PARAMUS, N.J., Aug. 22, 2016 -- M&T Bank announced today that it has awarded $615,000 in funding to 45 not-for-profit organizations in New Jersey, part of M&T's commitment to the growth and development of neighborhoods across the Garden State.

M&T's grants are focused on housing development, financial counseling, housing counseling, neighborhood stabilization, community organizing, and an overarching promise to strengthen New Jersey's neighborhoods—and the people who live in them.

M&T awarded its first of these grants last week, a $20,000 donation to Jersey City-based Garden State Episcopal Community Development Corporation in an effort to support the cultivation of resources for vulnerable communities to develop healthy neighborhoods. The grant will support the GSEDC's Affordable Housing and Neighborhood Revitalization project, which provides quality affordable housing opportunities to families that cannot afford to comfortably rent or buy in the private market. The organization has developed over 240 residential units, providing housing for over 630 people in the past two decades.

"This series of grants demonstrates our dedication to the state of New Jersey, and our commitment to building long-term relationships with  organizations that make New Jersey a better place to live and work," said Paula Mandell, area executive for M&T Bank. "As community bankers, we understand how important it is for us to support a multitude of innovative and proven community development initiatives  across New Jersey."

M&T Bank has a 160-year legacy of serving as a community-focused and community-oriented bank and has earned the highest possible Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) rating on every exam by the Federal Reserve since 1982.

"Since becoming part of this community, M&T Bank has been working arduously and actively to engage with New Jersey's community organizations, building on our 160-year legacy of community banking and corporate citizenship," said Alle Ries, regional Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) officer for M&T Bank in New Jersey. "As we have been in all of the communities we serve, M&T will be deeply focused on strengthening the Garden State's neighborhoods.  We look forward to partnering with these 45 outstanding New Jersey organizations to stabilize and develop neighborhoods, provide financial literacy, promote home ownership and do other valuable work."

Other notable organizations receiving funding through M&T Bank include:

• Saint Joseph's Carpenter Society: Saint Joseph's Carpenter Society (SJCS) helps families improve their quality of life through homeownership in Camden, New Jersey. The organization will receive a $15,000 grant from M&T Bank.
• La Casa de Don Pedro: La Casa is an activist, community-based, grassroots organization committed to empowering the marginalized Hispanic and Latino communities in Newark, and serves as the largest link to this community in New Jersey. M&T Bank is providing La Casa de Don Pedro with a $20,000 grant.
• Interfaith Neighbors: Interfaith Neighbors, Inc. is a group of congregations assembled from throughout Monmouth County to address the issue of homelessness, and will receive a $20,000 grant from M&T Bank.
• The Housing and Community Development Network of New Jersey: The Housing and Community Development Network of New Jersey works to improve the environment for the work of community development corporations (CDCs) and strengthen their capacity to create housing in distressed neighborhoods. M&T Bank will provide a $20,000 grant to the organization.

Additional grants will be presented throughout the fall to recipients including:

About M&T Bank
M&T is a financial holding company headquartered in Buffalo, New York. M&T's principal banking subsidiary, M&T Bank, operates banking offices in New York, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Connecticut, Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia. Trust-related services are provided by M&T's Wilmington Trust-affiliated companies and by M&T Bank.

Member FDIC.