Corporate Social Responsibility

Tompkins Corporate Social Responsibility

At Tompkins Financial Corporation, our communities are at the heart of who we are and what we do. We’ve been serving our communities since 1836, so you could say we know how to roll up our sleeves, get involved, and do what’s right.

 COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT

Philanthropy

One of our company’s core values is “Community Impact.” Each of our markets have embraced this value to create thriving employee volunteer programs and community donation programs.

Each of our four markets make independent decisions on local volunteer efforts and donations that will have the largest impact in their individual communities.  Establishing and maintaining strong partnerships with local non-profit and philanthropic organizations is a key component to supporting the communities that support us.

Community Based Programs

Volunteerism and Community Support

By working closely with local organizations, we’ve made an impact by addressing multiple areas of need in the communities we serve. This includes annual donations of approximately $850,000 across our four markets and 19,000 hours of community service hours by Tompkins employees.

In Central New York, Tompkins contributes to over 200 organizations annually, with employees consistently dedicating their time to service opportunities in the community as well. The bank supports a large number of arts and theater projects such as community theaters, concert bands, and high school plays. The bank also supports projects for children – including science, education, sports, and research – as well as supporting quality and affordable childcare. Tompkins supported organizations providing care to the members of the community such as the Cortland Memorial Foundation who supports Guthrie Cortland Medical Center’s efforts to guarantee quality health care remains close to home in their region of Cortland or Ithaca Neighborhood Housing Services who are dedicated to expanding low income housing options in the Central New York area.

The bank administers two awards programs that recognize exceptional efforts in volunteer work and education: the James J. Byrnes Awards for Excellence honors unpaid volunteer efforts with a monetary donation to the recipient’s non-profit of choice; and the Raymond Van Houtte Teacher Awards recognize outstanding teachers and administrators with monetary awards as well. The bank is the annual presenting sponsor of the Fab5 Young Professionals Awards, which recognizes leaders, entrepreneurs and volunteers ages 21 to 40 in Tompkins County. The awards have become a highly-regarded program that brings attention and credit to the strong work being done by young professionals.

In Western New York, in the wake of the senseless violence that occurred at a local grocery store in an underserved area of Buffalo, there was an immediate need to help the local community access food. Tompkins committed a $40,000 donation to FeedMore WNY as they worked to distribute food to members of the community affected by this tragedy. Later in 2022, Tompkins continued its partnership with FeedMore WNY through volunteer efforts by local employees packing boxes of food to be sent to those most in need.

In addition, Tompkins continued its support of local arts and education opportunities in the community, creating family friendly community events as well as supporting the institutions that create educational pathways for members of the community. This includes annual support of the Genesee Country Village & Museum, the largest living history museum in New York State, with the mission of preserving and sharing history, nature and art for generations to come. In Western New York, Tompkins also continued its long-term support for impactful organizations such as United Way and the YMCA in multiple of their local community chapters within the market.

In the Hudson Valley market of New York, Tompkins supports more than 200 organizations on an annual basis. Teams of our employees volunteer with Habitat for Humanity, Local farms, Second Chance Foods, animal rescues, and so much more. Tompkins recently created a local program called the “Acorn Alliance,” in which employees may participate in up to 15 volunteer opportunities during business hours throughout the year, allowing employees the opportunity to volunteer and assist their local communities. In the Hudson Valley, Tompkins sponsored a walk to support the Maria Fareri Children’s Hospital, who provide for children in need of critical pediatric care. Tompkins is also dedicated to assisting members of the community find employment through Greyston foundation. Greyston works to unlock the potential of members of the community through inclusive employment and services to promote self-sufficient learning.

Tompkins in our Pennsylvania market is a longtime supporter of organizations that help children. For the past 20 years, Tompkins has participated in the Pennsylvania Educational Improvement Tax Credit Program (EITC), which supports numerous youth educational programs across southeastern Pennsylvania. Participating in EITC is a way we can direct tax dollars to positively impact children where we live and work. In recent years, Tompkins donated more than $332,000 to 51 local programs through the EITC program, bringing the total amount of donations though our participation over the years to more than $3.7 million. In addition, Tompkins committed to supporting students from Reading Area Community College (RACC) through the creation of ‘Tompkins Treats’ a communal area providing free snacks to students. RACC is granting learning opportunities to students in the local communities and Tompkins is proud to play a role in assisting students on their journey.

Financial Literacy & Education

There is a critical need for financial education in the communities we serve. We’re proud to offer many opportunities to help people thrive and grow on their financial journey. Each of our markets offer various educational opportunities, including complimentary home-buyer seminars, fraud prevention classes, investment education, and more.

