Programs and services that address social equality housing and food insecurity will be able to expand and scale their services helping more Seattleites in need chart a path toward economic opportunity with the help of multi-year grants from Bank of America. Community Roots Housing and FamilyWorks have been named as the 2022 Bank of America Neighborhood Builders® awardees for their work removing economic barriers and advancing economic opportunity.
Each organization receives a $200,000 grant over two years, comprehensive leadership training for the executive director and an emerging leader on topics ranging from increasing financial sustainability, human capital management and strategic storytelling, joins a network of hundreds of peer organizations across the U.S., and gets the opportunity to access capital to expand their impact. The program continues to be the nation’s largest investment into nonprofit leadership development.
“Seattle’s nonprofits are the backbone of our community—working shoulder to shoulder with individuals, families and community members to understand and address complex and enduring obstacles to economic stability and advancement,” said Kerri Schroeder, president, Bank of America Seattle. “Our approach through Neighborhood Builders is to support diverse nonprofit leadership and direct flexible capital, training and other resources to position these high-performing nonprofits and their leaders for long-term success and resilience.”
Community Roots Housing is a public development authority with a mission to build vibrant and engaged communities. Focusing their work on affordable, equitable and sustainable development, they own and operate over 1,600 apartments serving more than 2,200 residents across the Seattle area. Community Roots will use their grant funding to solidify and document their model of deep partnerships to deliver affordable housing projects that reflect community goals. With this funding, they will be able to support the development of over 1,500 new affordable homes in the next 5 years—the largest pipeline in their organization’s history—while expanding their work providing capacity-building and technical assistance to local communities.
“Collaborative solutions are crucial when it comes to addressing the scale of the housing crisis in our region,” said Christopher Persons, CEO of Community Roots Housing. “Bank of America’s generous confidence in our vision exemplifies the idea of deep, transformative partnerships required to meet our region’s ever evolving needs. With their support, we’re able to continue building a model for community-led development that centers the priorities of the people who live there.”
Since 1995, FamilyWorks has been providing nutritious foods, essential services, and a supportive community to families across North Seattle. Today, they operate two food banks, a family resource center, and mobile/satellite programs to bring food and family resources to schools, affordable housing communities, and other community partners, reaching more than 4,000 families annually. To respond to growing food insecurity among families and neighbors, FamilyWorks launched Food Bank Express programs, which include a mobile food pantry, text pick-up for groceries, and an expanded home delivery service.
“We have seen food insecurity and the struggle to meet basic needs skyrocket among families over the last two years, and it’s not slowing down in this high-inflation economy,” said Marcia Wright-Soika, executive director of FamilyWorks. “For 20+ years, our Wallingford food bank has had less than 2,000 square feet for storage and operations, and it is not designed for the new ways we are serving community. Bank of America’s grant will jumpstart the food bank expansion and remodel, doubling the space, improving its design, and increasing our capacity to bring nutritious and culturally responsive foods to new communities.”
Throughout the Puget Sound Region, 38 of nonprofits have been selected as Neighborhood Builders since 2004, with the bank investing $7.6 million into these local organizations.
The invitation-only program is highly competitive, and organizations are selected by a committee comprised of community leaders and past Neighborhood Builders honorees.
