Latest / Daily Influence / 529. Banking on Purpose: Courtney Olson’s Mission to Grow the Pie Through Community Impact

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529. Banking on Purpose: Courtney Olson’s Mission to Grow the Pie Through Community Impact · Daily Influence

• 0:10
  [SPEAKER_00]: Welcome to the daily influence where our mission is to deliver a daily dose of positive influence that can uplift you personally or be shared within your sphere of influence.
• 0:20
  [SPEAKER_00]: While not every episode may directly apply to your unique circumstances, we strive to provide insights and inspiration relevant to most people's daily, weekly, and monthly lives.
• 0:30
  [SPEAKER_00]: Whether you are tuning in during the morning, noon or night, the daily influence is here for you.
• 0:36
  [SPEAKER_00]: Listen, share, and embrace the power of influence in your life.
• 0:40
  [SPEAKER_02]: Welcome to Daily Influence.
• 0:42
  [SPEAKER_02]: I'm Grecollino.
• 0:43
  [SPEAKER_02]: Today, we have a powerful force in business banking and community development.
• 0:48
  [SPEAKER_02]: Courtney Olson, she's a senior vice president.
• 0:51
  [SPEAKER_02]: in managing director of business banking at First Bank Chicago.
• 0:56
  [SPEAKER_02]: With a passion for relationship building and a deep commitment to nonprofit support, Courtney has played a vital role in the bank's expansion and community impact.
• 1:06
  [SPEAKER_02]: A twenty twenty one rising star in banking and active leader in organizations like Illinois Bankers Association, the Center for Enrich Living and Rotary Club of Northbrook, she has been awarded the twenty twenty four woman of impact
• 1:21
  [SPEAKER_02]: twenty twenty four Illinois bankers volunteer the year and holds board and committee positions for community investment court multi family loan committee IFS loan task force Illinois bankers board and executive committee.
• 1:37
  [SPEAKER_02]: Courtney embodies positive and responsible influence in everything she does.
• 1:42
  [SPEAKER_02]: From affordable housing to small business lending, Courtney's work transforms communities.
• 1:48
  [SPEAKER_02]: Let's dive into her story and learn what drives her purpose.
• 1:51
  [SPEAKER_02]: Courtney, welcome to Daily Influence.
• 1:53
  [SPEAKER_01]: Hi, thank you for having me.
• 1:55
  [SPEAKER_01]: Wow, I should bring you around everywhere I go to introduce me.
• 1:58
  [SPEAKER_01]: That was fun.
• 2:00
  [SPEAKER_02]: Thank you for being here.
• 2:01
  [SPEAKER_02]: I'm so excited to have this conversation with you today.
• 2:03
  [SPEAKER_02]: Courtney, can you share a bit about your background and what led you to where you are today with our listeners?
• 2:09
  [SPEAKER_01]: I actually started in banking back in college.
• 2:14
  [SPEAKER_01]: It's actually a family affair.
• 2:16
  [SPEAKER_01]: My aunt has been in banking since she was in her twenties and she actually started a bank way back when and I was home for
• 2:28
  [SPEAKER_01]: Summer break from my freshman year of college and she needed a teller and asked if I would be interested.
• 2:34
  [SPEAKER_01]: So I signed on to being a teller and they were running a CD special and needed someone to open up CDs too.
• 2:42
  [SPEAKER_01]: So I very quickly became a personal banker.
• 2:47
  [SPEAKER_01]: Went back for summers and every time I was on break, I would go work at the bank.
• 2:53
  [SPEAKER_01]: After graduation, I thought I was going to leave banking.
• 2:57
  [SPEAKER_01]: I went into personal investments and trying to be a personal advisor.
• 3:06
  [SPEAKER_01]: Didn't like it at all.
• 3:08
  [SPEAKER_01]: And I was in it for about six months and quit.
• 3:11
  [SPEAKER_01]: And then my manager at the bank unbeknownst to my aunt called me and said, I need, I need a taller supervisor.
• 3:18
  [SPEAKER_01]: I need a banker.
