A new era of growth for East Tampa
A message from: Fifth Third Neighborhood Program
Fifth Third Bank's Neighborhood Program has brought more than $28 million of financial impact to East Tampa since 2021 — supporting small businesses, homeowners and neighborhood revitalization.
Why it's important: East Tampa's history includes decades of disinvestment and discriminatory planning, leaving persistent gaps in housing access, business growth and income mobility.
🏘️ The Fifth Third Neighborhood Program is reimagining how banks show up for local communities by investing deeply, listening first and helping neighborhoods shape their own future.
The background: The program launched in 2021 with a $180 million commitment in nine historically disinvested and economically disadvantaged communities across Fifth Third's national footprint, including East Tampa.
It builds on the bank's 2019 pilot in a Detroit neighborhood, where concentrated, people-first investments attracted new partners and sparked lasting neighborhood change.
- The Fifth Third Neighborhood Program to date has delivered $270 million in direct investments around the country, catalyzing an additional $200 million in leveraged investments.
🤝 How it's done: Fifth Third partners with the national nonprofit Enterprise Community Partners for technical assistance.
In East Tampa, the bank works with the Community Development Corporation of Tampa for local guidance and leadership.
- Together, they've made $20 million in direct investments into Tampa and catalyzed an additional $8.1 million since 2021.
The strategy: The Fifth Third Neighborhood Program partners directly with local residents to deliver what the neighborhood needs — from business corridor revitalization to affordable housing expansion — to help shape economic mobility that lasts for generations.
🌟 The impact: This $28 million investment in East Tampa has supported:
- More than 370 small businesses through training, capital and opportunity.
- 300 employees in finding new jobs in partnership with the CDC of Tampa's Workforce Development Center.
- Six commercial developments that make space for thriving local businesses and address chronic neighborhood vacancies.
- 35 homes, including through the Highland Pines Revitalization Project, funding critical home repairs for elderly community members.
The takeaway: The Fifth Third Neighborhood Program proves that lasting change is possible when leaders across the community join together to keep things moving forward.
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