Team Members, Clients & Communities
Leverage our unconventional culture to leave a positive lasting impact on our team members, clients and communities.
Our Unconventional Culture
Bridgewater’s unconventional corporate culture is driven by the entrepreneurial spirit our people demonstrate every day. This culture has become a true differentiator for how we attract and retain talent, provide responsive service for our clients and support our communities.
Our Core Values
Unconventional
Our clients notice a difference.
Responsive
Under promise. Over deliver.
Dedicated
Don’t stop until you get it done.
Accurate
It’s more than just an expectation.
Growth
If you aren’t moving forward, where are you going?
Investing in Our Team Members
In today’s fiercely competitive job market, we’re proud to continue excelling at attracting and retaining top talent. As of December 31, 2024, we had 290 full-time equivalent employees – a 14% increase compared to the previous year. This includes several new team members we welcomed from First Minnetonka City Bank following our acquisition in December 2024. Overall, our success is largely due to our collaboration-focused corporate culture, which truly sets us apart. How do we know this? Because our team members consistently share that our culture is what makes Bridgewater exceptional.
Our people remain at the heart of everything we do. A key enabler of this success has been the Bridgewater Bank Corporate Center, which has been fostering connection and innovation since it opened in August 2020. With its modern, open design and entrepreneurial atmosphere, the center is purpose-built for team building, creativity, and collaboration. Together, we’re poised for even greater achievements in the year ahead!
Our workplace culture has been recognized as a “Top Workplace” by the Star Tribune and as a “Best Bank to Work For” by American Banker.
Team Member Development
Being an entrepreneurial local bank, our team members are often asked to wear many hats. As a result, we pride ourselves on providing ample opportunities for team members to develop and expand their skill sets within their roles. Through our training, development and continuing education programs, both Bridgewater and our team members benefit through internal advancement within the organization.
We also have a Mentorship Committee which opens doors for team members to get professional advice and constructive communication from leaders at all levels of the organization. The program provides participants with ways to build leadership skills, learn from others outside of their normal department, and continue to grow both personally and professionally.
In 2024, Bridgewater kicked off another successful summer internship program that provided students the opportunity to apply the knowledge and skills learned in school to real life work within our organization. During the program, nine interns had the opportunity to work side-by-side with Bridgewater team members collaborating new ideas that fit our vision.
Building on the momentum from 2023, Bridgewater continued to enhance its Leadership Development Program, delivering impactful content designed to support leaders in their growth and development. The program focuses on essential skills such as engaging in crucial conversations, empowering team members, and effectively navigating change. By investing in these key areas, we’re equipping our leaders with the tools they need to drive success and foster a culture of collaboration and innovation.
Compensation and Benefits
Bridgewater is committed to ensuring a fair and living wage for all team members, recognizing the importance of equitable compensation in fostering an inclusive and thriving workplace. We are focused on aligning team member compensation with both the performance of the bank and the individual. One way we do this is through annual discretionary bonus opportunities that are available for all team members, regardless of level. This is in addition to our competitive benefits package that includes comprehensive healthcare (medical, dental and vision), 401(k) matching, and a gym membership stipend.
We also acknowledge and celebrate a diverse range of holidays to support a workplace culture that embraces inclusion and respects the varied traditions of our team members. The following are considered Bridgewater Bank holidays:
- New Year’s Day
- Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
- President’s Day
- Memorial Day
- Juneteenth
- Independence Day
- Labor Day
- Indigenous People’s Day
- Thanksgiving
- Christmas Day
Health and Wellness
Our established Health and Wellness Committee focuses on promoting physical fitness, nutrition, and mental health across our organization. During 2024, events sponsored by the Health and Wellness Committee included pickleball, a blood drive, a healthy cooking class, and annual step challenge. The committee also posts a series of healthy recipes on a monthly basis!
In 2024, the Health and Wellness Committee at Bridgewater intensified its focus on mental health by organizing an annual Wellness Week. This week encouraged employees to prioritize their mental well-being through activities that resonate with them, such as physical challenges, like achieving 10,000 steps per day, or mental challenges, like finding a quite place to meditate. Additionally, the committee hosted a mental health speaker, who shared valuable insights into navigating mental illness in the workplace and supporting one another. To finish off the year, we hosted the third annual Health & Holidays event where team members had the chance to relax with therapy pups from a local animal shelter to ring in the holiday season!
In addition, Bridgewater has a hybrid working model with most team members having the flexibility to work remote. We recognize the importance of having this flexibility while also emphasizing the benefits of the in-person workplace culture that is unique to Bridgewater.
