Thanks to $16,000 in Partnership Grant Program (PGP) funds to Main Street Batesville from Merchants and Planters Bank and the Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas (FHLB Dallas), efforts to revitalize the Batesville downtown area will be expanded. The funds will be used for organizational capacity building and contractual services, primarily funding the second phase of a new park space.
Representatives from the banks were joined by Main Street Batesville leadership at acheck presentation today announcing the grant. Shannon Haney, executive director of Main Street Batesville, who found out about the grant program through Merchants and Planters Bank, said the grant funds will be put to good use.
“Our greatest recent accomplishment is the update to the cityscape, through which we installed 43 new green spaces, new parking and paving,” she said. “The PGP allows us to continue to beautify the downtown area, as well as open up possibilities we wouldn’t have had without the grant.”
Tara Salinas, vice president of marketing for Merchants and Planters Bank, emphasized 
Merchants and Planters Bank’s commitment to supporting the community.
“The Partnership Grant Program allows us to reinvest in the community, which is our responsibility as a community bank,” said Salinas. “We are thankful for financial partners such as FHLB Dallas, who help us make an impact in the community we hold so dear.”
The structure of the PGP enables FHLB Dallas member institutions like Merchants and Planters Bank to make a contribution of $500 to $4,000 to a community-based organization (CBO), which FHLB Dallas will match at a 3:1 ratio. In 2017, FHLB Dallas awarded $300,000 in Partnership Grant Program (PGP) funds through 31 member institutions to assist 30 community-based organizations. Combined with the $104,550 contributed by FHLB Dallas members, a total of $404,550 was awarded to the organizations.
