M&T Bank announced the first $6 million in donations from a $25 million fund set up to cover its entire service area following its merger with People’s United Bank. Monday’s donations will power 44 Connecticut groups.

Called the Amplify Fund, the fund “provides finite, multi-year funding to community-based organizations and intermediaries with a demonstrated commitment to high-need, underserved, or marginalized communities,” the bank said in its announcement.

The 44 Connecticut nonprofits chosen had applied for the grants earlier this year.

Projects funded include helping low-income BIPOC individuals find new career pathways via job training and mentorship programs, direct support to BIPOC and women owned small businesses to help develop and grow their businesses, funding and expansion of safe and stable mission-driven housing to low-income households and expansion of physical and mental health services for homeless youth in Connecticut.

Hiring of additional staff and expansion of organizational capacity across numerous organizations of different types and missions.
“M&T is a community-focused bank, and we are proud to support and stand alongside these impactful organizations to help them do good in the communities which we all value,” M&T Bank Senior Executive Vice President and Head of Community Banking Mike Keegan said in a statement. “This first round of Amplify Fund grants being invested in Connecticut is part of a broader commitment to initiatives that are focused on supporting local partners with more capacity to achieve their objectives.”