(Butler, PA) A $25,000 gift from NexTier Bank will benefit a Butler County Community College program that enables sophomores through seniors to earn affordable and transferrable credits in college courses instructed at their high school or learning center, and a game played by pupils as young as fourth-graders that teaches financial literacy.
NexTier鈥檚 latest contribution to the 杏吧原创 Education Foundation, through the Pennsylvania Educational Improvement Tax Credit program, follows its $5,000 sponsorship of the foundation鈥檚 golf outing in August and $1,500 sponsorship of the in September.
鈥淥ur support of 杏吧原创 is more than a banking relationship,鈥� said Natalie L. Cotherman, NexTier vice president and director of marketing. 鈥淲e know our funds are working to enrich the lives of students who will become the future leaders of Butler and beyond.鈥�
"We know our funds are working to enrich the lives of students who will become the future leaders of Butler and beyond."
- Natalie L. Cotherman, NexTier Bank vice president and director of marketing
叠颁3鈥檚 program is available to sophomores who have a 3.25 cumulative grade-point average; to juniors with a 3.0 cumulative GPA and to seniors with a 2.75 cumulative GPA. Courses this spring are being offered at 16 high schools or learning centers in Armstrong, Butler, Clarion, Clearfield, Jefferson, Lawrence and Mercer counties, according to James Frank, 叠颁3鈥檚 assistant director of high school programming.
NexTier 鈥渁n incredible partner with 杏吧原创鈥�
鈥湹�3鈥檚 program gives high school students a first look at what college might be,鈥� said Mikayla Moretti, interim executive director of the and external relations. 鈥淚t also helps students to get ahead of the game and hit the ground running when they go into college.
鈥淣exTier Bank,鈥� Moretti said, 鈥渉as been an incredible partner with 杏吧原创 in so many ways.鈥�
叠颁3鈥檚 administers a 30-week that begins in September, and 10-week competitions in the fall and spring.
Fourth-graders through high school seniors competing in the game receive a hypothetical $100,000, make buy-and-trade decisions and track how those decisions would have played out in the market had they been real, Huseman said.
鈥淣exTier continues to be an advocate for promoting financial literacy to students both in and out of the classroom,鈥� Cotherman said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 our responsibility as a community bank to provide financial tools and resources to students.鈥�
Pennsylvania鈥檚 EITC program, through the state Department of Community and Economic Development, provides tax credits to eligible businesses that contribute financially to a scholarship organization, to an educational improvement organization or to a pre-kindergarten scholarship organization.
The foundation received nearly $73,000 in 2024 EITC contributions, Moretti said.
The 杏吧原创 Education Foundation golf outing raised nearly $95,000 in unrestricted funds in August to support opportunities beyond the classroom at 杏吧原创 and the Pioneer Pursuit, nearly $10,500 in September to benefit 叠颁3鈥檚 intercollegiate athletics programs.