Abode Communities Awarded $200,000 Bank of America Neighborhood Builder Grant

February 23, 2017 (Los Angeles, CA) – Bank of America has announced Abode Communities as the recipient of its Neighborhood Builder award for the nonprofit’s effective combination of affordable housing with onsite self-sufficiency services for its low-income residents across Los Angeles County. These mission‑critical services have benefited more than 4,100 people at 16 of Abode Communities’ residential locations, with over half of the beneficiaries being children.

The Neighborhood Builders (#NeighborhoodBuilders) program provides high-impact local nonprofits with a unique combination of leadership development, $200,000 in flexible funding, a network of peer organizations across the U.S. and the opportunity to access capital in order to expand impact in Southern California. It has been recognized as the nation’s largest philanthropic investment in nonprofit leadership development.

Funding from the Neighborhood Builder grant will help Abode Communities promote long-term housing retention and build self-sufficiency in families and individuals through onsite resident services such as after-school academic enrichment and college preparatory programs for youth ages 5-17, as well as financial education, job readiness seminars and literacy workshops for adults. Abode Communities plans to open an additional four residential communities by year‑end 2018, growing the number of people provided these specialized social services by more than 30 percent.

“We recognize the critical role that nonprofits and their leaders play in building pathways to economic self sufficiency in diverse and large communities like Los Angeles,” said Raul A. Anaya, Los Angeles market president, Bank of America. “Abode Communities’ educational and career training programs give disadvantaged families the chance to break the cycle of poverty. We are thrilled the Neighborhood Builders program will connect this organization to the funding and leadership development resources necessary to provide even more service-enhanced housing across Los Angeles County.”

“We are extremely delighted to have Bank of America as our partner in providing these mission-critical services to our residents,” said Robin Hughes, president and CEO of Abode Communities. “The Neighborhood Builder grant is just one of many ways the bank has supported our work, which truly aims to transform the lives of our residents while connecting communities through meaningful social services that promote upward mobility.”

The Neighborhood Builders program has helped 900 nonprofits across the country create greater impact in local communities and better prepare for the future by providing the tools and resources necessary to develop stronger strategic plans, chart a succession plan, navigate through tough economic times and enhance funding opportunities since the program’s inception in 2004. This includes more than $180 million in grants for local programming and leadership development for nearly 2,000 nonprofit leaders.

Neighborhood Builders is a signature demonstration of the bank’s work to address issues fundamental to economic mobility in order to build thriving communities, and illustrates how strong cross-sector partnerships and local community leaders can play a meaningful role in positioning communities for success.

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