Thank you to our inaugural FEATURED SPONSOR at the 2021 Virtual Desert Summit event being held September 14-15th:

PNC’s business model is built on prioritizing the communities where it does business through strong local leadership and collaboration with local organizations.  As a Main Street bank, PNC believes that being a part of the community is about more than just physical location.

“Being a good partner in each of the neighborhoods we serve is vital,” said Cathleen Walker, PNC regional president for Phoenix and Northern Arizona.  “This means listening to our communities so that we can better understand and support their needs and developing strong relationships with organizations focused on early childhood education, community development, the arts and culture and health and human services, among others.”

Recognizing the importance of our support, PNC is committed to making business decisions that positively impact the neighborhoods where we live and work. After all, we are only as strong as our communities and when our communities prosper, so does PNC.  

Among the most visible examples of PNC’s community-minded approach is PNC Grow Up Great®.   Since 2004, PNC Grow Up Great has focused on helping to prepare children, especially underserved children, from birth to age 5, for success in school and life. The initiative goes beyond the classroom, supporting learning and social-emotional development of children at home and across communities by also providing free resources and tools to parents, guardians, caregivers and neighborhood organizations.

Access to high-quality early childhood education and resources is critical. Research shows that quality early education reduces dropout rates, poverty and crime while improving the skills of tomorrow's workforce.

Since PNC Grow Up Great began in 2004, a total of $192 million in grants have been distributed across PNCs footprint to organizations that support early childhood education. More than seven million children benefitted from grant-funded programs and mobile educational tours.  Through an aggressive policy that permits up to 40 hours of paid time off for volunteerism, and in early April, one million employee volunteer hours have been tabulated. 

Local organizations that PNC collaborates with to support the cause of early childhood education include Southwest Human Development, where early literacy programs help young children build the skills they need to become successful readers now, while laying the foundation for lifelong literacy; First Things First with the creation of the AZ Healthy Child Care Helpline where childcare centers and home-based childcare providers are now able to call or email the helpline to get connected with a childcare health consultant (CCHC) liaison; Arizona Science Center offers STEM-based activities to young children and professional development workshops to early learning educators.; Children’s Action Alliance an independent voice that identifies and eliminates barriers to the well-being of children and families ; Association for Supportive Childcare that provides training and support to Family, Friend, and Neighbor (FFN) child care providers to improve the quality of care provided to young children; Arizona Educational Foundation whose mission is to celebrate excellence and cultivate equity in PreK-12th grade Arizona public education and the Musical Instrument Museum which is helping to expand the impact of live music in the Valley through its early childhood music and movement courses.

PNC takes pride in how it serves the communities where it does business and treats our local markets as our hometown. That means listening carefully, making decisions locally, and helping to further initiatives spanning early childhood education, arts and culture, and economic development initiatives, among other priorities.

The Arizona Desert Summit Committee and the AZAFP welcome PNC Bank as this year’s title sponsor. 

PNC is a registered mark of The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. (‘‘PNC’’)