MainStreet Bank Spreads Holiday Cheer with 'Pawsitive' Impact on Local Animals

Employee-directed giving program, Making Change, brings joy to furry friends this giving season

FAIRFAX, Va., Dec. 3, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- 'Tis the season of giving, and MainStreet Bancshares, Inc. (Nasdaq: MNSB & MNSBP), the financial holding company for MainStreet Bank, is spreading holiday cheer by making a significant impact on the lives of animals in the local community. Through a combination of corporate giving and employee volunteerism, the bank is actively supporting local animal rescues and organizations, ensuring a brighter holiday for those with paws, claws, and whiskers.

This year, MainStreet Bank employees embraced the season by participating in two volunteer events at local animal shelters. Adding to the festive spirit, 10% of all donations from the bank's unique employee-directed giving program, Making Change, have been dedicated to providing comfort and care to animals in need.

MainStreet Bank launched the Making Change program in the spring of 2023. Making Change empowers every full-time employee to direct $1,000 in donations to a local cause close to their heart. This innovative approach allows smaller organizations, often overlooked in traditional corporate giving programs, to receive much-needed support, especially during the holiday season.

"Making Change goes beyond traditional corporate giving by empowering our employees to be the philanthropists," said Jeff Dick, Chairman and CEO of MainStreet Bancshares Inc. and MainStreet Bank. "This grassroots approach mirrors how MainStreet Bank prioritizes customers who desire a more personalized banking relationship than larger banks can offer."

One example of this holiday spirit in action is an $11,000 contribution to Friends of Homeless Animals in Aldie, Virginia. This no-kill shelter provides a safe haven and lifelong care for cats and dogs facing a variety of challenges on an expansive 40-acre property. Inspired by the organization's dedication, a MainStreet Bank employee not only made a personal donation but also rallied colleagues to join in a group donation, bringing holiday joy to the animals by covering nearly half of the organization's annual pet food budget.

Further demonstrating their commitment to animal welfare, MainStreet Bank partnered with Friends of Homeless Animals and Homeward Trails Animal Rescue in Fairfax Station for employee volunteer days. Homeward Trails, also a recipient of a Making Change donation, focuses on rescuing cats and dogs from under-resourced shelters throughout the Mid-Atlantic region, ensuring they too experience the warmth of the season.

Since its inception in the spring of 2023, the Making Change program has donated $27,000 to local animal organizations, including:

• Animal Welfare League of Alexandria
• Bobbie's Pit Bull Rescue and Sanctuary
• Cats at Longstreet
• Cinderella's Animal Rescue and Sanctuary
• Collie Rescue Inc.
• Friends of Loudoun County Animal Services
• HART Homeless Animal Rescue Team
• Lost Dog & Cat Rescue Foundation
• Loudoun County Animal Shelter
• Paws of Honor

"Our employees love that they can make a direct impact on the lives of animals," says Trish Smith, MainStreet Bank's Chief Human Resources Officer. "Making Change gives them a chance to give back to their community in a way that truly aligns with their values, and that's something we're incredibly proud of this holiday season."

BACKGROUND: MainStreet Bancshares, Inc. (Nasdaq: MNSB & MNSBP), is a small-cap financial holding company trading in the Nasdaq Capital Market index. The financial holding company owns 100% of MainStreet Bank, a business-focused community bank headquartered in Fairfax, Virginia. The Bank engages a branch-lite model with six full-service financial centers in Herndon, Fairfax, McLean, Leesburg, Clarendon, and Washington, D.C. MainStreet Bank has 55,000 free ATMs and a fully integrated online and mobile banking solution. The Bank is not restricted by a conventional branching system, as it can offer business customers the ability to Put Our Bank in Your Office®. With robust and easy-to-use online business banking technology, MainStreet has "put our bank" in well over 1,000 businesses in the metropolitan area.

In 2021, the Board and management decided to make an investment in technology that would best serve clients requiring Banking-as-a-Service (BaaS).  The Avenu BaaS solution was officially released into service on October 1, 2024.  The ability to digitally offer banking services in a safe and compliant manner allows the Company to reach new customer deposit segments, diversify revenue streams and generate additional income.  The BaaS market is currently underserved, and the opportunities for a well-developed solution are robust.  The Avenu business model is in line with the Company's physical branch-lite strategy.

MainStreet Bank has a robust line of business and professional lending products, including government contracting lines of credit, commercial lines and term loans, residential and commercial construction, and commercial real estate. MainStreet Bank is an SBA Preferred Lender. From sophisticated cash management to enhanced mobile banking and instant-issue Debit Cards, MainStreet Bank is always looking for ways to improve our customer's experience.

MainStreet Bank was the first community bank in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area to offer a full online business banking solution. MainStreet Bank was also the first bank headquartered in the Commonwealth of Virginia to offer CDARS – a solution that provides multi-million-dollar FDIC insurance. Further information on the Bank can be obtained by visiting its website at mstreetbank.com.

MainStreet Bank provides a full-stack embedded banking solution that connects fintech partners and their apps directly and seamlessly to the purpose-built Avenu core.  Avenu's clients are fintechs, social media solutions, application developers, money movers, and entrepreneurs. They all have one thing in common: They are in search of a reliable partner to help innovate how money moves—solving real-world issues and helping communities thrive.  MainStreet Bank is that reliable partner dedicated to providing a best-in-class solution to sustain long-term business relationships.

MainStreet Bancshares, Inc. has an investment grade rating of "A" from Egan-Jones Rating Company.

This release contains forward-looking statements, including our expectations with respect to future events that are subject to various risks and uncertainties. The statements contained in this release that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Words such as "may," "will," "could," "should," "expect," "plan," "project," "intend," "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "predict," "potential," "pursuant," "target," "continue," and similar expressions are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from management's projections, forecasts, estimates and expectations include: fluctuation in market rates of interest and loan and deposit pricing, adverse changes in the overall national economy as well as adverse economic conditions in our specific market areas, future impacts of pandemic outbreaks, maintenance and development of well-established and valued client relationships and referral source relationships, and acquisition or loss of key production personnel. We caution readers that the list of factors above is not exclusive. The forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this release, and we may not undertake steps to update the forward-looking statements to reflect the impact of any circumstances or events that arise after the date the forward-looking statements are made. In addition, our past results of operations are not necessarily indicative of future performance.

Contact: Debra Cope
Director of Corporate Communications
Desk (703) 481-4599
Mobile (202) 468-3814

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SOURCE MainStreet Bancshares, Inc.