BankAtlantic Foundation’s Arts in Schools Program to Expand with Knight Foundation Grant

BankAtlantic Foundation, the philanthropic entity of BankAtlantic, will expose more school children to the arts by expanding a program that partners arts nonprofits with local elementary schools via the bank’s network of branch managers. The program’s growth will be funded through a $100,000 grant from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation’s Knight Arts Challenge, a community-wide contest.

"Art has a unique way of uniting and strengthening communities, and bringing communities together is what the BankAtlantic Foundation is all about,” said Marcia Barry-Smith, its Executive Director. "The chance to be a recipient of the Knight Foundation grant was a welcomed opportunity to enhance and help fund our efforts to provide arts and cultural exposure and education to the South Florida community.”

The Knight Arts Challenge is a five-year, $40 million initiative to bring South Florida together through the arts. The BankAtlantic Foundation was one of 20 organizations chosen out of 1,562 applicants competing for grants based on the best ideas for enhancing the South Florida arts.

Jarett Levan, BankAtlantic’s President and CEO stated: "We are very proud to have been selected for this generous grant award. Obviously, the real winners will be the children in our community that will be given the opportunity to experience and explore the exciting world of art in ways they might not be otherwise privileged. We are honored and grateful that Knight Foundation has chosen to share in our passion to reach our community through the arts,” he added.

"Turning kids on to the arts, like this program does, will pay off for all of us when it creates future generations of audience goers and arts patrons,” said Dennis Scholl, Knight Foundation Miami program director.

About the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation

The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation advances journalism in the digital age and invests in the vitality of communities where the Knight brothers owned newspapers. Knight Foundation focuses on projects that promote community engagement and lead to transformational change. For more, visit www.knightfoundation.org.

About BankAtlantic Foundation:

Through the BankAtlantic Foundation, founded in 1994, BankAtlantic has helped support children in need, helped families obtain affordable housing, provided arts and cultural exposure to the broader community and is deeply committed to education. BankAtlantic is particularly proud of its employees who each year contribute thousands of volunteer hours to a wide scope of charitable causes in support of our community.

About BankAtlantic:

BankAtlantic, "Florida’s Most Convenient Bank”, is one of the largest financial institutions headquartered in Florida. Via its broad network of community branches, online banking division - BankAtlantic.com, and conveniently located ATMs, BankAtlantic provides a full line of personal, small business and commercial banking products and services. BankAtlantic is open 7 days a week with extended weekday hours, Free Online Banking & Bill Pay, a 7-Day Customer Service Center and Change Exchange coin counters.

BankAtlantic Bancorp (NYSE: BBX) is a bank holding company and the parent company of BankAtlantic.

To learn more about BankAtlantic and the BankAtlantic Foundation, visit us at www.BankAtlantic.com.

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