Submitted by Lucas Fumiatti, Essex Savings Bank
(April 22, 2025) — $120,000 has been disbursed to area 501(c)(3)s, completing the
customer balloting portion of Essex Savings Bank’s Community Investment Program (CIP). Bank customers could select up to three non-profits, and funds were allocated according to the proportion of the total vote each organization received. The CIP represents Essex Savings Bank’s commitment to community banking, providing donations to local nonprofits since 1996. The ballot is the Bank’s way of involving its customers in its charitable work.
Shoreline Soup Kitchen and Pantries ($8,824) received the most votes, followed by Forgotten Felines, Inc. ($5,418) and Bikes for Kids ($3,877). After 30 years of balloting, nearly 200,000 votes have been cast, distributing almost two million dollars to more than 200 nonprofits. President and CEO Diane Arnold comments, “So much has changed in the past three decades, yet Essex Savings continues to care deeply for this community, as shown by our efforts over these many years. We thank each and every non-profit on the ballot for participating, but more importantly, for helping to make our corner of the world a better place.”
For more information on the Community Investment Program, the annual ballot, and Essex Savings Bank, please visit www.essexsavings.com.
Top 10 Contributions:
Shoreline Soup Kitchens & Pantries $ 8,824.00
Forgotten Felines $ 5,418.00
Bikes For Kids $ 3,877.00
Essex Fire Engine Co. No. 1 $ 3,678.00
High Hopes Therapeutic Riding, Inc. $ 3,629.00
Essex Land Trust $ 3,107.00
Essex Ambulance Association Incorporated $ 2,983.00
Essex Library Association $ 2,983.00
Estuary Council of Seniors $ 2,933.00
Ivoryton Playhouse Foundation, Inc. $ 2,610.00
Essex Savings Bank is an FDIC-insured, state-chartered, mutual savings bank established in 1851.The Bank serves the Connecticut River Valley and shoreline with six offices in Essex, Chester, Madison, Old Lyme, and Old Saybrook providing a full complement of personal and business banking. Financial, estate, insurance, and retirement planning are offered throughout the state by the Bank’s Trust Division, Essex Trust, and its wholly-owned subsidiary, Essex Financial Services, Inc., a Registered Investment Advisor.