Kitsap Bank donates $10K to downtown association

Downtown Winslow has 10,000 new reasons to love Kitsap bank.

The bank donated $10,000 to the Bainbridge Island Downtown Association in support of its efforts maintaining the island’s downtown core.

“Kitsap Bank is very pleased to partner with Bainbridge Island Downtown Association,” said Tony George, president and chief operating officer. “These dedicated business and community leaders have set an excellent example of how to create and manage a sustainable and vibrant small downtown. We applaud their continued efforts to successfully preserve Bainbridge Island’s historic commercial district as the heart and soul of the community.”

Kitsap Bank also donated $10,000 to the Main Street programs of Gig Harbor, Port Angeles and Port Townsend.

The donation is a welcome show of support for the island’s downtown association which has floated by on limited funds in recent years. The accredited Main Street program is supported primarily by business-and-occupation tax donations and membership fees of the downtown Winslow business it supports. While the city once chipped in to help the association’s efforts, it cut off funding in 2011, making Bainbridge Island the only city in Washington that does not support its Main Street program.

The association is responsible for multiple downtown events and promotions that help keep Winslow lively and sustainable; from the July 3 street dance to the Halloween celebration, and even shopping blitzes such as Girls’ Night Out.

Kitsap Bank was founded in 1908 and has grown to hold more than $900 million in assets today.

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