Citizens Partners with Luminary to Support Small Business Community Champions


citizens-partners-with-luminary-to-support-small-business-community-champions

Citizens has awarded its Small Business Community Champions a one-year membership to Luminary, a global professional education and networking platform that offers programming and events to its community through all phases of their professional and entrepreneurial journeys.

Kicked off this month by Brendan Coughlin, Citizens vice chair and head of consumer banking, Mark Valentino, Citizens head of business banking, and Cate Luzio, founder and CEO of Luminary, The Citizens Luminary Fellowship program will give the 142 Citizens Small Business Community Champions, who have received grants of more than $1.5 million from the bank, another resource to supplement the advice and guidance they receive from their Citizens relationship managers.

“We know how hard it is to run a small business and how sometimes you can feel alone as you work to achieve your goals,” said Valentino. “Citizens acts as a convener of businesses and this partnership with Luminary will help spur idea-sharing and fuel business growth. The Citizens Luminary Fellowship program is our latest effort to support our Small Business Community Champions, who are dedicated not just to building their businesses but also to making a positive impact on the communities where we all live and work.”

“The foundation of America is built on small businesses,” said Luzio. “The Citizens Luminary Fellowship is our latest partnership reinforcing our commitment to delivering tools and resources that impact small business owners of any size, no matter where they are in their entrepreneurial journeys.”

The fellowship program follows Citizens’ partnership with Mastercard Digital Doors, which gives Citizens Business Banking clients access to tools and insights to up their e-commerce game. A discounted Luminary membership was recently included as a Mastercard benefit for World or World Elite Mastercard holders so Citizens Business Mastercard holders also have access Luminary’s services for 30 percent off.

In addition to these programs, Citizens offers a suite of solutions for small businesses, including a tailored banking platform Cash Flow Essentials and features such as Digital Business Account Opening, Digital Invoicing, Zelle for business, mobile deposit, and Cash Flow Forecasting.

Image: Envato



Michael Guta Michael Guta is the Assistant Editor at Small Business Trends and has been with the team for 9 years. He currently manages its East African editorial team. Michael brings with him many years of content experience in the digital ecosystem covering a wide range of industries. He holds a B.S. in Information Communication Technology, with an emphasis in Technology Management.