Through our website, the general public can view articles dedicated to topics such as saving, credit, home buying, and other timely topics. Additionally, we offer a video series, Tompkins Talks, which delivers digestible financial education content to people looking to learn through the video medium.

 HUMAN RESOURCES INITIATIVES

Commitment to our Employees

At Tompkins Financial, our culture is underpinned by our core values, including Commitment to and from our Employees.

The success and growth of our business is largely dependent on our ability to attract, develop, and retain a diverse population of talented and high-performing team members at all levels of our organization. Accordingly, the company strives to offer competitive salaries and benefits that are consistent with employee positions, skill levels, experience, and geographic location. In a drive to remove bias from the candidate screening process, we completed a review of over 300 job descriptions to remove biased language.

A key component of our recruitment and retention strategy is to offer employees at all levels the opportunity to participate in the company’s success.  We maintain a robust profit-sharing plan for all employees who meet minimum service requirements.  As of December 31, 2022, 75% of all employees received a profit-sharing contribution during 2022.

Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging

Our commitment to diversity, inclusion and belonging begins with our Board of Directors.  Our Board believes that including a variety of important perspectives in the boardroom ultimately results in more informed decision-making. Accordingly, in identifying potential nominees, the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee also considers whether a particular candidate adds to the overall diversity of the Board. The Committee seeks nominees with a broad diversity of experience, professions and perspectives, including diversity with respect to race, gender, geography, and areas of expertise. Of our fourteen (14) director nominees at the 2023 Annual Shareholders Meeting, five (5) identify as women and two (2) identify as persons of color.

		Gender			Race/Ethnicity
Director Nominee		Male	Female		Black/African American	Caucasian/White
John E. Alexander		X				X
Paul J. Battaglia		X				X
Nancy E. Catarisano			X			X
Daniel J. Fessenden		X				X
James W. Fulmer		X				X
Patricia A. Johnson			X		X
Angela B. Lee			X		X
John D. McClurg		X				X
Ita M. Rahilly			X			X
Thomas R. Rochon		X				X
Stephen S. Romaine		X				X
Michael H. Spain		X				X
Jennifer R. Tegan			X			X
Alfred J. Weber		X				X

At Tompkins we value belonging; the sense of acceptance, being empowered and recognized as an important contributor to Tompkins’ success. We continuously strive to build an inclusive workforce that reflects the diversity and strength of the communities we serve. With Board and Senior Leadership Team support, we are committed to empowering and engaging our workforce in creating and sustaining a culture that embraces diversity and promotes inclusion and belonging both inside and outside of our organization. 

Tompkins Workforce Demographics: Minority Representation
Category	Minority*		Total	% Minority
Management (all)	12		262	4.58%
Producers & Specialists	17		240	7.08%
All Other	66		561	11.76%
Grand Total	95		1063	8.94%
Data as of 12/31/2022 * Includes team members who self-identify as Hispanic or Latino, Asian, Black or African American, Two or More Races, or American Indian or Alaska Native
Tompkins Workforce Demographics: Female Representation
Category	Female		Male	Unidentified	Total	% Female
Management (all)	178		84		262	67.94%
Producers & Specialists	108		132		240	45.00%
All Other	445		108	8	561	79.32%
Grand Total	731		324	8	1063	68.77%
Data as of 12/31/2022

Our Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging Initiative brings together minds and ideas from across the company to implement educational sessions and cultural celebrations. Our team has implemented several initiatives since its launch, including the following:

• Partnering with Human Resources on onboarding and mentoring to ensure a focus on diversity, inclusion and belonging.
• Increased employee communication to include resources and opportunities for employees to have access to diversity, inclusion and belonging education, get involved in events, submit ideas and suggestions, and increase engagement in fostering an inclusive culture.
• Hosted events such as the Veterans Coffee Hour honoring our Veteran employees, the DEI Book Club, Launch of Employee Resource Groups, Chalk The Walk and DEI Discussion Groups.
• Each month we take the opportunity to provide education and increase awareness of difference, inequality, history and culture. Examples of monthly highlights include: Black History Month, Suicide Prevention Month, Domestic Violence Awareness, Women’s Equality Day, Americans with Disabilities Act, and Unconscious Bias Training.
• Established social justice groups in each market to focus on diversifying our community outreach efforts.

Tompkins has partnered closely with the newly formed Westchester Multicultural Chamber (WMCC) whose mission is to seek economic equity and equality through Multiculturalism. The WMCC is targeting the divide between privilege and poverty in Westchester, providing immediate support for entrepreneurs and small business owners in order for those currently underutilized to grow their talents and positively impact the Westchester area. Tompkins will be looking to support and partner with WMCC as they continue to grow, providing learning and networking opportunities to the diverse community of Westchester.

