The Bank of Tampa Makes 2018 Donation to Step Up For Students with $200,000 Gift
Feb. 26, 2019
TAMPA, Fla., Feb. 26, 2019 – The Bank of Tampa, the largest community bank headquartered in the Tampa Bay area, today announced a continued partnership and $200,000 donation to Step Up For Students, a nonprofit organization that helps administer the income-based Florida Tax Credit Scholarship program. The donation is part of The Bank of Tampa’s 2018 commitment to Step Up For Students.
“Step Up For Students is a key community partner of The Bank of Tampa,” said Scott Gault, Hillsborough County market president at The Bank of Tampa. “We’re proud to continue to support this great organization that consistently makes a positive impact on the lives and education of many students based in our community and throughout Florida.”
The Bank of Tampa has partnered with Step Up For Students since 2015, and has donated a total of $700,000, supporting lower-income Florida schoolchildren. Scholars who benefit attend schools throughout Tampa Bay, including Academy Prep and Cristo Rey High School. The Bank of Tampa offers internships to Cristo Rey High School students as part of their curriculum.
“We’re thrilled to have the continued support and funding from The Bank of Tampa,” said David Bryant, development officer for Step Up For Students. “A long-term community presence in the Tampa Bay area, we estimate they have helped provide 109 scholarships students through their donations alone.”
About The Bank of Tampa
The Bank of Tampa is the largest community bank in the Tampa Bay area. It has been privately held by its employees, directors and clients since the banks inception in 1984. It has offices in Hillsborough, Pinellas and Sarasota counties. The Bank of Tampa’s assets total more than $1.6 billion, with outstanding loans great than $1 billion. Its wealth management areas have more than $750 million in assets under care. To learn more, visit www.thebankoftampa.com, or follow us on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and Twitter.
About Step Up For Students
Step Up For Students is a nonprofit organization that helps administer the income-based Florida Tax Credit Scholarship Program. Students who qualify for the national free or reduced-price lunch, or those who are homeless or in foster or out-of-home care, may qualify. The scholarship program provides tuition assistance to the private school of their parents’ choice or financial assistance to offset the transportation cost to an out-of-district public school. Since 2001, Step Up has awarded more than 680,000 scholarships.
A first-of-its-kind study on the long-term effects of the scholarship program by The Urban Institute found that students who use the scholarship four or more years are up to 43 percent more likely to go to college and up to 29 percent more likely to earn an associate degree than their peers.
Step Up also helps administer the state-funded Gardiner Scholarship for Florida students with certain special needs, plus two new scholarships, the Hope Scholarship for public school students who are bullied and the Reading Scholarship Accounts for third- through fifth-grade students enrolled in public school who struggle with reading.
For more information, visit: www.StepUpForStudents.org.
Media Contact:
Kaley E. Infield
Marketing Communications Manager
(813) 998-2646
Kinfield@bankoftampa.com