Comerica Bank-D CEO’s Corporate Partner of the Year

Mommies In Need is able to achieve its mission through the generous support of individuals and corporate partners and, each month, we are acknowledging a donor making a difference. In August, we highlight the help that Comerica Bank has provided to our non-profit organization.

You may be familiar with Comerica as a fantastic banking partner for your family and your business, but for Mommies In Need, this company is an important collaborator in our mission to serve families. With the help of Comerica, Mommies In Need provides safe, loving childcare at no cost to families so they may access the healthcare they need. To date, Comerica has provided financial support totaling more than $100,000 to Mommies In Need.

Comerica has an innovative way of supporting non-profit organizations like Mommies In Need; the company provides not only financial support but also collaboration, time and energy. This is a result of Comerica’s commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion--one of its core values. Did you know that 27 percent of Comerica’s board of directors is ethnically diverse and 27 percent are women? At the employee level, 46 percent of Comerica’s executive officers are women or racial/ethnic minorities. The company also has a Racial Equity Fellows Program that works to identify, develop and promote scalable and sustainable public policies and corporate engagement strategies to better the world around them – for everyone. 

"When Mommies In Need explained that lack of childcare is the number-one reason chronically ill women don't finish their protocol, it was a very easy decision to help in every way we can. Mommies in Need epitomizes the type of partner we seek -- their all-important work is innovative, intentional, and impactful.” - Pam Zeko of Comerica

Because lack of quality childcare is the number-one reason that women in particular are not able to receive the care the medical care they need – a strong socioeconomic determinant -- Comerica’s values align with those of Mommies In Need, in that providing quality childcare helps to level the playing field for the women tasked with raising children. 

This disparity became particularly pronounced during the pandemic, as the bulk of childcare duties fall more on women as families struggled with how to cope with a new normal. While Comerica has collaborated with Mommies In Need for several years, the company saw a unique opportunity to serve families during the pandemic by helping Mommies In Need adapt to meet the unique challenges of a year ravaged by COVID. 

When Mommies In Need had to pause its in-home nanny program in March of 2020 on the advice of the non-profit’s medical advisors, a Virtual Community program was born. One-on-one zoom calls from specially trained Mommies In Need nannies to client families, supplemented with shipments of educational supplies and books, entertained the kids so that exhausted parents facing quarantine while also managing debilitating health concerns could use that time for rest and relief.  

Mommies In Need went to Comerica with the idea and, within a matter of days, Comerica provided $16,000 to cover start-up costs and the first month of the Virtual Care program. “I can honestly say that we would not have been able to pivot so quickly without their support,” Natalie Boyle, founder and CEO of Mommies In Need, said. 

The program was and is a success, erasing all geographic barriers and expanding care from Mommies In Need to families across the nation. At the height of the pandemic, when most organizations were limited by a lockdown, Mommies In Need was serving families in 11 states! Since April 2020, the program has provided more than 1,000 hours of child interaction, giving parents a break while children have a chance to do something fun. 

Even when some children made their way back to school in recent months, the Virtual Community program has continued to thrive, and has offered a way for Mommies In Need to fulfill its mission. 

Comerica did not stop there, offering support for North Texas Giving Day year after year, conducting fundraising events, hosting Mommies In Need events at Comerica branch locations, and even hosting financial literacy education at Annie’s Place, the childcare center operated by Mommies In Need. These are just a few of the myriad ways Comerica works alongside Mommies In Need to make a difference in the health and lives of families.

“I can truly say that in all of our years of operation, Comerica has been our most significant, committed, supportive, and wonderful-to-work-with corporate partner,” Mommies In Need CEO Natalie Boyle told the staff of D CEO in her nomination of Comerica for the magazine’s Nonprofit and Corporate Citizenship Awards. On July 28, Comerica was chosen by D CEO as “Corporate Partner of the Year” from hundreds of corporate applicants for the incredible work it has done for and with Mommies In Need – an honor well deserved. 

Comerica has proven to be an important supporter, sponsor, and collaborator when it comes to the important work of Mommies In Need. Thank you, Comerica!