First Financial Northwest Bank Employees Raise over $50 Thousand in 30 Days for Local Nonprofits

RENTON, Wash., May 05, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- First Financial Northwest Bank employees ended their "#30nonprofitsin30days" fundraising campaign on May 1, 2020 with a grand total of $50,820 to be divided among 30 nonprofits throughout King, Snohomish, and Pierce Counties.

Employees nominated 30 local nonprofits to receive the donations. Starting on March 23, 2020, employees wore jeans to work in exchange for a donation to the cause. Dress Down for Charity (DDFC) is usually reserved for Fridays, however because numerous nonprofit auctions and fundraisers were cancelled due to COVID-19, First Financial Northwest Bank opted to honor their tradition daily for 30 work days.

Donna Dodson, AVP Banking Operations Manager, runs the nationally recognized Auction Team Program which provides a team of bank volunteers to assist at nonprofit auctions. "Many nonprofits rely on these events as their biggest fundraiser for the year. For these events to all be cancelled will definitely cause a financial hardship for many," said Dodson.

President and Chief Executive Officer, Joseph W. Kiley III, and Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, Rich Jacobson, encouraged employee donations by offering a dollar for dollar match on behalf of First Financial Northwest Bank. "Many of these nonprofits will now be relied upon more than ever as our communities deal with the stress of COVID-19. We're hopeful these donations will go toward helping relieve this stress for so many within our communities," said Kiley.

"On behalf of the Maple Valley Food Bank, THANK YOU. Our organization relies on generosity from people and businesses like yours. This will be so helpful as we continue to serve our neighbors and alleviate the economic impacts of COVID-19," said Lindsey Habenicht, Executive Director of the Maple Valley Food Bank and one of the donation recipients.

Checks are set to be delivered the week of May 11, 2020. Recipients include: Arlington Food Bank, Children's Country Home, Clothes for Kids, Communities in Schools (Renton-Tukwila), Community Bridges, Edmonds Food Bank, Emergency Feeding Program, Environmental Science Center, Filipino Community of Seattle, FISH, Habitat for Humanity, Kent Food Bank, Lake Stevens Food Bank, Lifelong, Maltby Food Bank, Maple Valley Food Bank, Mill Creek Community Food Bank, Mt. Baker Housing, Northshore Senior Center, Rainbow Center, RAYS, REACH, Renewal Food Bank, Salvation Army, Sarvey Wildlife, Sherwood Community Services, Snohomish Community Food Bank, The Riley Foundation, Victim Support Services, and Washington Kids in Transition.

First Financial Northwest, Inc. FFNW is the parent company of First Financial Northwest Bank; an FDIC insured Washington State-chartered commercial bank headquartered in Renton, Washington, serving the Puget Sound Region through 13 full-service banking offices. For additional information about us, please visit our website at ffnwb.com and click on the "Investor Relations" link at the bottom of the page.

Forward-looking statements:
When used in this press release and in other documents filed with or furnished to the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC"), in press releases or other public stockholder communications, or in oral statements made with the approval of an authorized executive officer, the words or phrases "believe," "will," "will likely result," "are expected to," "will continue," "is anticipated," "estimate," "project," "plans," or similar expressions are intended to identify "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.  Forward-looking statements are not historical facts but instead represent management's current expectations and forecasts regarding future events many of which are inherently uncertain and outside of our control. Actual results may differ, possibly materially from those currently expected or projected in these forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause our actual results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements, include, but are not limited to, the following: the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic, including on our credit quality and business operations, as well as its impact on general economic and financial market conditions; increased competitive pressures; changes in the interest rate environment; legislative and regulatory changes; and other factors described in the Company's latest Annual Report on Form 10-K and Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission – that are available on our website at www.ffnwb.com and on the SEC's website at www.sec.gov.

Any of the forward-looking statements that we make in this Press Release and in the other public statements are based upon management's beliefs and assumptions at the time they are made and may turn out to be wrong because of the inaccurate assumptions we might make, because of the factors illustrated above or because of other factors that we cannot foresee. Therefore, these factors should be considered in evaluating the forward-looking statements, and undue reliance should not be placed on such statements. We do not undertake and specifically disclaim any obligation to revise any forward-looking statements to reflect the occurrence of anticipated or unanticipated events or circumstances after the date of such statements. These risks could cause our actual results for 2020 and beyond to differ materially from those expressed in any forward-looking statements made by, or on behalf of, us and could negatively affect our operating and stock performance.

For more information, contact:
Joseph W. Kiley III, President and Chief Executive Officer
Rich Jacobson, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
(425) 255-4400