Training and Professional Development

Tompkins Learning and Development provides access to internal development classes around communication, management, leadership and personal development. For the year 2022, the average Tompkins employee spent 23 hours on their learning, for a total of more than $440 spent per learner.

As part of our comprehensive learning program, we offer access and funding for conferences, external training opportunities, and education tied to industry certifications for our employees.  We also offer an educational assistance program that provides dollars towards higher education for team members pursuing bachelors and masters level degrees.  Finally, we partner with multiple higher education institutions to offer discounted tuition rates to our own team members, with some programs even extending the discounts to immediate family of our team members. 

One of our more robust learning opportunities is the Tompkins Professional Development Program, which focuses on experiential learning and capstone project work aimed at exposing young talent to key leaders and helping them acquire a deeper understanding of how our company operates.

To ensure future success, custom learning is developed based on specific individual development to create plans for rising leaders in the organization. Overall, Tompkins is committed to making learning accessible to all team members through our access to two learning systems and hundreds of online learning opportunities via courses, videos, articles or podcasts. 

Lastly, we recognize that the success and professional development of our team is directly tied to the communities we serve, so officer appointment requirements include a demonstration of commitment to the community. Individuals being considered for a promotion must demonstrate a commitment to the community through their volunteer participation in internal and/or external community involvement activities.

Compliance Training

100% of our team members participate in a comprehensive training program to ensure our ethics and business practices exceed all regulatory standards.  Although each team member’s quarterly training is tailored to their specific job function, we ensure that all of our employees complete the most important programs.

All employees complete either a fair lending course or a fair treatment course, dependent on job function and day-to-day responsibilities. We also train on unfair, deceptive or abusive acts and practices (UDAAP). This course ensures that all employees understand practices that could be considered unfair, deceptive or abusive.  By ensuring all employees complete these courses, we can be confident that everyone across the organization is delivering a high standard of care to our customers.

Additional training programs completed by all employees include CRA (Community Reinvestment Act), Identity Theft, Protecting Customer Privacy, Handling of Consumer Complaints, and ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act). 

CLIMATE-RELATED INITIATIVES

 PRODUCTS

Community Reinvestment Act

We’re committed to help meet the needs of borrowers in all segments of their communities, including those living in low- and moderate-income neighborhoods. As a community bank, it is our duty and privilege to do what is right. Our bank has funded various community development loans in order to meet the needs of the areas we serve. These include loans for affordable housing, agencies dedicated to disadvantaged youth, affordable childcare institutions, agencies dedicated to enhancing the lives of people with disabilities, downtown revitalization projects, children’s centers, healthcare facilities, and more.

Tompkins Financial Advisors Environmental, Social, Governance (ESG) Fund

The ESG portfolio is a mix of investments that utilize qualitative screens to invest in companies that adhere to the principals of socially responsible investing while delivering long-term capital growth. We have offered a specific internally managed ESG portfolio for more than 10 years, which is quite uncommon in our industry, as these types of portfolios have only reached the mainstream in recent years. Our portfolio performance has been strong over time, with its three-year, five-year and ten-year out-performance relative to the benchmark being greater than 2% on an annualized basis. 

SmartSpend Checking – Bank On

No Closing Cost Mortgage

In response to a volatile housing market, Tompkins has created a No Closing Cost Mortgage. The bank pays all non-personal, third-party fees on behalf of the mortgage applicant, bringing more homes into reach for new homeowners and leaving purchasers with more cash on hand for repairs and other expenses. Creating an additional pathway for first-time buyers to realize their dream of owning a home.

  COVID-19 RESPONSE

Paycheck Protection Program

In 2020 more than 3,000 businesses received a total of $465,000,000 under the SBA’s Paycheck Protection Program, thanks to all Tompkins community banks and their work to expedite the program. These efforts have protected more than 30,000 jobs across New York State and Pennsylvania. Our teams worked around the clock to process applications because we knew how important it was to protect the paychecks of as many local members of the community as possible.

Loan Relief

Tompkins was proud to offer loan payment deferment for various loan types, including consumer and commercial loans and mortgages. We were quick to offer these programs prior to government orders issuing the guidance across the board, setting an example for financial institutions across our communities.

Team Member Support

Tompkins offered low interest loans to employees who were financially impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. We recognized that some of our team members may have experienced increased expenses or loss of household income, and we were pleased to be able to offer this program on an as needed basis.

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Deposit and loan products are offered through Tompkins Community Bank, Member FDIC. Investments and insurance products are not FDIC insured, are not bank guaranteed, and may lose value. Tompkins Insurance is licensed to conduct insurance business in all 50 states. Loans subject to credit approval.