
Then Scott Vanderpool, president of Bank of America Phoenix, stepped onto the stage to present the checks.
“I was walking down the street, and these were burning a hole in my pocket, so I had to make sure that I stopped by,” Vanderpool said. “Congratulations to both of these phenomenal organizations.”
He said the grants are about more than funding programs. “These investments are not just programmatic, but they’re leadership investments because of all the great work that you guys are doing,” Vanderpool said. “So well deserved and thank you for everything you do for our community.”
For a show built on connecting leaders from nonprofits, businesses, and government, the STN stage proved to be a fitting place for the news. Community leaders were in the room, a streaming audience was watching, and the congratulations came in real time.
It also underscored the season’s message: no single organization can solve these challenges alone, and when business and nonprofit leaders show up for each other, the community benefits.
