Program Provides $200,000 in Flexible Funding to Each Organization and Leadership Development Training to Advance Economic Mobility Across the Inland Empire
Programs that help address homelessness and support rights for immigrant and migrant workers will be able to scale to help even more people through multi-year grants from Bank of America. Martha’s Village and Kitchen and TODEC Legal Center have been named as the 2021 Bank of America Neighborhood Builders® awardees for their work in the Inland Empire addressing these needs.
As a Neighborhood Builder, 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 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.
“As communities continue to recover and navigate a changing landscape, nonprofits are still experiencing significant demands and are in need of resources to help meet critical local needs such as equitable access to health, housing and other basic needs,” said Bansree Parikh, president, Bank of America Inland Empire. “Martha’s Village and Kitchen and TODEC Legal Center are helping bridge important resource gaps to help put people on a sustainable path to success. Programs like Neighborhood Builders helps these organizations grow sustainably and strategically for greater positive impact in the community.”
In Riverside alone, one out of six individuals live in poverty. Indio-based Martha’s Village and Kitchen serves more than 8,500 impoverished clients annually including 800 homeless, providing a continuum of care that includes three meals a day, access to healthcare and hygiene, case management with various agencies, child development programs, housing and employment assistance. Since the onset of the pandemic, Martha’s Village and Kitchen has seen a 66% increase in demand for its services and have increased its homeless housing to 150 beds to accommodate the growing need. The organization will use the Neighborhood Builder grant to further expand its homeless services into high poverty areas of Desert Hot Springs, Palm Springs, and a new office in Mecca to services local farm workers.
“During these still uncertain times of COVID-19 the Bank of America Neighborhood Builder grant will go a long way in stabilizing the lives of the over 9,000 impoverished individuals that Martha’s Village is now serving annually, said Linda Barrack, President and CEO Martha’s Village and Kitchen. “The number of impoverished individuals with immediate needs that Martha’s Village is currently seeing represents an increase of over 3,000 individuals annually, which now with the support of the Bank of America the critically needed positive outcomes for so many in need seems much more achievable.”
There are nearly 1 million immigrants living in Riverside and San Bernardino counties. For 40 years, TODEC Legal Center has advocated for the region’s migrant and immigrant communities, providing access to legal services, education, and civic engagement on behalf of limited and non-English speaking immigrant and migrant workers and families. The pandemic disproportionately impacted local migrant populations and workers, and TODEC Legal Services experienced a 250% increase in demand for its services. The organization will use the Neighborhood Builder grant to help support direct cash assistance for immigrants who are ineligible for unemployment benefits and other government relief programs like rental assistance; and to improve its virtual and digital outreach and case management efforts.
“As our communities continue to recover and navigate a changing landscape, TODEC is still experiencing significant demands to help meet critical local needs like cash and rental assistance,” says Luz Gallegos, executive director at TODEC. “The combination of unrestricted funding and leadership training makes this award unique, and will empower TODEC’s leaders to tackle unprecedented challenges, dream big, and make connections that lead to new opportunities.”
The invitation-only program is highly competitive, and leading members of the community participated in a collaborative selection process to identify this year’s awardees.
Since 2004, Bank of America has invested over $260 million into more than 1,300 Los Angeles nonprofits through the Neighborhood Builders program. Nationally, the bank directed $280 million across the U.S. to more than 1,400 nonprofits and helped more than 2,800 nonprofit leaders strengthen their leadership skills since the program began in 2004.
Bank of America
At Bank of America, we’re guided by a common purpose to help make financial lives better, through the power of every connection. We’re delivering on this through responsible growth with a focus on our environmental, social and governance (ESG) leadership. ESG is embedded across our eight lines of business and reflects how we help fuel the global economy, build trust and credibility, and represent a company that people want to work for, invest in and do business with. It’s demonstrated in the inclusive and supportive workplace we create for our employees, the responsible products and services we offer our clients, and the impact we make around the world in helping local economies thrive. An important part of this work is forming strong partnerships with nonprofits and advocacy groups, such as community, consumer and environmental organizations, to bring together our collective networks and expertise to achieve greater impact. Learn more at about.bankofamerica.com, and connect with us on Twitter (@BofA_News).
