When Mark Donovan’s daughter Maggie was born, he felt like he was in new territory.

Mark was one of three boys in his own family, so he was excited about the challenge of raising a girl. When the opportunity arose to join the Board of Directors for Girl Scouts of Central Illinois when Maggie was a toddler, he knew it would be a great fit.

“I was in Cub Scouts and enjoyed that time. The most fundamental aspects of scouting are genuinely wholesome and offer a helpful curriculum to learn,” Mark said. “So I was eager and interested in serving this role with Girl Scouts.”

At INB, we are proud to be a community bank, offering the best in technology and financial products and services with personal relationships at the forefront of all that we do. And an integral component of being a community bank is just that – community.

INB not only provides impactful opportunities for our employees to make our communities brighter with group volunteer efforts like United Way’s Day of Action, but we also encourage our employees to individually pursue community service and share their personal gifts and time in ways that make a difference.

For some like Mark, this involves leadership roles for local nonprofits.

Mark began as an at-large member of the GSCI board and later became treasurer, offering his valuable financial skills.

“We are definitely a working board, so I’ve had some fantastic opportunities to help with marketing, operations, fundraising and garnering support for troop-leading,” Mark said.

The mission of Girl Scouts is to build courage, confidence and character; Girl Scouts brings together girls of all backgrounds and demographics under the common denominator of basic scouting, Mark said.

“Girl Scouts is an empowering outlet to introduce relevant issues or experiences that participants might not get elsewhere,” Mark said. “While STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) is certainly a focus area, ‘relevant’ is still rooted in basic self-sufficiency skills that build the foundation for independence and confidence. Today’s girls don’t need to be taught how to navigate an iPhone; they already know that. Like all generations before, they need exposure for social skills, practical life and outdoor skills, and financial literacy. Delivering these skills in a fun and safe environment is why Girl Scouts succeeds as an organization.”

Mark commends the culture fostered at INB that allows employees a certain amount of autonomy to pursue volunteer opportunities like board leadership.

“INB reinvests money into charity and encourages us to do that with our time and resources as well. But we can define that ourselves,” he said. “While we’re volunteering, we’re not just representatives of the bank, but representatives of ourselves and being a good community member, and that’s always important.”

Mark is a commercial lender with INB. His NMLS# is 662887.