Community service
Frost is a strong community partner in the markets where we do business and we are committed to investing in our communities and providing support for programs and services which have a direct impact on the people who live and work there.
Frost is a strong community partner in the markets where we do business. During 2023, 199 Frost employees provided their time and expertise by serving on the boards of 339 non-profit organizations, local government committees or other entities providing services in our communities.
In addition to community leadership, we encourage all employees to volunteer in our communities and provide each employee three Community Service Days per year to serve the organization of their choice. In 2023, Frost employees provided 19,500 hours of service to our communities.
Also in 2021, CEO Phil Green represented Frost in becoming a founding member of the Corporate Partners for Racial Equity in San Antonio. CPRE is a coalition of leading San Antonio area organizations focused on promoting:
- Equitable education
- Economic opportunity
- Safety and justice
Frost’s volunteer team, “Frost for Good,” is made up of a group of employees who are passionate about giving back to the community through volunteering their time, talents, and skills. Frost for Good partners with a variety of organizations that align with our mission to make peoples’ lives better. Volunteers might mentor students, deliver meals to home-bound seniors, sort food at the local food bank or participate in various other volunteer projects each year. In addition, Frost for Good conducts annual drives collecting school supplies, food, clothes and holiday gifts for local organizations. In 2023, Frost for Good participated in nearly 200 projects for 109 different community organizations. More than 1,100 Frost volunteers provided over 6,500 hours to these projects.
The Independent Sector of the Do Good Institute estimated that a volunteer’s time was equal to $31.80 per hour in 2023, translating to Frost volunteer time with value of over $206,000.
Frost is committed to investing in our communities and providing support for programs and services which have a direct impact on the people who live and work there. Many times, Frost is asked to be the lead collaborator in bringing together local banks within a region when a program or service needs the assistance of the financial community. It’s something we are always happy to do when it provides a needed service to our communities. We actively engage with nonprofit organizations, community groups, municipalities, housing authorities and other entities who create programs and services for low- and moderate-income communities. Our goal is to understand the needs of the community and mold programs that will meet those needs.
Frost provides high-quality financial literacy programs to low and moderate-income individuals in all of our communities. Our employees facilitate educational sessions throughout the state, covering many different aspects of financial management, from basic banking and youth savings, to lending and credit for low- and moderate-income adults and seniors. Through partnerships with schools, nonprofit organizations, government agencies and other entities we provide sessions that are customized to specific audiences so that participants feel comfortable asking questions. We pride ourselves on offering interactive sessions which create a sense of trust with our partners and the participants.
Our educational programs were adapted in response to the pandemic to include in person and virtual sessions. During 2023, Frost employees invested 11,658 hours presenting 1,846 financial education sessions to 26,469 individuals in our communities.
The Frost Small Business Outreach program provides education sessions designed to meet the needs of small businesses by focusing on the importance of a strong banking relationship. Seminars address issues such as basic banking and money management, preparing business plans, understanding bank and SBA loan products, applying for credit, fraud prevention, and assessing insurance needs.
Frost hosts and organizes an annual business building series for small businesses called “Taking the Next Step.” The program was developed in response to feedback from small businesses and our partners who serve them. The program provides additional learning opportunities for small business owners and is conducted in partnership with Small Business Development Centers, LiftFund, PeopleFund, SCORE and other nonprofit organizations.
Participants are nominated by one of our partners and attend four weekly educational sessions taught by Frost employees and others with expertise in financial statements, business plans, business fraud, business loans and more. The program was offered virtually in 2021 and 80 small businesses completed the series. Since inception in 2017, 437 small businesses have successfully completed the program.
The Frost Financial Youth Academy (FFYA) was created to provide in-school financial education to juniors and seniors at economically-disadvantaged inner-city high schools. The eight-month program is approved by the Texas Education Agency and must be periodically reviewed and recertified. The FFYA is hosted by one high school in the Austin, Corpus Christi, Fort Worth, and McAllen markets and two schools each in Dallas, Houston and San Antonio. In 2023, the FFYA hosted 47 sessions and 406 hours to over 237 students. To date, the FFYA program has awarded over $64,000 in scholarships to inner-city high school students.
The curriculum includes a detailed review of the following areas:
- Checking
- Savings & Budgeting
- Banking & the Economy
- Investments & an Investment Project
- Credit
- Lending
Local Frost employees assist in classroom instruction, giving students an opportunity to interact with professionals from different backgrounds and with different careers. Frost employees are provided time during their workday to prepare for and participate in the classes. Students are given a pretest prior to the first class and a post-test at the end of each section to measure the impact of the instruction.
The culmination of the program is a “graduation session” at which time one student at each school is awarded a $1,000 scholarship. To date, the FFYA program has awarded over $58,000 in scholarships to inner-city high school students.
In addition to the FFYA, Frost hosted and present over 1,672 financial literacy, and home improvement events, Reality Fairs and financial education sessions to adults, youth and seniors totaling 7,750 hours and reaching over 24,876 individuals and over 127 education sessions to small businesses totaling 3,502 hours to over 1,356 small businesses.
In the 2023 Small Business Series “Taking the Next Step”, 115 businesses participated in the 4-week series focusing on different aspects of financials, business plans and working with a financial institution and received mentoring from Frost Business lenders on working towards their growth strategy and sales growth. In total, since this programs inception, including 2023, 612 small businesses have completed this program.
Philanthropy
From service projects to financial literacy programs, Frost has a long history of community involvement in the regions where we do business. While it all starts with our people, Frost also gives back to our communities through philanthropic grant programs and nonprofit sponsorships. In that context, Frost allocates resources to help support the unique and varied needs of each of the markets we serve. The decisions on how those resources are used are made at the local leadership level, but our focus is concentrated primarily in the areas of education, economic development, human services, health, arts & culture, and youth development. We support hundreds of organizations each year, including Teach for America, Communities in Schools, Boys & Girls Clubs, the YMCA and United Way. During 2023, Frost and the Frost Foundation distributed over $5 million in donations and grants to organizations in the communities where we do business.
