On the third day of the fifth month, May 3rd or 5/3, we at Fifth Third Bank celebrate Fifth Third Day. On this day we honor the reason we are in business by toasting our customers, our colleagues and our communities.
Fifth Third Day 2008 was actually a full week of events as we reached out to our communities with the Fifth Third Day “Week of Giving.” During the week, Fifth Third Bank distributed over $200,000 to charities across Southeast Michigan. We’ve all been hit hard by the turbulent economy. Non-profit agencies have really bourn the brunt of the economic downturn, however, as both our personal and corporate belts have tightened. At a time when the need is perhaps greatest, resources are becoming more difficult to find for many of the charitable agencies that provide vital services to our urban core.

Improving people’s lives is the business goal of Fifth Third Bank and the purpose of our charitable giving. By aligning our business goals and our giving goals we are able to stay focused on what is really important to do. It keeps us headed in the right direction and helps us make the right decisions. Typically on Fifth Third Day we have one major charitable gift for $53,000 presented in a very high profile way to garner as much public relations value as possible. This year we actually gave more but did it in a quieter way. It was what the times demanded. I think it was the right thing to do.

We have no illusions that spreading $200,000 across the region will eradicate the desperate state of need that so many communities find themselves in. And, throughout the year we actually contribute millions of dollars to create a better tomorrows for our communities. What the Fifth Third Day Week of Giving did do was make a statement about the need and highlight some charitable agencies that are performing outstanding work at the neighborhood level.

One of the last gifts we awarded was late Friday afternoon of May 2nd, the day before the actual Fifth Third Day. The charity was the Detroit Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC). We met with Deborah Younger, executive director, and her very talented and spirited staff. The mission of LISC is to help transform distressed neighborhoods into healthy communities of choice and opportunity, good places to work, do business and raise children. LISC works with community development corporations, government, philanthropic entities and corporate partners to provide the needs for targeted communities. LISC not only provides funds, technology, education and tactical resources, but they provide the vision and strategic direction as well. In many cases local government is relying on LISC to set the agenda because of how close to the neighborhoods they are. The enthusiasm of the LISC team was inspiring.

While we were there to give a gift to LISC, I was the one who felt enriched as we headed for the evening rush hour traffic. It is gratifying to know that there are such dedicated professionals working on some of our most severe social problems and that they persist in the face of diminishing resources.

It shouldn’t take a declared “Week of Giving” to appreciate the great work of our non-profit community. If you know someone who is associated with a non-profit, now would be a good time to make a donation (any size