• 3:19
  [SPEAKER_01]: Like, would you come back?
• 3:20
  [SPEAKER_01]: So I came back to banking.
• 3:23
  [SPEAKER_01]: And then from there, it was just the trajectory of the proverbial climbing the ladder.
• 3:28
  [SPEAKER_01]: I became a credit analyst and underwrote loans, then became a lender during the down period of loans.
• 3:38
  [SPEAKER_01]: I became a workout workout strategist.
• 3:42
  [SPEAKER_01]: By the time I was with the bank for seventeen years, by the time I had laughed, I was
• 3:48
  [SPEAKER_01]: managing a location, one of their highest producing commercial loan officers, and overall sales manager for the bank.
• 3:57
  [SPEAKER_01]: So had a lot of growth there, but they were a smaller bank, and I didn't feel like a continue to grow.
• 4:07
  [SPEAKER_01]: So at that point, I became friends and met the COO of first bank of what was first bank highland park at the time.
• 4:14
  [SPEAKER_01]: We went through a name change a few years ago.
• 4:17
  [SPEAKER_01]: Um, and we were in the Northbroke rotary together.
• 4:20
  [SPEAKER_01]: And we just started having conversations.
• 4:23
  [SPEAKER_01]: Um, and he really liked my personality, I guess, and brought me over to first bank.
• 4:30
  [SPEAKER_01]: And it's been amazing ever since.
• 4:34
  [SPEAKER_01]: So back at my previous bank, I had worked with some nonprofits in my portfolio.
• 4:40
  [SPEAKER_01]: And I really loved the mission based, um, you know, driven business model.
• 4:47
  [SPEAKER_01]: it really spoke to me.
• 4:49
  [SPEAKER_01]: So I actually looked at moving careers into nonprofits way back when I hired someone to write my resume and get it out into the world and it didn't work at all, fell flat.
• 5:05
  [SPEAKER_01]: So at that point, I kind of changed my mindset and I go, well, if I can't work in nonprofits, I can work
• 5:14
  [SPEAKER_01]: for nonprofits and I can use the skill set that I have been banking and bring them the resources they need in order to be successful.
• 5:23
  [SPEAKER_01]: So I started doing that a little bit at the previous bank, but when I got to first bank Chicago and I saw the how philanthropic the ownership is there and how they just have this culture
• 5:41
  [SPEAKER_01]: in the staff to give back time and skills and energy.
• 5:45
  [SPEAKER_01]: I went to them and I said, we got something here.
• 5:50
  [SPEAKER_01]: You are already giving through the bank foundation, all these donations.
• 5:55
  [SPEAKER_01]: We already have several people on boards and committees.
• 6:00
  [SPEAKER_01]: We are volunteering our time as a group.
• 6:03
  [SPEAKER_01]: What if we also bank these nonprofits?
• 6:07
  [SPEAKER_01]: And so we really started collaborating and building products, services, collaborating a whole bucket of resources that we could bring to the local nonprofit community just to help them thrive and grow.
• 6:24
  [SPEAKER_01]: And it's just been fantastic.
• 6:27
  [SPEAKER_01]: So really bringing this philanthropic mindset that the ownership had had along with the passion that I have for supporting nonprofits.
• 6:37
  [SPEAKER_01]: and mirroring it together and blending it and just making something truly fabulous.
• 6:42
  [SPEAKER_01]: So about a year and a half ago, our board being the smart board that they are saying, like, well, we love what you're doing and it looks great, but is it really benefiting us business wise?
• 6:54
  [SPEAKER_01]: Because everything we do, we have to make sure that we are benefiting, you know, the bank as a business as well.
• 7:01
  [SPEAKER_01]: So we started crunching the numbers and back in the napkin and low and behold,
• 7:06
  [SPEAKER_01]: Yes, what we were doing for the community and what we wanted to do with our heart was actually a really great business model as well.
• 7:14
  [SPEAKER_01]: So we we turned it into an actual like initiative and I'm heading that up and so it's just amazing to really have it validated that what's good for the community and good for the world is actually a good business model as well.
