Bank of Texas to Donate $100,000 to COVID-19 Relief Efforts

Focusing on food insecurity and re-employment of workers; largest contribution in company history

Media Contact: Cristie Escochea | May 1, 2020

Dallas, TX, April 30, 2020 – Food insecurity has increased 250% with the COVID-19 crisis, millions of hospitality workers have been laid off or furloughed and with the shelter in place mandates affecting volunteerism for local nonprofits, the North Texas community is being hurt in ways never seen before.

Get Shift Done for North Texas is an initiative that connects hospitality workers with local nonprofits to serve and provide hunger relief to communities in need. They coordinate employing shifts of 1,000 workers to prepare 1.5–2 million meals per week. These meals are then distributed within 40+ local cities and suburbs throughout North Texas. Hospitality workers sign up online for shifts at non-profit organizations to prepare, assemble and deliver meals at a wage rate of $10 per hour.

“We all know we are in unchartered territory and the amount of need is extraordinary,” said Norm Bagwell, chairman and CEO of Bank of Texas and EVP of BOK Financial Corporation. “Get Shift Done for North Texas is assisting three critical needs in our communities by stabilizing income, providing hunger relief and assisting our nonprofit organizations. We’re proud to be in a position to provide the needed support for North Texas.”

Bank of Texas has had a partnership with Communities Foundation of Texas for several years and when they ended up being the funding support partner for Get Shift Done for North Texas, it was a perfect solution to contribute to a great cause.

“Bank of Texas has been a long-time partner in North Texas, and we commend them on their commitment to helping our community during this unprecedented time of immediate need. Their $100,000 donation to the Get Shift Done for North Texas Fund at Communities Foundation of Texas will go far in helping displaced shift workers and nonprofits on the frontlines,” said Dave Scullin, President and CEO, Communities Foundation of Texas.

BOK Financial Corporation, parent company of Bank of Texas, announced last week that it will contribute $1 million as part of its efforts in support of COVID-19 relief. The company will direct donations to programs addressing food insecurity and re-employment of laid off and furloughed restaurant and hospitality workers.

Of those funds, Bank of Texas will be contributing $100,000 to Communities Foundation of Texas in direct support of Get Shift Done for North Texas.

“Supporting our community and giving back in a time of need is something Bank of Texas takes to heart,” added Mandy Austin, SVP and corporate banking manager. “Whether it is a financial gift, volunteering our time, in person or virtually, or providing in-kind support, we feel our success is based on the success of the communities we live and work in. Our community is our livelihood.”

The contribution is the centerpiece of the company’s COVID-19 response which also includes assistance for its clients and employees.

“We’re excited to support this program that is helping service industry workers earn a wage and keep food on their families’ tables during this time of crisis,” said Bagwell. “With these additional community support dollars, we expect to be able to bring our planned 2020 donations to nearly $1 million in north Texas to benefit outstanding organizations serving our communities.”

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About Communities Foundation of Texas

With the goal of building thriving communities for all, Communities Foundation of Texas (CFT) works locally and across the state through a variety of charitable funds and strategic initiatives. The public foundation professionally manages 1,000 charitable funds for individuals, families, companies and nonprofits in addition to powering several key initiatives such as Educate Texas at CFT, W. W. Caruth, Jr. Fund at CFT and CFT’s North Texas Giving Day. CFT has awarded more than $2 billion in grants since its founding in 1953 and recently helped lead a number of COVID-19 community relief efforts, including the launch of North Texas Cares, a funder collaborative of 30+ funders utilizing a shared application for nonprofits to submit relief requests to, the North Texas Community Response Fund, North Texas Giving Tuesday Now, and the Get Shift Done for North Texas Fund. Learn more at cftexas.org. Follow CFT on Facebook (facebook.com/CFTexas), Twitter (twitter.com/GiveWisely) or Instagram (instagram.com/communitiesfoundationoftexas/).

About BOK Financial

BOK Financial Corporation is a more than $40 billion regional financial services company headquartered in Tulsa, Oklahoma with more than $80 billion in assets under management and administration. The company's stock is publicly traded on NASDAQ under the Global Select market listings (BOKF). BOK Financial Corporation's holdings include BOKF, NA; BOK Financial Securities, Inc., BOK Financial Private Wealth, and BOK Financial Insurance, Inc. BOKF, NA operates TransFund, Cavanal Hill Investment Management and BOK Financial Asset Management, Inc. BOKF, NA operates banking divisions across eight states as: Bank of Albuquerque; Bank of Oklahoma; Bank of Texas and BOK Financial (in Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Kansas and Missouri); as well as having limited purpose offices Nebraska, Milwaukee and Connecticut. Through its subsidiaries, BOK Financial Corporation provides commercial and consumer banking, brokerage trading, investment, trust and insurance services, mortgage origination and servicing, and an electronic funds transfer network. For more information, visit www.bokf.com.