Over the last decade Wainwright Bank has consistently and visibly associated itself with civil liberties issues. Many of these issues have been of vital importance to the gay and lesbian community. By addressing these progressive issues through stakeholder meetings, annual reports, board resolutions, advocacy, philanthropy, products and hiring practices, the Bank has built a unique kind of cultural capital.

Utilization of that cultural capital has never been more evident than in recent years. For example, in Massachusetts a poisonous campaign to amend the state constitution through a ballot initiative outlawing not just gay marriage but virtually any benefits for same-sex couples has been initiated. The amendment would bar any legal entity in the state from extending same-sex couples such protections and benefits as inheritance and survivorship rights, health insurance, hospital-visitation access, bereavement leave and many more.

When Wainwright Bank's Chief Executive Officer, Jan Miller, wrote a letter with the unanimous support of the Board of Directors to the members of the Massachusetts General Court expressing strong opposition to the ballot initiative and posted it on the Bank's website, Wainwright became the first publicly-traded corporation in the state to formally voice its opinion. That it subsequently was the only corporation to do so says much about why Wainwright Bank is referred to as "an institutionally traded bundle of courage".

In addition, at the Bank's 2003 Annual Meeting Co-Chairman Bob Glassman announced to an audience of nearly 500 stakeholders, "it is time to state unambiguously that civil marriage is indeed a civil right". Moreover, as the debate continues, the Bank intends to use its voice in opposing any codification of a second-class citizenship.

Whether it is the fact the Bank has been a fixture at Gay Pride for over a decade or that one may read the eulogy to Matthew Sheppard on its website, the culture of Wainwright Bank is absolutely unique. The unifying theme has been and continues to be a commitment to civil liberties. Success at Wainwright is not only measured through a shareholder's lens but is also measured by the well being of its employees who know they have the freedom to bring their whole selves to work each day free from prejudice and discrimination. Its commitment to social justice resonates in many communities and for many employees it is especially rewarding to work in a culture where their professional competence and personal beliefs intersect.

This journey began in the early 1990s when the Banks founders John Plukas and Bob Glassman recruited Brenda Cole to serve on the Bank's Board of Directors. As virtually the only "out" lesbian serving on the board of a publicly-traded institution in the United States, her arrival drew attention to the Bank's commitment to diversity. In order to underscore the substance of what might have otherwise been considered only a symbolic gesture, the Bank moved immediately to a visible role in participating in Gay Pride events at a time when Lotus Development Corporation and Wainwright Bank were the only two publicly traded companies willing to make the commitment.

In 1993 Wainwright became the first bank to advertise in a Boston gay and lesbian newspaper and became the first to sponsor the City's Gay Pride parade.

In 1994 the Bank began offering same-sex domestic partner employee health benefits through the Massachusetts Bankers Group Health Insurance program. After lobbying the Massachusetts Bankers Association for the prior two years, the Bank was credited by the Association in their decision to offer same-sex domestic partner employee benefits to all of their 160 member banks representing 10,000 employees state-wide. In retrospect, the introduction of same-sex domestic partner benefits at Wainwright was perhaps less significant than the cultural leverage it provided to the entire banking industry.

In 1994 Wainwright Bank created the Community Card MasterCard® which, adorned with the rainbow flag and prominently featuring the Bank's name, focused on supporting a number of nonprofit, social justice organizations such as GLAD, Fenway Community Health Center, AIDS Action Committee, PFLAG, Human Rights Campaign, and BAGLY to name a few. The Bank donated an amount equal to one percent of purchases to the cardholder's choice of these organizations. Through the Community Card the Bank eventually provided hundreds of thousands of dollars in donations to these nonprofits.

News of the launch of the Community Card appeared in over 70 major newspapers and publications such as the German magazine, Max. It was also mentioned on nationally syndicated radio and television programs such as Good Morning America and The Today Show.

Several years later the concept behind the Community Card evolved into CommunityRoom.net® where many of the original Community Card nonprofits are now provided with a free hosted website with online donation capability. This platform supports hundreds of nonprofits including Alternatives to Marriage, American Civil Liberties Union, Bi-Sexual Resources Center, Boston Living Center, GLAD and PFLAG to name a few.

In 1994 Wainwright Bank received the Friends of the Community Award from the Lesbian and Gay Political Alliance of Massachusetts.

In 1995 Bob Glassman, co-founder and Co-Chairman of Wainwright Bank, became the first straight man invited to be the keynote speaker at Boston's Gay Pride celebration addressing a crowd estimated at over 100,000 people.

Also in 1995 the Harvard Business School completed a case study on the Bank's outreach to the gay and lesbian community which is not only still being taught at HBS, but at universities nationwide, influencing a future generation of corporate executives. The fact Wainwright was chosen as an exemplary model provided further validation of the Bank's pioneering support of the gay and lesbian community.

In 1996 Wainwright Bank, represented by Director Brenda Cole, was one of two Massachusetts companies invited to testify before Congress in support of the federal Employment Nondiscrimination Act ("ENDA") which would outlaw employment discrimination based on sexual orientation.

In 1996 Wainwright Bank received the prestigious New England Award from the Human Rights Campaign. Also in 1996 the Bank received its first Corporate Award for Excellence from the Greater Boston Business Council, an organization comprised of hundreds of Boston-area gay and lesbian business professionals and owners; the Bank received the Award again in 2002.

In 1997 Wainwright became the largest shareholder in Trillium Asset Management and through that investment obtained a unique window on the world of shareholder activism. Trillium has been a leader in pressing corporations to adopt equitable policies for their treatment of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender employees. Their shareholder proposals, sponsored in collaboration with the Equality Project, have spurred several Fortune 500 corporations such as McDonalds, Chrysler, Johnson & Johnson and American Home Products to implement sexual orientation nondiscrimination policies.

Also in 1997 Wainwright became one of the first companies in the country to endorse the National Organization of Women's Women-Friendly Workplace Pledge which among other things prohibits discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. A press conference was held jointly with N.O.W. at Wainwright's Back Bay/South End branch.

By 1998 the Bank, responding to the AIDS crisis, had financed nearly 50% of all the housing for people living with HIV/AIDS in the Boston area at a time when the Bank represented only a quarter of one percent of the commercial banking deposits in the same geographic area.

In 1998 Wainwright endorsed the Equality Principles of the Alliance for Corporate Equality which extends equal treatment to all employees regardless of their sexual orientation.

In 2000 The Advocate, the largest circulation national magazine for gays and lesbians, named Wainwright Bank one of the Top 10 companies for gay and lesbian employees among Fortune 500 companies such as Subaru, AT&T and Sun Microsystems.

The following comment from the investment advisor community seems particularly apt in describing the Bank's social agenda:

"Wainwright Bank is a one-of-a-kind financial institution located in and around Boston. The Bank has a comprehensive progressive social agenda that it very successfully markets to a community of depositors and borrowers who share the same agenda. The Bank is proactively committed to affordable housing, community development, and equality of rights, regardless of gender, race, ethnic background, or sexual orientation."

As more and more corporations have embraced domestic partner benefits and are increasingly comfortable about speaking out about discrimination in the workplace, many have said this is in no small way due to the courage of Wainwright Bank, who over a decade ago stood alone.

Wainwright Bank, although no longer alone, will continue to use its cultural capital in support of these important civil rights issues.

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