The Graduate School of Banking at Colorado (GSBC) has established a new scholarship to recognize community banks across the nation for their innovative approaches to serving their customers and communities and helping build thriving local economies.

The Bolder Banking Scholarship is an extension of GSBC’s Bolder Banking campaign launched in April 2022, which aims to highlight bold leaders in the community banking industry by sharing innovative information and ideas with fellow bankers.

“GSBC’s mission is clear: to develop community bank leaders,” said Michael L. Stevens, GSBC President. “Leadership is more than being able to run a bank. Those who attend GSBC chart a future for their banks and communities. Bolder Banking tells those stories.”

Since its launch, GSBC has sourced and shared bold ideas from bankers and industry experts with a vast breadth of experience and perspectives. These stories have been shared with the 500-person student body, on social media and on GSBC’s Bolder Banking podcast. The campaign had a live presence during GSBC’s two-week Annual School Session in July 2022, when students were given the opportunity to nominate their peers who shared examples of out-of-the-box approaches to solving problems and serving their customers.

“Hearing from students about how they serve their communities creatively and innovatively is inspiring,” added Stevens. “To keep the energy going, students will increasingly see GSBC driving strategic thinking in our curriculum as an essential element for a thriving industry.”

The Bolder Banking Scholarship will afford GSBC’s 15 partnering state bankers associations the opportunity to recognize and reward their member banks displaying innovative approaches to banking. GSBC will fund the scholarship for a rising star within the recipient bank to use toward tuition at GSBC’s Annual School Session.

“Community banks are nimble and attuned to the changing needs of the marketplace,” concluded Stevens. “The solutions they are deploying are important signals of the how industry is continuing to evolve.”