Team Building Initiatives
Team building and networking is another focus of our culture as deepening relationships help create a more positive work environment. One way we do this is through frequent team member social events, including the following:
- All-team meetings
- All-team training days
- Summer happy hours
- Family Day
- Holiday party
- Take Your Child to Work Day
- Individual department outings
Employee Engagement
Annual employee engagement surveys are an important way for us to identify what is working and what might not be working with our team members. Our Strategic Leadership Team, along with Human Resources, use the results of the surveys each year to prioritize initiatives to enhance our overall team member experience. An area of opportunity for Bridgewater is to continue evaluating benefit offerings to ensure they remain aligned with changing team member and applicant expectations.
Human Rights Policy
In 2024, Bridgewater adopted a Human Rights Policy which outlines our steadfast commitment to upholding fundamental rights and creating a foundation for an ethical and inclusive organizational culture. This includes prohibiting and not engaging in any manner of forced labor, exploited labor, or human trafficking and supporting the important principles included in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Together with our Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DE&I) Policy, which was also adopted in 2024, we remain dedicated to a workplace that respects, values and supports all team members.
Serving Our Clients
Client Experience
Bridgewater is committed to serving the diverse needs of commercial real estate investors, entrepreneurs, business clients and successful individuals in the Twin Cities area through a wide range of financial products and services. We do this through a service model built on responsive support and simple solutions. With deep expertise and strong network connections in the Twin Cities, we have become a local bank of choice in a market where many local banks have left in recent years. As we tell our clients, “not all is lost in local banking” with Bridgewater Bank.
Being a local bank in the Twin Cities, we take great pride in our ability to develop and maintain strong relationships with our clients, which results in a high level of client satisfaction. We know our clients by name and our clients know who their point of contact is at Bridgewater. Knowing our clients personally deepens our relationship and is a big reason why nearly 30% of deposit accounts opened by new clients in 2024 came directly through referrals. This is what it means to truly be a local bank.
In 2024, Bridgewater completed its acquisition of First Minnetonka City Bank. This partnership is an exciting opportunity for First Minnetonka City bank clients as Bridgewater will continue to offer the same responsive service and support they are accustomed to, but those clients will now have access to broader product offerings and more convenient branch locations across the Twin Cities.
Our Proven Process
1. Discover: With a can-do spirit and local presence, Bridgewater Bank is preferred by successful entrepreneurs and individuals who value responsive support and simple solutions.
2. Onboard: As entrepreneurs ourselves, we anticipate and understand the financial needs of our clients and provide simple, creative solutions to solve them.
3. Execute: Local banking means local decision making. We value action and decisiveness and work quickly to ensure that our clients never miss an opportunity.
4. Support: In-person, online and everywhere in-between, our local team is available to meet our clients' financial needs and exceed expectations.
5. Network: When a client joins Bridgewater Bank they join more than a bank—it’s a network.
BridgewatHER Network
Formed by women for women, the BridgewatHER Network provides sophisticated women in business who live and work in the Twin Cities and value strong network connections an opportunity to build professional relationships, share in new experiences and exchange ideas. The group is led by Mary Jayne Crocker, Bridgewater’s Chief Strategy Officer, and includes approximately 400 female entrepreneurs and business leaders. In 2024, our event lineup continued to inspire and connect women leaders in the Twin Cities. Event highlights included a nutritional therapist sharing tips on optimizing cognitive function, a session on leading through change, and our signature Gratitude Gathering. This gathering celebrated women entrepreneurs with local vendors as attendees packed 120 care packages and collected 367 pounds of clothing donations for the non-profit Dress for Success, supporting women’s economic independence.
Commitment to Downtown Minneapolis
Bridgewater Bank remains committed to Downtown Minneapolis and operates a full-service branch at 60 South Sixth. Nestled within the skyway, this 3,200-square-foot branch reflects our growth and commitment to downtown’s success. Our branch is strategically located to support local clients, entrepreneurs, and the broader business community, showcasing our confidence in the city’s future.
Accessibility
We are always looking to do the right thing to make banking at Bridgewater fair and accessible for our clients. This includes refraining from using deceptive or misleading marketing or advertising practices and Compliance and Marketing working closely to ensure all banking regulatory requirements are met.
We also regularly monitor our website to identify and document our continual efforts in ADA Site Accessibility Compliance. With the support of a third-party website governance service, Bridgewater’s website (bwbmn.com) had an accessibility score of 88.5 as of December 31, 2024, above the industry benchmark of 84.4. Our marketing team is continually working to make back-end enhancements to improve the website’s overall accessibility, while Compliance monitors the accessibility on a quarterly basis.
