UniBank launches new initiative to support and attract nonprofits

UniBank has created a resource center offering nonprofits training, financial education and marketing exposure, an effort the Whitinsville-based bank hopes will support community organizations while attracting more of their deposits. UniBank announced its new Nonprofit Resource Center on Sept. 8. The initiative will serve organizations in Central Massachusetts and beyond, supplementing UniBank’s checking, savings, and other banking products with services tailored to nonprofits. CEO Ed Augustus said the idea developed from the bank’s work with existing nonprofit customers and a focus group that asked those organizations what additional support they needed. Their responses pointed to financial education, professional development, and opportunities to connect with other nonprofits. The center will offer workshops, training sessions, collaborative events and access to subject-matter experts. Planned topics include board governance, fundraising, financial management, leadership development, marketing, volunteer engagement, and organizational planning.  UniBank launched an advertising campaign for the new initiative earlier in September, featuring its nonprofit customers, rather than bank executives or more generic banking messages. The advertisements can direct audiences to the featured groups through links or QR codes, giving the organizations exposure to prospective donors and visitors while also promoting the bank. With the bank in the process of converting a 100-year-old home in Whitinsville into a headquarters for its charitable foundation, Augustus said the site will be open for local nonprofits to use for events and retreats.  The initiative has a clear business purpose, Augustus said, as banks are competing to secure deposits from businesses, individuals and nonprofits. UniBank’s existing nonprofit customers range from small community groups holding a few thousand dollars to major social-service and cultural institutions with substantial assets. “Everybody’s fighting for deposits. That’s the core need that every bank has,” Augustus said. UniBank’s goals include retaining its current nonprofit customers, recruiting new ones and increasing deposits. Augustus said the center will evolve as the bank works with more organizations and learns about changing needs.  Peter Barry, who joined UniBank in January after working for the Worcester Red Sox, is helping lead the effort, with support from Worcester Market Executive Matthew Wally, market executive Bo Daley, and Augustus. The launch comes as nonprofits face growing demand for food, housing, and other forms of assistance, Augustus said. He pointed to reductions in federal safety-net support, rising costs of living, and increased homelessness as pressures creating more work for community organizations. “As that federal safety net gets frayed, I think there’s more demand than ever on nonprofits to try to fill those needs,” Augustus said. “If you talk to anybody who runs a food pantry, they’ll tell you they have just unprecedented demand and needs.” Augustus said Central Massachusetts nonprofits occupy a role that neither government nor the private sector can fulfill alone. Food pantries, youth organizations, housing agencies and recreation centers help close gaps in services, he said. That role also aligns with UniBank’s structure, Augustus said. As a mutual bank, the institution has depositors rather than stockholders and an obligation to benefit customers and communities within its footprint. UniBank has also supported nonprofits through sponsorships, charitable giving and the foundation the bank established in 2021. After serving eight years as the city manager of Worcester, Augustus spent about three years as the state’s secretary of housing and livable communities before becoming CEO of UniBank in March. UniBank is the sixth-largest bank in Central Massachusetts, with $2.5 billion in local deposits as of June 2025, according to information provided to the WBJ Research Department.  Eric Casey is the managing editor at Worcester Business Journal, who primarily covers the real estate and banking & finance industries.