Our Community Giving
A warm meal. A warm bed. A place to call home.
For over 60 years, community giving has been part of Northern Bank. Today, our Charitable Foundation focuses specifically on providing food, shelter and housing to families in our communities.
We believe helping our communities grow, helps us all.
Community
We invest in our communities by supporting the people who live and work here and helping them achieve their goals and dreams.
Volunteering
Our team members dedicate many hours to volunteering and supporting organizations in our communities.
Partnerships
We partner with many schools, non-profits and other charitable organizations to help them advance their mission.
Foundation
We also invest in communities in Middlesex County through the Northern Bank Charitable Foundation.
Supporting organizations and causes vital to our communities.
Over the past few years Northern Bank has partnered with Heading Home, a non-profit that works to end homelessness in the Greater Boston area, to provide shelter and food for families in need.
In 2019, Northern Bank teamed up with New England Running Back, Sony Michel, to welcome a homeless family into their new home.
The Foundation focuses its efforts on three key areas:
- Assisting members of our community with housing and shelter needs
- Ending hunger by raising awareness and supporting our local food banks in Middlesex County
- Providing a variety of services, including financial literacy for children, low income residents and seniors in our community
The Foundation has awarded over $2 million to support our communities.
James E. McGarry Jr. Scholarship Fund
The Northern Bank Charitable Foundation annually administers the James E. McGarry Jr. Scholarship Fund. The $5,000 college scholarship, established in 2014, honors the late “Jim” McGarry of Woburn for his 50 years of service to Northern Bank. It also pays tribute to his lifelong affinity for local fire and police departments.
The application for the 2023 James E. McGarry Jr. Scholarship has closed.
Good luck to all of the 2023 graduates!
Interested in applying for charitable funding?
Select which type of giving best applies to your group.
Charitable Foundation
Community Sponsorship
Corporate Giving
Charitable Foundation
Community Sponsorship
Corporate Giving
General Description
Requests are larger contributions made to 501(c)(3) non-profit organizations and are reviewed quarterly. Request should have a CRA community development component*.
Dollar Amount
Over $2,500.00
Eligibility
Applicant must be nonprofit 501(c)(3), with programs that serve low to moderate income individuals, or affordable housing initiatives. Organization should service Middlesex County.
Organization Type
Affordable Housing, Community Services, Financial Literacy, Community Development.
Application Process
Apply using the link below. Once the application is submitted, they are reviewed on a quarterly basis. If approved you will be contacted.
Please note: Northern Bank does not make contributions of any kind to individuals, or individual fundraising efforts, organizations which are religious or political in nature, organizations which are discriminatory in their practice or in-kind donations.
*Community development is affordable housing for low and moderate income individuals; community services targeted to low and moderate income individuals; activities that promote economic development by financing small businesses (gross annual revenues of $1 million or less); and activities that revitalize or stabilize low and moderate income geographies.
Community Spotlight
Giving
Scholarship Winner
In memory of Jim McGarry, the Northern Bank Charitable Foundation would like to extend a big congratulations to the 2022 James E. McGarry Jr. Scholarship recipient Brigid McCarron of Melrose. The $5,000 scholarship was established in 2014 to honor the late Jim McGarry of Woburn, a long-time employee.
Employee
Claire Pappas
After several years volunteering and coordinating volunteers, and 8+ years serving as a board member at the Council for Social Concern, Northern Bank team member, Claire Pappas, was honored when the Council dedicated their food distribution center to her. Well done, Claire!
Causes
Fighting Hunger
COVID-19 has had a significant impact on the homeless families in our communities, with many going hungry. Northern Bank wanted to find a way to help feed more families in need. Recently, we awarded a grant to Heading Home to provide meals for individuals with families in the Heading Home shelters in Cambridge and Medford.
