Helping young people express themselves through art
ART 180, a Richmond nonprofit with a mission to give young people living in challenging circumstances a chance to express themselves through art, sought to diversify where it invested and saved donor dollars. VCC “rose to the top” of ART 180’s list of possibilities “because of their mission to invest in the community,” says Marlene Paul, the organization’s executive director.
ART 180 is a Richmond nonprofit with a mission to give young people living in challenging circumstances a chance to express themselves through art.
The nonprofit opened a $250,000 money market account with VCC, which grows annually and allows the bank to invest in projects around the community. “I appreciate VCC’s reason for being, and the projects that are able to happen because VCC is behind them,” Paul says. “That’s something I don’t see in other banks.”
In addition to the financial and social return that the money market account offers, VCC also sponsors ART 180’s annual “The Really BIG Show,” showcasing the visual and performing arts of the program’s youth. “That kind of act reflects the sort of mutually beneficial relationship that VCC promotes,” Paul says. “We aren’t just getting the banking support we need, but we are being supported as a community partner.”