How Summit Bank Invests in Local Communities
Community investment isn't a line item at Summit Bank. It's the reason we exist.
Summit Bank was founded in 1959 by a group of Burlington, Vermont business owners who wanted a bank that would lend to the people and businesses that larger banks were turning away. That founding intent still shows up every day in how we operate.
The Summit Community Foundation
Established in 2001, the Summit Community Foundation is funded by a percentage of Summit Bank's annual net income. In 2025, the Foundation distributed $4.8M in grants across New England, supporting affordable housing development, small business incubators, food security programs, and college access initiatives for first-generation students.
Applications are open to New England nonprofits twice a year. The next grant cycle opens October 1, 2026.
Branch-level community programs
Every Summit branch operates a small discretionary community budget that branch managers can direct without headquarters approval. In practice, this means our Portland, Maine branch partners with the Good Shepherd Food Bank; our Hartford branch sponsors financial literacy classes at local high schools; our Boston branch hosts a weekly small business office-hours program open to any entrepreneur in the Financial District.
These aren't corporate initiatives handed down from a marketing team. They're relationships that branch employees built because they live in those communities.
800 employees. 42 communities.
Summit Bank employees collectively logged 2,100 volunteer hours in New England communities in 2025. We give every employee two paid volunteer days per year. Last December, employees across all six states participated in Habitat for Humanity builds, food bank sorting, and coat drives.
Affordable housing lending
Summit Bank is a consistent top-3 lender in the MassHousing, CHFA, and RIHousing affordable mortgage programs. In 2025, we closed 340 affordable housing loans across New England, helping families who earned between 60% and 120% of Area Median Income become homeowners.
We also maintain a dedicated Community Development Lending team that works with municipalities and nonprofits to structure New Markets Tax Credit and CDFI-backed loans for community facilities, affordable housing developments, and economic development projects.
What this looks like in practice
It looks like a loan officer driving 45 minutes to meet a farmer in Vermont who couldn't take a day off for a branch visit. It looks like a branch manager co-signing a letter of support for a nonprofit's grant application. It looks like 800 people choosing to work at a community bank when they could work somewhere larger.
We're proud of the numbers. We're more proud of the stories behind them.