It might be a phone call, or getting together for a bite to eat, or a quick coffee between meetings. Ivory Gipson, who graduated from Skidmore College in New Yorkin May, 2025, knows Carter Leak IV is a busy man; he is president and CEO of Bank of St. Francisville, after all. But Leak is never too busy for Ivory.

Ivory Gipson is an alumnus of the Baton Rouge Youth Coalition (BRYC), a nonprofit that helps underserved teenagers to excel in high school and identify the post-secondary pathway that suits them best, while providing ongoing mentoring support as students get established in their chosen career. As a recent college graduate with a newly minted business degree, Ivory’s journey from promising student to career-minded young adult continues with an experienced profession all to help guide him along the way.

That’s where Leak comes in. For the past two years, he has been mentoring Ivory, connecting with phone calls during the Louisianan’s college years in New York, and more recently, with guiding chats now that Ivory has returned home to Baton Rouge.

“I love to help people reach their dreams,” Leak said. “Just being a sounding board and an encourager to think through things and help him understand the professional world and where he wants to fit in the professional world.”

Leak connects Ivory with people who can help him in his job search, offers advice on navigating professional business environments, quizzes him on interview questions, and helps him stay motivated.

“He’s just a great guy,” Ivory said. “You can tell he really cares. He’s always positive, he’s always uplifting. Just a really good guy to have in your corner.”

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"It kind of goes with our mission," Leak said, of supporting BRYC. "To be the fuel of prosperity for the communities we serve."

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Founded in 2009, the Baton Rouge Youth Coalition (BRYC) has served just shy of 1,000 students. Since it opened its doors more than fifteen years ago, BRYC has grown exponentially, creating opportunities for students across the region.

“Historically, we have been an ‘outside of school’ program,” said Lucas Spielfogel, BRYC’s executive director. “Students have come to our campus and participated in programming in the evening. We have evolved our model to also include an in-school program where students are not only receiving ACT preparation from our facilitators, our instructors at ten high schools across East Baton Rouge Parish, but they’re also receiving post-secondary advising services at those same ten schools.”

During the 2025–2026 academic year, BRYC will reach more than 500 students through its after-school program in grades eight through twelve, another 200 students with its ACT program, and ideally more than 500 through its advising program. According to Spielfogel, BRYC’s success is evidenced by its robust alumni core, which includes alumni working on staff, and as youth mentors. Ivory is one of them.

“We pride ourselves on maintaining long-term and deep relationships with our alumni,” Spielfogel added.

“It kind of goes with our mission,” Leak said, of supporting BRYC. “To be the fuel of prosperity for the communities we serve.” In addition to mentorship through leaders like Leak, Bank of St. Francisville supports BRYC financially with charitable donations.

Leak first “saw the power of what Baton Rouge Youth Coalition does” at a Rotary Club meeting, where a BRYC alumna spoke about the nonprofit’s impact. “It just seemed like a great opportunity and a great investment,” he said. “We want to put dollars into the community.”

Spielfogel said the bank has been particularly helpful in supporting alumni seeking jobs that come with family-sustaining wages, which is a critical component of the nonprofit’s mission.

“It’s honestly a very integrated partnership,” he said. “So of course, there’s the generous financial component. But given the spirit of the Bank of St. Francisville, there’s a spirit of giving that goes beyond money.”

Mentoring students like Ivory is emblematic of that spirit of deeply rooted support that creates a stronger community, one that fosters a brighter future.

“Being a senior leader at the bank, the fact that he himself is modeling that by taking the time to meet with Ivory…really just speaks volumes about the values of the company,” Spielfogel added. “The saying, ‘It takes a village,’ I think, is represented in this relationship, because we collaborate to support students.”

To learn more about how Bank of St. Francisville is helping nonprofits transform local communities, click HERE