• 7:32
  [SPEAKER_02]: I love that.
• 7:32
  [SPEAKER_02]: Thank you for sharing that story with us.
• 7:35
  [SPEAKER_02]: You work closely with nonprofits, small businesses and community development initiatives.
• 7:40
  [SPEAKER_02]: What does being a responsible and positive influencer mean to you in your work?
• 7:46
  [SPEAKER_01]: So the way I look at this is banking is the boring part of my job and actually something that I don't even lead with when I'm talking to a small business or a nonprofit.
• 8:00
  [SPEAKER_01]: I leave with, how can I help you?
• 8:02
  [SPEAKER_01]: How can I be a resource for you?
• 8:05
  [SPEAKER_01]: If I'm looking at a lending opportunity, whether it be for a nonprofit or a small business, if I look at it and say, this just isn't something we can do, it's not something that kind of fits within our policy, I will make sure that I have at least
• 8:23
  [SPEAKER_01]: who resources for that small business or nonprofit to follow up with that maybe could help them.
• 8:31
  [SPEAKER_01]: And we've been building that list of resources over the years.
• 8:36
  [SPEAKER_01]: Whether it's, we have an online search engine that goes and looks for funding and is updated on a regular basis.
• 8:44
  [SPEAKER_01]: And that could be for small businesses or nonprofits.
• 8:49
  [SPEAKER_01]: or I really like handing off a lead to some of the other nonprofits that I work with that actually supports small businesses and nonprofits.
• 8:59
  [SPEAKER_01]: So something like IFF where I am on their own committee task force, they are a nonprofit that lend to other nonprofits.
• 9:11
  [SPEAKER_01]: There's so many of these organizations that can help support.
• 9:16
  [SPEAKER_01]: And so I want a small business or nonprofit to walk away feeling like that really, even though Courtney couldn't directly help me most of the times I bought to or I could.
• 9:29
  [SPEAKER_01]: But if I can't, they can walk away saying like, you know, this feels really good.
• 9:33
  [SPEAKER_01]: I still have direction.
• 9:36
  [SPEAKER_01]: And I always have the open invitation of if
• 9:41
  [SPEAKER_01]: You're still looking for something or if you still have a question, please come back to me.
• 9:45
  [SPEAKER_01]: I'm happy to be that sounding board for you as you're working through the process.
• 9:51
  [SPEAKER_01]: I'm a big believer in like, yeah, attract more flies with honey.
• 9:57
  [SPEAKER_01]: So I'm just going to be kind and nice and helpful to whoever I cross paths with.
• 10:04
  [SPEAKER_02]: I love that.
• 10:05
  [SPEAKER_02]: I love the collaboration and really thinking outside the box and how can you bring others together?
• 10:10
  [SPEAKER_02]: That is such a positive responsible influence.
• 10:15
  [SPEAKER_02]: Can you tell us about a moment or experience where you felt you made a positive impact on someone's life or a business or organization?
• 10:22
  [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
• 10:22
  [SPEAKER_01]: I mean, you talk about collaboration.
• 10:24
  [SPEAKER_01]: One of my soap boxes that I kind of stand up on is especially in the nonprofit world, our organization still have this
• 10:33
  [SPEAKER_01]: lack mentality, mindset of, you know, this is my donor.
• 10:38
  [SPEAKER_01]: This is my mission.
• 10:40
  [SPEAKER_01]: This is my piece of the pie.
• 10:42
  [SPEAKER_01]: And I'm a huge believer in, let's not look at this is your piece of the pie.
• 10:46
  [SPEAKER_01]: Let's grow the pie.
• 10:48
  [SPEAKER_01]: I really feel that the more organizations work together with similar or congruent missions, they're going to make a bigger impact.
• 11:02
  [SPEAKER_01]: So you're gonna, if you, if two organizations come together, they could probably get a bigger grant, which is gonna make more, you know, impact more people, maybe have a bigger building, whatever it may be.
