One of the most important ways we can serve community organizations is helping to ensure their long-term sustainability—through fundraising, board service, volunteerism and the advice-fueled approach we provide to clients, especially nonprofit clients.
"We are grateful for the opportunity to offer support to these organizations," said Tim Raetz, specialty asset manager with the BOK Financial® Mineral Management group in Fort Worth, Texas. "We handle the oil and gas asset management and work to maximize opportunities to support their programs, so our nonprofit partners can directly focus on serving others."
Raetz works with a variety of nonprofit organizations, including foundations, universities, hospitals, school districts and more, to build strategies aimed at helping the organizations maximize the productivity of their assets. "I'm fortunate to get to support individuals and organizations every day that are doing very important work in our communities," he said.
One such organization in Fort Worth is ACH Child & Family Services, which aims to prevent child abuse, neglect and family separation, and support children who have been affected by those tragedies.
"ACH's work is invaluable—they're in the business of doing something that's very important in our community," Raetz said. "I take it personally when a company wants to develop one of the assets that has been gifted to this organization. I am a steward of these assets, and I work hard to ensure ACH is getting the most value so they can focus on doing what they do best."
What they do best is serve a vulnerable population and cooperate with other community organizations to align their services, but avoid replicating what others are doing, said long-time supporter Melissa Kirtley, wealth advisor with Bank of Texas Private Wealth. "Their primary goal is to keep the family unit together when possible," she said. "ACH focuses on finding housing in times of trauma, helping families establish savings and helping them get back on their feet during times of stress or unfortunate circumstance."
Kirtley, a second-generation ACH volunteer, has been involved with the organization for more than 20 years. Her father was a strong supporter of the organization, and she and her sister have served on a variety of event planning committees, a capital campaign, and advocacy programs to get the word out to other potential donors and community leaders.
Our employees in Fort Worth have rallied around ACH as well. In addition to support through asset management, BOK Financial and Bank of Texas have supported this organization since 2010 through board service, fundraising, donation drives, volunteering at events for the children and families, and more.
"One of our core values at BOK Financial is community engagement," Kirtley said. "And I have felt supported and encouraged from day one to volunteer and give back. This commitment to community is one of the important reasons I joined this company 14 years ago."
Raetz echoes her sentiment from a different perspective. "Serving nonprofits in this way is rewarding—it's not just work. It's more of a mission. When I'm working with nonprofits like ACH, it's more than 'doing a deal,' it's much more personal than that."
Learn more about community involvement in the Bank of Texas Community Report.
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