Naugatuck Savings Bank to Give $50,000 to Nonprofits

For a third year in a row, one of the area's main banking institutions will be giving away $50,000 to local nonprofits. And it wants its customers to decide where the money will go.

announced it is hosting its third annual Community Awards Program, which allows the customers to decide how the bank’s Savings Foundation will award $50,000 in grant money to a local 501(c)(3) nonprofit or charitable organization.

“As a leading corporate citizen, we believe we have a responsibility to help the communities we live in by assisting nonprofit organizations meet their funding needs," said Mark C. Yanarella, chairman and CEO of Naugatuck Savings Bank. “We value the opinions of our customers so our Foundation wants them to help us determine what local organizations are most deserving of grant money.”

, NSB awarded 35 local nonprofits with grant funding through this program. The Middlebury Senior Center garnered the most, with a $5,000 grant, followedly by St. Francis Church, which received $3,755. .

Bank customers will be able to cast their vote online at naugatucksavingsbank.com or in any of the bank’s 15 branch locations. Apart from Naugatuck, NSB operates branches in Ansonia, Cheshire, Hamden, Meriden, Middlebury, Oxford, Prospect, Southbury, Waterbury, Watertown and Woodbury.

Voting will take place from Jan. 3 through March 31, 2012. The votes will be tabulated in April 2012 and those organizations with the required 1 percent of total votes will receive a proportional share of the $50,000 with a maximum award of $5,000 per organization, the bank said in the press release.

Also, there will be a special award of $500 to six randomly selected eligible organizations that receive less than the required 1 percent of the votes, the bank said.