• 11:15
  [SPEAKER_01]: I was meeting with a church organization yesterday and they have such a big facility and they're trying to think of ways to kind of boost their revenue.
• 11:25
  [SPEAKER_01]: And I said, you have a big facility.
• 11:27
  [SPEAKER_01]: What if you even rent a small portion of your space at a discount
• 11:32
  [SPEAKER_01]: to another local organization.
• 11:34
  [SPEAKER_01]: So I'd like to provide those ideas that can be implemented right away.
• 11:39
  [SPEAKER_01]: A really good example is we had two organizations within the community.
• 11:46
  [SPEAKER_01]: One was struggling a bit and really hard to continue to raise money for their mission.
• 11:53
  [SPEAKER_01]: And I knew of another organization that had a very similar mission.
• 11:57
  [SPEAKER_01]: And we made the introduction and law and behold,
• 12:01
  [SPEAKER_01]: they ended up merging and so the programs that were in place that were so important to that smaller organization continued.
• 12:11
  [SPEAKER_01]: Some of the programming, yes, that maybe wasn't doing so well, did maybe didn't continue, but the main important impact program is still there.
• 12:24
  [SPEAKER_01]: So that's a really great example of how we can make connections.
• 12:29
  [SPEAKER_01]: Another, and it seems kind of small, but I started working with a nonprofit.
• 12:34
  [SPEAKER_01]: And for me, obviously, setting up bank accounts and how things are structured is, is second nature to me, right?
• 12:42
  [SPEAKER_01]: I do it all day every day, but that is not second nature to an executive director or a board because they're really good at providing the programs that helpful fill that mission, right?
• 12:54
  [SPEAKER_01]: So I start working with this non-profit.
• 12:56
  [SPEAKER_01]: I get them all set up in these various accounts a year after that.
• 13:01
  [SPEAKER_01]: She approached me and said, we reconciled our books.
• 13:04
  [SPEAKER_01]: We did our audit and the amount of interest that we made due to the structure that you did was the equivalent of a grant.
• 13:13
  [SPEAKER_01]: That spoke volumes to me.
• 13:16
  [SPEAKER_01]: It really, it still gives me goosebumps when I tell that story because it's just,
• 13:21
  [SPEAKER_01]: You know, I am, I'm a big believer in doing what's in your essence and outsource the rest.
• 13:28
  [SPEAKER_01]: And so bring in people like me, your accountant, make sure your board is full of all of these fabulous people that have experience in different industries and backgrounds so that they can bring ideas to the table of that board table and really help you flourish.
• 13:48
  [SPEAKER_02]: There's our great stories.
• 13:49
  [SPEAKER_02]: I love that.
• 13:50
  [SPEAKER_02]: What value and you provided to them, you know, from your experience working with first bank Chicago's community partners, what if you learned about the power of collaboration and shared responsibility?
• 14:03
  [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, and this goes back to let's grow the pie.
• 14:07
  [SPEAKER_01]: Let's make the pie bigger.
• 14:08
  [SPEAKER_01]: The more organizations support and help one another, the better stronger they will be and the more people they will impact.
• 14:19
  [SPEAKER_01]: And right now, in Ms.
• 14:21
  [SPEAKER_01]: Economy, in this political environment, we've got nonprofits that are terrified with their funding sources.
• 14:31
  [SPEAKER_01]: So we need to collaborate and come together.
• 14:34
  [SPEAKER_01]: on at first bank, we hold two different events where we bring nonprofits together for networking and educational purposes and kind of play matchmaker sometimes.
• 14:49
  [SPEAKER_01]: Like this mission would you, you executive director would be really good working with you executive director.
• 14:56
  [SPEAKER_01]: And I think the more we sit down around the table, executive directors, CFOs,
• 15:03
  [SPEAKER_01]: All of us that support the nonprofits in the community, the more we sit down at the table and discuss these issues and challenges that we're having openly.
• 15:14
  [SPEAKER_01]: I think the more we'll be able to come together with solutions that we can implement right away.
• 15:21
  [SPEAKER_01]: Every quarter we at the bank also have community advisory boards.
