BMO Harris Bank announced today that it will donate more than $4 million to neighborhood programs throughout Wisconsin this year to commemorate the financial institution’s bicentennial.
BMO said about $2.8 million of that donation will be directed to programs in the Milwaukee area.
Among the initiatives to receive donations this year are the United Way of Greater Milwaukee & Waukesha County’s program to increase healthy birth outcomes and reduce the city’s high infant mortality rate, the United Performing Arts Fund’s arts education outreach program, and the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Milwaukee’s efforts to increase high school graduation rates and equip students with skills to succeed in college.
Nearly 200 community organizations in the Milwaukee area have or will receive donations from BMO in 2017.
To mark its 200th year in business, BMO has also launched an initiative inviting people to visit www.bmo200.com to make “wishes for a better tomorrow,” some of which BMO will fulfill.
“Milwaukee is such an important market for us, and we’re very pleased to mark our bicentennial with the wishes we are granting and the donations we are announcing,” said David Casper, president and CEO of BMO Harris Bank. “The bank’s history in Milwaukee dates back 170 years, to the founding of M&I Bank in 1847. We have always been committed to giving back to the communities in which they serve, and we are proud to carry on that tradition.”
BMO also highlighted its support of the Milwaukee area through its sponsorship of the BMO Harris Bradley Center, and its role as the official bank of the Milwaukee Bucks; its long-term partnership with Summerfest for the BMO Harris Pavilion; and its plans to build a new 25-story office tower in downtown Milwaukee, with construction slated to begin later this year.
The bank is also celebrating the groundbreaking of a new branch in Sherman Park today. The branch is being built at 3637 W. Fond du Lac Ave. Construction is expected to be completed in the fall.
