Bank of America last month announced MANA de San Diego and San Diego Habitat for Humanity as the 2023 Neighborhood Builders awardees for their work advancing economic mobility and building up underserved neighborhoods in San Diego.
The Neighborhood Builders program is a philanthropic investment in nonprofit leadership development, providing leadership training for an executive director and an emerging leader on topics ranging from increasing financial sustainability, human capital management and strategic storytelling, and the opportunity to join a national network of peer organizations. Each Builder is also awarded a $200,000 grant over two years.
“Nonprofits are vital to solving social challenges, improving communities and promoting economic advancement,” said Rick Bregman, president, Bank of America San Diego. “Providing these nonprofits with flexible funding and leadership training not only positions them for sustainable, long-term success, but demonstrates our commitment to creating real change in the places where we live and work.”
MANA de San Diego will use its grant dollars toward increasing its programs’ reach and scale as it expands its grant-writing capabilities, invests in program processes and a formalized educational series for its members.
“The Bank of America Neighborhood Builders grant is a transformational, unrestricted investment that will help move our mission to help Latinas thrive in San Diego. When Latinas succeed, their families and the entire region also benefits,” said Inez Gonzalez Perezchica, Executive Director, MANA de San Diego. “This investment comes at a perfect time, as we just completed our bold strategic 5-year plan focused on impact, growth, and sustainability. ”
San Diego Habitat for Humanity will use its grant dollars to increase its capacity to build larger, multifamily developments for rent to house more families, as well as to scale its internal infrastructure to increase partnerships with other master developers.
Band of America presented the grant to Habitat for Humanity on Oct. 28 at an event where BofA employees volunteered time to build a home in Escondido.
“As we gear up to tackle the vast challenges of affordable housing in our region, doing so effectively and at scale requires more sophisticated financing, building and partnership strategies – all of which will take resources and expertise to build,” said Kwofi Reed, President and CEO, San Diego Habitat for Humanity. “The Neighborhood Builders grant is exactly the type of strategic investment in our organization’s people and capacity, that will help make that happen. By investing in us today, Bank of America is making it possible for us to build more affordable homes, for more working San Diegans, securing their future for years to come.”
Thirty-two nonprofits have been selected as Neighborhood Builders in San Diego since the program’s inception in 2004, with the bank investing more than $6 million into these local nonprofits.