Our Clients Say It Best
Don’t take our word for it. Here are some of the things our clients are saying:
Twin Cities Orthopedics (TCO)
“We appreciate that Bridgewater understands the complexity of our business. They are responsive, supportive, and flexible in their approach. As a trusted advisor, they share our core values of integrity, service, quality, innovation, and teamwork.”
Client Since 2021
UNRL
“Having the staff at Bridgewater Bank available to support us every step of the way has proven to be invaluable to our team. We have received the personable, friendly service of a small-town bank, but with all the amenities, and more, any national sized bank can offer. Their customer service team is always quick to respond to any request or question. It feels like they’re a part of our finance team.”
Client Since 2021
Recognized for Serving Our Clients
Recognized for Serving Our Clients
Bridgewater also continues to receive recognition for the unconventional and responsive level of service we provide to our clients. In 2024, we were recognized by both Twin Cities Business and Finance & Commerce.
- Twin Cities Business – Best Business Bank (Gold) / Best Consumer Bank (Gold) / Best Community Bank (Bronze)
Finance & Commerce Reader Rankings – Best Business Bank (2nd) / Best Small Business Banking (2nd) / Best Commercial Mortgage Lender (2nd)
Supporting Our Communities
A Commitment to Community Development
As a local Twin Cities bank, Bridgewater takes great pride in giving back and supporting the ongoing development of the communities we serve. We have strong leadership and oversight of these efforts through our Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) Committee. The CRA Committee focuses on working with non-profit organizations contributing to housing and education initiatives in our community, including low-to-moderate income areas, while also identifying innovative and flexible lending, investment and volunteer opportunities.
The CRA Committee has formalized its commitment by establishing a series of internal goals, which include CRA lending as a percent of total loans; CRA investments as percent of total investments; volunteer hours and total team member involvement; and CRA-related contributions.
In 2023, Bridgewater Bank again received the highest possible rating, “Outstanding,” from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) for its CRA examination period ending January 2023. This rating reflects Bridgewater’s work in meeting the credit needs of Twin Cities’ communities, including low- and moderate-income neighborhoods, through its continued emphasis on affordable housing initiatives.
Below is an overview of the impact we made in our communities in 2024:
Community Development Lending
Bridgewater is active in community development lending in areas including affordable housing and revitalization or stabilization. We also provide financing for Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) properties to incentivize development. In 2024, we originated over $240 million of community development loans, making up nearly 30% of our total loan originations during the year. Examples of recent projects include:
- Brooklyn Park, MN: $13.1M to facilitate bonds for construction of a 175-unit affordable housing project
- Burnsville, MN: $9.0M to recycle bonds related to construction of a 170-unit affordable apartment property
- Minneapolis, MN: $8.0M LIHTC bridge loan on the construction of a 50-unit affordable housing property
Contributions and Events
Each year, Bridgewater Bank makes various financial contributions to CRA-qualified causes in the areas of affordable housing, community service and education. These contributions often include sponsorships of impactful local events supporting the important work of these non-profits.
Volunteerism and Financial Literacy
In addition to financial contributions, Bridgewater Bank encourages all employees to volunteer their time to serve the community through initiatives including housing and financial literacy.
In fact, through our unique Volunteer Time Off program, we create community engagement opportunities for team members that are meaningful, purposeful and help those in need. As part of this program, all full-time team members receive up to 16 hours of paid time off per year for any volunteer opportunity meeting CRA requirements.
Financial literacy programs are of special interest to us given our role as a local bank in the community. We recognize the importance of educating students on key financial principles and preparing them with strong financial habits when they get out on their own. We have demonstrated this commitment through our volunteer support of community partners including BestPrep and Junior Achievement.
BestPrep
Prepares students with business, career and financial literacy skills through hands-on experience that inspires success in work and life.
Junior Achievement
Uses proven lessons in financial literacy, work and career and entrepreneurship to inspire and prepare young people to succeed.
Internal Blood Drive
In November 2024, Bridgewater held its fourth annual blood drive as team members volunteered to roll up their sleeves in support of the American Red Cross by donating blood. Bridgewater team members have donated enough blood to save an average of over 100 lives each year.
Bridgewater Bank was recognized by the Minnesota Bankers Association (MBA) as an MBA Community Champion in 2024 for our contributions, service and support of our local communities.
