Supporter Highlight: KeyBank

With nearly 10 years of collaboration under our belts, WellPower and KeyBank have a long history of doing good for our Denver communities. From volunteering to their most recent $10,000 donation match, KeyBank has shown time and again that they put their money where their values are.

Mutually beneficial relationship

KeyBank’s Agapito Morgan, commercial healthcare leader, and Eli Santos, vice president of healthcare banking, joined WellPower to discuss their thoughts on working together for a decade, as well as what inspired KeyBank’s support for WellPower.

“As a healthcare banker, my ideal clients are those that are passionate about taking care of our community,” said Santos. “They understand the challenges and goals of health equity, and they have leaders and employees that truly embrace the organization’s mission. WellPower really represents all of those things and more, and we’re honored to support them and their amazing team of people.”

“The other things we’re looking for are well-run businesses by best-of-breed management teams who are effecting significant positive change in their communities,” added Morgan. “We also aim to work with organizations that have a solid trajectory for growth going forward, which we know WellPower has.”

WellPower’s Angela Oakley, vice president and chief financial officer, agrees that a strong relationship between an organization and their bank is key to the business’ success.

“The banking relationship is important for the financial stability of an organization,” said Oakley. “A good banking relationship can provide expert advice in managing funds and help to minimize risks through automation and key controls over the cash. When we selected KeyBank, we were looking for a bank that could provide us with tools and processes to help us become more efficient while at the same time having strong controls over our funds. We were also looking for a bank that has strong experience in the health care sector.”

Bringing ease to employees

One of the ways KeyBank’s offerings benefit WellPower is the use of their purchasing card (or p-card) system. Employees can get authorized to use a p-card for things like travel and conferences, and each account has an employee-specific login to KeyBank’s portal. Rather than requiring staff to submit every expense for reimbursement or front the cost of plane tickets, the p-card system allows the organization and employees to use an approved system that never pulls funds from a staff member’s personal finances.

“My first interaction with WellPower was when employees were starting to travel more for conferences and seminars, and at the time, employees needed to pay out of pocket for travel costs and then get reimbursed,” said Santos. “The last thing an organization wants is for its staff to be stressed about work travel expenses, and so that was a great opportunity for KeyBank to jump in, provide a significant increase to WellPower’s commercial card program and allow the employees to just focus on what they do best.”

“It was a great way for us to step in, show our value and most importantly, be helpful to WellPower,” said Morgan. “It was a chance for us to show up and prove our alignment with WellPower’s strategic goals and earn the opportunity for additional business with the organization down the road.”

Cut from the same cloth

While strategic alignment is certainly key to a good business arrangement, KeyBank’s values and ethics are also a driving force behind WellPower’s relationship with them.

“KeyBank is a good fit for WellPower as they have a strong presence in the healthcare sector and they have developed many tools to improve funds management for organizations,” said Oakley. “KeyBank’s commitment to the non-profit sector is also important. They are a financial advisor that likes to get involved and be supportive.”

“KeyBank is very aware of the stigma around mental health and the prevalence of mental health diagnoses,” added Morgan. “We know that healthcare is critical for communities to thrive, so we make a point to show up beyond just conducting day-to-day banking business.”

From setting aside resources just to support the healthcare industry to KeyBank’s local staff volunteering, KeyBank continues to demonstrate that their mission drives the way they show up in their communities.

Thank you, KeyBank, for all you’ve done for WellPower over the past decade. Here’s to many more years of working together.

For more information about KeyBank, visit key.com/healthcarebanking.