Eastern Bank Charitable Foundation Pledges $1.5 Million to Local Nonprofits Committed to Advancing Women

This year's focus underscores the Bank's continued and unwavering commitment to achieving equality for women in the workplace and beyond. Chairman and CEO Bob Rivers is a founding member of the Boston Women's Workforce Council, and Eastern is a leader on behalf of the Center for Women in Business and 2020 Women on Boards, supporting each group to gather and report data and best practices as the basis for establishing greater representation of women throughout today's corporations. Today, women comprise 66 percent of Eastern's workforce, including 48 percent of its officer corps. Earlier this month, the Bank announced Deborah Jackson as the first woman elected as Lead Director for its Board of Directors.

Each year, the Foundation's Targeted Grant program supports hundreds of organizations working for progress on a specific area of need in Eastern's New England footprint. In 2018, in celebration of the Bank's 200^th anniversary and to honor its first depositor, Rebecca Sutton, Targeted Grants will support organizations focused on a wide range of issues that disproportionately impact women and girls, including pay inequality, underrepresentation in leadership and STEM careers, discrimination in health care, sexual assault and domestic violence. Targeted Grants are awarded at $10,000.

"On April 15, 1818, our first deposit was made by Nathan Robinson, Mrs. Sutton's late husband's attorney, on her behalf," said Bob Rivers, Eastern Bank's Chairman and CEO.  "It's hard to imagine the strange concept of a proxy for a woman to make a bank deposit, but only 200 years ago, it was the way business got done."  "As we reflect on our legacy, the choice to name Advancing Women as the 2018 Targeted Grant category seemed like the perfect bridge between our early beginnings and the Bank's advocacy & philanthropy in today's environment."

Grant applications are due by 5:00 p.m. on Friday, March 2, 2018. For more information and to apply for a Targeted Grant, please visit: www.easternbank.com/foundation.

About Eastern Bank

Founded in 1818 and based in Boston, Eastern Bank is America's oldest and largest mutual bank, with over $10 billion in assets and over 120 locations serving communities in eastern Massachusetts, southern and coastal New Hampshire and Rhode Island. Eastern provides exceptional access to fairly priced banking, investment and insurance products and services for consumers and businesses of all sizes.  Eastern Bank, which includes Eastern Wealth Management and Eastern Insurance, is known for its outspoken advocacy and community support that has exceeded more than $107 million in charitable giving since 1999. An inclusive company, Eastern employs 1,900+ deeply committed professionals who value relationships with their customers, colleagues and communities. Join us for good at www.easternbank.com.

SOURCE Eastern Bank

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