DALLAS, June 28, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Comerica Incorporated (NYSE: CMA) today was recognized as one of the most community-minded companies in the nation as part of The Civic 50, an initiative of Points of Light, the world's largest organization dedicated to volunteer service. The announcement was made today at Points of Light's Conference on Volunteering and Service, held in Detroit.

"The Civic 50 sets the standard for corporate civic engagement nationwide," said Patricia McCann, National Civic Affairs manager, who accepted the award on behalf of the bank.

The Civic 50 honors the 50 most community-minded companies in the nation each year as determined by an annual survey. All companies with revenue of $1 billion and over are invited to participate in the survey.

The Civic 50 winners are selected based on four dimensions of their U.S. community engagement program:

• Investment: How extensively and strategically the company applies its resources to community engagement in the U.S., including employee time and skills, cash, in-kind giving and leadership.
• Integration: How a company's U.S. community engagement program supports business interests and integrates into business functions, or how it "does well by doing good."
• Institutionalization: How the company supports community engagement in the U.S. through its institutional policies, systems, and incentives.
• Impact: How the company measures the social and business impact of its U.S. community engagement program.

"The program is really a roadmap for companies such as ours, in which we seek to best use our time, talent and resources to improve the quality of life in the communities where we do business," said McCann.

"Involvement" is a core value of Comerica. In 2015, Comerica employees donated their personal time and talents, nearly 74,000 hours, to make a positive difference in its communities. Comerica also contributed nearly $9 million to not-for-profit organizations in 2015, and the bank's employees raised more than $2.1 million for the United Way and Black United Fund.

"Since 2012, we have seen a notable shift in the results from the survey in a direction that speaks to the commitment of American companies to connect values of  community service and civic engagement to the culture and operating practices of their business," said Jennifer Lawson, Executive Director of the Corporate Institute at Points of Light.

This year's Civic 50 applicants were evaluated and accrued points based on several criteria, including:

• the quantity and impact of financial and human resources applied to civic improvement;
• whether internal and external resources are activated to maximize community impact;
• how a company's community engagement activities support its business interests;
• how broadly community engagement is supported and institutionalized within a company's policies, systems and incentives; and
• how a company measures the social and business value of its community engagement programs.

The Civic 50 survey was developed in partnership with a high-profile working group of researchers and industry thought leaders. Dozens of corporate advisors provided strategic guidance on the program's objectives, including defining indicators, developing methodology, and identifying partners and participants. As a result of this collaborative process, the initiative reflects leading insight and thinking about how corporations can and should connect with communities in a twenty-first century economy. 

To learn more about the Civic 50, to see a full list of the winners and to access the full report, The 2016 Civic 50: Turning Good Intentions into Sound Business Practices, which presents the highlights, trends, benchmarking data and best practices from the 2016 Civic 50, please visit www.Civic50.org.

Comerica Incorporated is a financial services company headquartered in Dallas, Texas, and strategically aligned by three business segments: The Business Bank, The Retail Bank, and Wealth Management. Comerica focuses on relationships, and helping people and businesses be successful. In addition to Texas, Comerica Bank locations can be found in Arizona, California, Florida and Michigan, with select businesses operating in several other states, as well as in Canada and Mexico. Comerica reported total assets of $69.0 billion at March 31, 2016.

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SOURCE Comerica Incorporated