Citizens Bank today announced its Fourth Annual Small Business Community Champion Award winners, drawn from more than 4,000 entries that highlighted how these businesses would use the grants to support community growth, meet needs of customers as well as strengthen and sustain their businesses. This year’s $300,000 program represents a significant increase in the commitment Citizens is making and the largest award pool ever, more than tripling the prizes awarded last year, including an additional ten awards each for women-owned and minority-owned businesses.

Thirty small business owners from across Citizens’ footprint were each awarded a $10,000 prize in recognition of their efforts toward strengthening their communities. The 2021 Citizens Bank Small Business Community Champion Award winners are:

• Alexander & Sons Home Improvements, Binghamton, NY
• Cambridge Quilt Shop, Inc., Cambridge, MA
• Christine's Early Learning Center, Centreville, MI
• Common Table, LLC , Chef Emmet Moeller, Rosendale, NY
• Cuppy's Best Soulful Bistro, Ypsilanti, MI
• Dam Good English Muffins, Peekskill, NY
• Deloje, Pittsburgh, PA
• Dynasty Studio of Dance, Orchard Park, NY
• EatWell Meal Kits, Brookline, MA
• Food Focused Nutrition, Buffalo, NY
• Get Fokus'd Productions, Buffalo, NY
• GFS Design Group, Inc., Peekskill, NY
• Hall Services, Inc., Buffalo, NY
• Heights United Soccer Academy, Cleveland Heights, OH
• Jo's Gallery 2, LLC, Detroit, MI
• Julia's Essentials LLC, Harrisburg, PA
• Lauren Simone Publishing House, East Hartford, CT
• Law Office of Tejal Mehta PC, King Of Prussia, PA
• Mindful Music, Inc., Arlington, MA
• Modern Acoustic Music Collective, LLC, Cleveland, OH
• Momxiety Club, Harrisburg, PA
• Junk King Harrisburg, Harrisburg, PA
• S&P Network, LLC, Harrisburg, PA
• Saraz, LLC, Burlington, VT
• Savage Chef Enterprises, Inc., Webster, NY
• Studio iplay, Inc., Oak Park, MI
• The Doc In A Box, LLC, Macedonia, OH
• The Tafari Group, LLC, Detroit, MI
• Corner Café Newton, Newton, MA
• TOP The Organic Project, Duxbury, MA

“We are especially pleased to have increased the scope of the Small Business Champion program in 2021, which recognizes the critical need small businesses play in their communities and in rebounding economies,” said Simon Griffiths, Head of Core Banking, Citizens. “The program was expanded significantly this year where, in addition to 10 awards for small businesses, 20 new awards for minority- and women-owned businesses were added, all of which represent businesses that bring opportunity to employees and economic vitality to their respective communities. We are gratified to continue our support of small business across multiple geographies we serve and congratulate them again on their continued success.”

For more information about the program, the winners and their proposed initiatives, please visit https://www.citizensbank.com/businesschampion

About Citizens Financial Group, Inc.

Citizens Financial Group, Inc. is one of the nation’s oldest and largest financial institutions, with $187.2 billion in assets as of March 31, 2021. Headquartered in Providence, Rhode Island, Citizens offers a broad range of retail and commercial banking products and services to individuals, small businesses, middle-market companies, large corporations and institutions. Citizens helps its customers reach their potential by listening to them and by understanding their needs in order to offer tailored advice, ideas and solutions. In Consumer Banking, Citizens provides an integrated experience that includes mobile and online banking, a 24/7 customer contact center and the convenience of approximately 3,000 ATMs and approximately 1,000 branches in 11 states in the New England, Mid-Atlantic and Midwest regions. Consumer Banking products and services include a full range of banking, lending, savings, wealth management and small business offerings. In Commercial Banking, Citizens offers a broad complement of financial products and solutions, including lending and leasing, deposit and treasury management services, foreign exchange, interest rate and commodity risk management solutions, as well as loan syndication, corporate finance, merger and acquisition, and debt and equity capital markets capabilities. More information is available at www.citizensbank.com or visit us on Twitter, LinkedIn or Facebook.

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