Issue link: https://nebusinessmedia.uberflip.com/i/1430606
22 Worcester Business Journal | November 22, 2021 | wbjournal.com Member FDIC A great city deserves a great relationship. Stop by our new Worcester branch located at 633 Park Ave. 1. Limited to one bonus maximum amount of $300.00 per common ownership or customer. Businesses which currently own or have had a Rockland Trust Business Checking account within the 90 days prior to the account open date are not eligible. Rockland Trust employees are also not eligible. To be eligible for the $300 bonus you must open a new Free Business Checking or a new Complete Business Checking account with an initial account opening deposit of $1,000 of new money to Rockland Trust between October 4, 2021 and December 31, 2021. Initial account opening deposits funded by loans from Rockland Trust do not qualify. The bonus will be paid directly to your account by March 31, 2022. Account must be open and have a positive balance at the time the bonus is credited. Bonus payment will be reported to the IRS for the tax year in which it is paid. For new accounts funded by new money to Rockland Trust. Offer may be discontinued at any time without prior notice. Business checking account must be opened at our 633 Park Ave branch located in Worcester. 2. Limit one promotional personal checking account per household. Individuals who currently own or have had a Rockland Trust checking account within the 90 days prior to the account open date are not eligible. Rockland Trust employees are also not eligible. To be eligible for the $250 bonus you must open a new checking account between October 4, 2021 and December 31, 2021 and use your new Rockland Trust Debit Card to make at least 20 purchases of $10 or more within 60 days of your account opening date. ATM transactions do not qualify. The bonus will be paid directly to your account by March 31, 2022. Account must be open and have a positive balance at the time the bonus is credited. Bonus payment will be reported to the IRS for the tax year in which it is paid. Checking account must be opened at our 633 Park Ave branch located in Worcester. Offer not valid for Renew Checking accounts. Offer may be discontinued at any time without prior notice. Take advantage of one of our GRAND OPENING OFFERS Earn $300 1 when you open a new Free Business Checking or Complete Business Checking account by December 31, 2021 Earn $250 2 when you open a new checking accountby December 31, 2021 To learn more, visit one of our branches or give us a call at 774.243.1098. BRANCH HOURS Mon - Thu Fri Sat 8:30 A.M. - 5:00 P.M. 8:30 A.M. - 6:00 P.M. 8:30 A.M. - 1:00 P.M. VIDEO TELLER HOURS Mon - Fri Sat Sun 7:00 A.M. - 7:00 P.M. 8:00 A.M. - 4:00 P.M. 10:00 A.M. - 4:00 P.M. Extended banking hours with Live Teller Services! Show me the money! M oney talks! "Show me the money!" is is a time- less line from the 1996 film "Jerry Maguire" spoken by Cuba Gooding Jr.'s professional football star char- acter, Rodney, who pushed his agent Jerry Maguire, played by Tom Cruise, to repeat the line several times in a row, in order to plant it as a reminder of what Rodney values most in his football deals. How we spend our money shows what we value and what our priorities are in business. Rodney was not wooed by deals simply elevating his name, sparkling with prestige, or anything else only ego-stroking; Rodney wanted to get paid! How we spend our money tells a lot about who we are and what we care about, as individuals and as business professionals. In October, I received a community email from President David Fithian, from my alma mater, Clark University in Worcester. e subject line read, "Investing in Clark for a Strong Future." I greatly respect his commitment to a vision for the institution articulated through action: Securing $100 million in new financing to fund future strategic investments. e business of any organization is dependent on its financial invest- ments. Show me where your organization is spending money, and I'll tell you what your organization is committed to! I have come to clearly understand the heart of every organization is its mission: What the people therein believe to be the "why" for the orga- nization. Mission is aligned with core values and elevated and lived (or not) through organizational culture and community engagement. In order to foster positive culture and community engagement, institu- tions must lay a foundation center- ing on belonging, which is secured through a baseline of work focused on diversity, equity & inclusion. All of these things cannot be aligned without focused funding to support them. To this point, President Fithian committed $1 million to DEI initia- tives, nearly a year before securing the $100 million for future strategic investments, and in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic. Why? Because committing to DEI is an investment; it lays the foundation for building up! President Fithian believes in Clark's mission and vision for an extraor- dinary student experience where, "Students will find a Clark education rigorous and empowering, and use it to change the world, and that our staff are admirably and unselfishly devoted to making everything we do success- ful – compel us to invest in our re- markable and distinctive institution." When it comes to supporting organizational diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives, many things can be done to show a commitment to it, including an equity and inclu- sion audit, publishing a public equity and inclusion statement, achieving progressive hiring data and low discrimination reporting and stats, having equitable salary tables, high retention numbers, equitable policies, and outward facing messaging about these initiatives. is noted, the commitment to these initiatives must be fortified with funding. Without it, the initiatives are, or become only performative, or never get off the ground to make real impact and create positive change for the organization. Are you tired of performative allyship in your organization, where grand initiatives are talked about, but no action is taken, and certainly none with money behind them? Audit your business spending to realize what your actual commitment is to diversity, equity, and inclusion work, structures, and initiatives, and then reevaluate your spending, if necessary. Bonnie J. Walker is the director of equity and inclusion at Worcester Academy, plying this arena in education in Mass. for 16 years. Contact her at bonnie.walker@ worcesteracademy.org WITH BONNIE J. WALKER Outside the Box W