Photo courtesy of PeoplesBank
Amy Roberts
Chief Administrative Officer, PeoplesBank
Years experience: 28
Age: 50
While bank philanthropy can feature a lot of standing next to oversized checks, PeoplesBank Chief Administrative Officer Amy Roberts and her colleagues are putting in the hard work, as well. The bank had nearly 10,000 volunteer hours in 2025 and worked with nearly 500 charitable organizations. PeoplesBank also reported that its associates pledged an additional $40,000 of their own salaries as part of its Workplace Giving program. But these efforts can also create business opportunities as banking becomes more consolidated: Volunteering, Roberts says, can help the bank stand out from its competitors.
Q: When it comes to bank philanthropy a lot of it can be looked at as just handing out checks. What’s the difference when you have bank employees committing their own time to volunteer?
A: I think that’s a huge differentiator. It is more than just handing out a check. It’s really getting involved and engaged and that’s a tenant in our culture. When we bring new people on board, we actually spend some very pointed time talking about our commitment and the need for involvement, and the encouragement of involvement. We really ask our employees to think about what they’re doing in their communities, and [they] get credit for that. Part of the logging of the community hours involves any kind of community support; it doesn’t even necessarily have to be something that’s a PeoplesBank initiative.
We have things where we’ll go out in the community. Might do Habitat for Humanity and help with a home build but we also have employees who choose to give back in their own way. Maybe they coach Little League or they volunteer at their church and all of those hours matter and are important to us, regardless of kind of what the connection is. If it’s important to our associates and they’re a part of our community, we embrace that.
We hear all the time from our customers that they see it. They know that we’re really a part of the community, and it’s not just a check or money, we actually are on the ground with them working in communities and being a part of initiatives that are important to the people that are our customers.
Q: So, it helps the bank stand out from large, national bank brands?
A: We’ve seen the impact [from] being genuine about our interest in being a part of the community in which we work and serve. It’s very clear to us that there’s a business connection to that, and we are top of mind for customers if they have a need, they want to buy a house, they want to open an account, save for retirement, whatever it might be. I think they have us in mind because they know that we genuinely care and are a part of the community.
For us, we feel it’s absolutely a differentiator and it makes us who we are. I think that it’s definitely given us a significant edge over some of the unknown, corporate, big banks that have come into the area. Certainly, they have a lot to offer, so it’s not a slam on them. It’s just a different business model. When you’re talking about helping people save for their first house and make decisions that are going to impact their family financially in the future, I think the fact that we’re a part of the community, and people see us there, and they know that we’re there, I think it definitely means something to people.
Q: What does it mean to PeoplesBank that, along with committing their time, employees are buying into corporate responsibility and philanthropy by giving a portion of their own salaries back to the community?
A: It’s just the fabric of our culture. When we hire and when we bring people in for interviews, we talk about all those things. When someone joins us, I think there’s definitely a draw for that kind of person who wants to be a part of an organization that gives back, who wants to be involved in that way in their community. From an employment standpoint, it appeals to a lot of people that they can be a part of something bigger. I definitely think that when it comes to pledging their own money on top of what we do as a corporation, that just that’s evidence of that. They really feel like they’re a part of something bigger, and they want to participate and give back themselves. We try to be really good to our own employees, and I’d like to think that they feel that appreciation.
Q: When it comes to trying to create a culture of volunteering and philanthropy, how do you go about creating that?
A: I’m a big believer that if you want something to happen, you have to create the environment for it to happen. When people join the organization, if they have an organization that is close to their heart, typically we match donations. So, if someone decides they want to donate somewhere, we do a match, dollar for dollar, up to $2,000 a year. We have that structure in place.
We also have a process in place at all of our banking centers, where, if a customer comes in and they’re on a Little League team, and they’re selling raffle tickets, our team and the banking center has the autonomy to make a donation to that. Our leadership team is on boards. Our team sees that they participate in philanthropy events, they’re a part of the communities as well.
Because it’s encouraged at all levels of the organization, I think that sets the stage for people to feel like, “Okay, this is something that I can do, too and it’s accepted and welcomed.” I do think that that makes a big difference in terms of people feeling comfortable, to want to say,’ hey, I want to participate in this.’ We also publicize all of our events and community giving opportunities to our employees, They can sign up right through us. We log their hours for them. We make it super easy in that way. So, I think we’ve created an infrastructure that really supports and promotes that type of behavior.
Roberts’s Favorite Local Spots for a Sweet Treat
- Rice Fruit Farm, Wilbraham
- JB’s Ice Cream, East Longmeadow
- Batch Ice Cream, Longmeadow
- Elsie’s Creamery, Ludlow
- Smokin’ Scoops, West Springfield