• 15:28
  [SPEAKER_01]: So these are nonprofits, governmental leaders that are all sitting around the table on a quarterly basis, talking about what they've got going on.
• 15:40
  [SPEAKER_01]: And we step in and say, how can we help a lot of the times you've got crossover across the table saying, oh, I want to help with that project.
• 15:49
  [SPEAKER_01]: And let's talk about that after.
• 15:52
  [SPEAKER_01]: So every quarter, in fact, it was this week.
• 15:56
  [SPEAKER_01]: We just have this great collaboration energy between our community partners that we work with, and it's fantastic.
• 16:04
  [SPEAKER_02]: Oh, I love that.
• 16:05
  [SPEAKER_02]: You do a really nice job of balancing your professional responsibilities with your deep community involvement.
• 16:12
  [SPEAKER_02]: What motivates you to continue giving back?
• 16:16
  [SPEAKER_01]: I don't know if I've reached that balance yet, so I appreciate the acknowledgement, but I'm working on it.
• 16:24
  [SPEAKER_01]: I really do, it goes back to the fact that we were doing, I personally was doing something that was passion driven and it turned out to also be a good business model.
• 16:38
  [SPEAKER_01]: So to me, I really just want to lead with my heart.
• 16:42
  [SPEAKER_01]: I want to be able to, I really leverage my LinkedIn to promote all of these organizations that I'm working with and supporting.
• 16:52
  [SPEAKER_01]: And I'm hoping if I can get one or two people to notice an organization, a mission, a cause through that channel and bring either a new donor, a new board member, a new volunteer, or even someone that maybe needs the services provided by that organization.
• 17:17
  [SPEAKER_01]: If I can get
• 17:19
  [SPEAKER_01]: One or two people to notice those posts and benefit from it, I just think it's well worth my time and effort.
• 17:31
  [SPEAKER_02]: Courtney, what message or words of encouragement would you like to share with our listeners who aspire to make a positive difference?
• 17:38
  [SPEAKER_01]: Get involved, be kind, give your time, listen, really truly sit down and listen to what
• 17:49
  [SPEAKER_01]: an organization or a person needs and try and make a connection or be that resource.
• 17:57
  [SPEAKER_01]: I think the more connected we are, the more human we become to one another, the world will just start to turn in a more positive way.
• 18:12
  [SPEAKER_02]: So true.
• 18:13
  [SPEAKER_02]: Courtney, if our listeners want to get in touch with you, what's the best way to do so?
• 18:17
  [SPEAKER_01]: Sure.
• 18:18
  [SPEAKER_01]: So I am with First Bank Chicago.
• 18:22
  [SPEAKER_01]: You could email me at the Olsen OLSON.
• 18:29
  [SPEAKER_01]: at firstbangshakago.com.
• 18:32
  [SPEAKER_01]: As I mentioned, I am very active on LinkedIn.
• 18:35
  [SPEAKER_01]: So please feel free to follow me on LinkedIn.
• 18:38
  [SPEAKER_01]: And if there is an organization or a cause that touches your heart, feel free to reach out to me via that model.
• 18:48
  [SPEAKER_01]: And I'm happy to put you in touch with those people.
• 18:50
  [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, that would be the best way to reach me.
• 18:55
  [SPEAKER_02]: Perfect.
• 18:55
  [SPEAKER_02]: We'll put that information in the show notes.
• 18:57
  [SPEAKER_02]: Courtney, thank you so much for joining us today in sharing your stories and advice with us.
• 19:03
  [SPEAKER_01]: It's been my pleasure and honor.
• 19:04
  [SPEAKER_01]: Thank you so much.
• 19:05
  [SPEAKER_02]: To our listeners, thank you for joining us today for daily influence.
• 19:10
  [SPEAKER_02]: If today's episode inspired you, share it with someone who could use a little positivity and don't forget to like and follow the show so you never miss an episode.
• 19:18
  [SPEAKER_02]: Keep leading, growing, and making a positive impact one day to time.
• 19:22
  [SPEAKER_02]: Bye bye.