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LOS ANGELES, Oct. 19, 2023 /CNW/ - BMO today announced a $3 million donation to Thrive Scholars to launch the BMO Thrive Academy – Los Angeles. Thrive Scholars is a national college-to-career accelerator dedicated to supporting high-achieving students of color from economically disadvantaged backgrounds.

"Our support of the new BMO Thrive Academy – Los Angeles aligns with our Purpose to Boldly Grow the Good in business and life and exemplifies our commitment to making progress for the communities we serve," said Kimberley Goode, Chief Communications and Social Impact Officer, BMO. "At BMO, we are proud to support initiatives that help create positive change and eliminate barriers to access in underserved communities across Los Angeles. We are excited to see what the young people who participate in BMO Thrive Academy – Los Angeles are going to achieve."

BMO Thrive Academy – Los Angeles students start with Summer Academy, an academically intensive program over two summers in the 11th and 12th grade where Scholars attend a daily three-hour calculus class and a three-hour college writing course for six weeks, taught by college professors on a college campus. Once in college, participants of the Thrive Academies program can access Thrive Scholars' career development program, including transformative internship and job opportunities.

BMO's support of Thrive Scholars will enable the non-profit to build upon the progress of its Diverse Talent Initiative, recruiting and supporting students at under-resourced schools so they are better prepared to excel academically in top colleges and in meaningful careers that lead to economic mobility. Additionally, BMO will partner with Thrive Scholars to develop its Career Pathways curriculum, building customized programs, company-specific training and tailored student exercises.

"We are elated to begin partnering with BMO in our mission to help give high-achieving students from underserved communities the resources they need to thrive. With BMO's generous donation, we will be able to expand our programming and outreach to serve the communities in Los Angeles that need it most more effectively," said Steve Stein, Chief Executive Officer of Thrive Scholars.

BMO is proud to grow its extensive community giving initiatives, promoting education and career opportunities in underserved communities with Thrive Scholars. This donation embodies BMO's efforts to advance inclusive economic progress in the United States through community investment. It is integral to BMO's more than $40 billion Community Benefits Plan, which is a series of commitments that address key barriers to economic inclusion by supporting and investing in communities and organizations across the United States, with over $16 billion dollars of the planned commitment targeted for California.

BMO is committed to and investing in the Los Angeles community. Last month, BMO donated $1 Million to help Homeboy Industries expand its Los Angeles Workforce Development and Training Center. In January, BMO announced a naming rights deal for BMO Stadium and a partnership with Los Angeles FC and Angel City FC.

Helping communities thrive by supporting the organizations that sustain them and encouraging employee giving and volunteerism is at the heart of BMO's Purpose, to Boldly Grow the Good in business and life. In 2022, the bank's social impact included more than $69 million donated to hundreds of charities and non-profit organizations across North America to help drive progress by enabling individuals to thrive and communities to prosper. BMO colleagues spent almost 50,000 hours volunteering in the community and contributed more than $26 million of donations through the bank's annual employee giving program. For more information, please visit BMO.com.

BMO Financial Group is the eighth largest bank in North America by assets, with total assets of $1.25 trillion as of July 31, 2023. Serving customers for 200 years and counting, BMO is a diverse team of highly engaged employees providing a broad range of personal and commercial banking, wealth management, global markets and investment banking products and services to over 13 million customers across Canada, the United States, and in select markets globally. Driven by a single purpose, to Boldly Grow the Good in business and life, BMO is committed to driving positive change in the world, and making progress for a thriving economy, sustainable future, and inclusive society.

Thrive Scholars is a national nonprofit that, for 20 years, has worked hard to help first-generation, high-achieving students of color from under-resourced communities get into and graduate from top colleges. Thrive Scholars uses data to develop programming that translates to Scholar success through rigorous academic preparation and career pathways support focused on closing the opportunity gap and setting students on a path toward economic mobility.

SOURCE BMO Financial Group