2009 AHEAD Program Recipients

Location	Member	Sponsor	Grant Amount
Santa Barbara, CA	Affinity Bank	Women's Economic Ventures	$25,000
Project Description: This project will expand a small business loan fund to serve the capital and training needs of low- and moderate-income entrepreneurs in Ventura County who are considered unbankable by conventional lenders. The grant will fund the salary for a Director of Lending and costs associated with curriculum development for an accelerated business plan training course.

Location	Member	Sponsor	Grant Amount
Phoenix, AZ	Alliance Bank of Arizona	Arizona Saves	$25,000
Project Description: This program is intended to add efficiencies to the foreclosure counseling process by identifying homeowners at risk of foreclosure and helping them stabilize their finances through crisis budgeting before steering them to HUD-certified foreclosure prevention counseling agencies. The grant will pay a portion of the salary for an Assistant Director who will manage all aspects of the program.

Location	Member	Sponsor	Grant Amount
Escondido, CA	Bank of America California, N.A.	Community Housing Works	$25,000
Project Description:  The sponsor will implement its financial fitness education program in conjunction with programs offered by the San Diego Work Force Partnership at ten career centers and in Native American communities throughout San Diego County. The grant will pay salary and operating expenses to deliver eight financial fitness workshops each year for three years.

Location	Member	Sponsor	Grant Amount
Oakland, CA	Bank of the West	Young Men's Christian Association of the East Bay aka YMCA of the East Bay	$50,000
Project Description: The project, a partnership between the Urban Services YMCA and the Oakland Operation HOPE Banking Center Network, is an incentivized enrichment program that will provide financial and entrepreneurial training to 140 youths and young adults in low-income communities. Curriculum will be based on Operation HOPE’s Banking on our Future, Credit & Money Management, and Small Business Empowerment and Entrepreneurial Programs. The grant will fund direct program costs, which can include staff salaries, program supplies and materials, and administrative overhead costs.

Location	Member	Sponsor	Grant Amount
Reno, NV	Charles Schwab Bank	Access to Health Care Network, Inc.	$50,000
Project Description: The sponsor will design and implement a healthcare Individual Development Account program that will provide incentives, support, and financial education to low-income participants who lack health insurance and help them save for future healthcare-related expenses. The grant will fund development of a program-specific management information system, financial education curriculum, and assessment tools and pay costs associated with marketing.

Location	Member	Sponsor	Grant Amount
Reno, NV	Charles Schwab Bank	United Way of Northern Nevada and the Sierra	$25,000
Project Description: The sponsor seeks to build the Nevada nonprofit sector’s capacity to support the needs of the state. The new Alliance for Nevada Nonprofits will act as a unified voice on public policy issues and help member nonprofits build organizational capacity by providing training and technical assistance, collective purchasing power, and a fundraising infrastructure. The grant will fund program development and pay for marketing to enable the Alliance to pursue other funding opportunities.

Location	Member	Sponsor	Grant Amount
Hayward, CA	Charles Schwab Bank	Bay Area Youth Centers, a Division of Sunny Hills Services	$10,000
Project Description: Bay Area Youth Centers provides housing, social services, job training, and other services to 25 former foster youth who are at risk of becoming homeless. The grant will provide rental subsidies for four supportive housing beds that are not currently funded through the county Department of Human Services.

Location	Member	Sponsor	Grant Amount
Oakland, CA	Charles Schwab Bank	California Resources and Training	$50,000
Project Description: The project will deliver internet-based technology training designed to produce operational efficiencies for small businesses in underserved communities. Training topics will include financial management, customer relations, purchasing and inventory management, online collaboration, and web-based marketing. The grant will support the cost of program delivery.

Location	Member	Sponsor	Grant Amount
San Jose, CA	Charles Schwab Bank	Opportunity Fund	$25,000
Project Description: The sponsor will increase the Opportunity Fund Small Business Loan Program’s capacity to provide microloans and one-on-one business coaching to low-income micro-entrepreneurs who are considered unbankable by conventional lenders. Development and implementation of a marketing initiative targeted to local small business owners is expected to help reach the organization’s goal of coaching 580 micro-entrepreneurs and financing 180 loans in 2010. The grant will be used to fund salaries for staff to develop and implement the marketing initiative.

Location	Member	Sponsor	Grant Amount
San Francisco, CA	Citibank, N.A.	Mission Economic Development Agency (MEDA)	$25,000
Project Description: The sponsor seeks to create an economic engine in San Francisco’s Latino communities by fostering sustainable childcare enterprises that can generate significant income and increase the quantity and quality of childcare services in the community. The objective of this project is to provide business training and coaching to sixty new and established home-based childcare business operators. The grant will be used to pay costs of implementing the program, which may include salaries, benefits, materials, and consultants.

Location	Member	Sponsor	Grant Amount
San Francisco, CA	Citibank, N.A.	Community Housing Partnership	$25,000
Project Description: The sponsor will create a new social enterprise that trains and employs formerly homeless people in a pest control business focusing on eradicating bed bugs in supportive housing buildings in San Francisco. Participants will be trained in the removal, cleaning, and replacement of tenant personal effects and employed in a partnership with a for-profit pest control company. Training in controlled pesticide application will be offered to interested participants. The grant will fund start-up costs, which may include staff salaries, equipment, supplies, and marketing expenses.

Location	Member	Sponsor	Grant Amount
Los Angeles, CA	Citibank, N.A.	Coalition for Responsible Community Development	$50,000
Project Description: The sponsor will establish a social enterprise that will train hard-to-employ youth, aged 17-25, to work as professional interior/exterior painters. Targeted to residents of Los Angeles' Vernon Central neighborhood, participants will gain experience through initial employment at the sponsor’s affordable housing construction sites. The grant will be used to pay a portion of the salary and benefits for a part-time manager and consulting fees for development of a business plan and marketing analysis.

Location	Member	Sponsor	Grant Amount
Los Angeles, CA	Citibank, N.A.	Community Services Unlimited Inc.	$25,000
Project Description: Mini-urban farms will provide a setting for training at-risk low- and moderate-income youth in organic food production, marketing, and business management. The educational component will include learning about the social and political issues impacting our food system along with life skills such as public speaking, financial literacy, and conflict resolution. The grant will fund salaries and benefits and direct program and overhead costs, which may include intern/apprentice stipends, supplies and educational materials, and utilities and rent.

Location	Member	Sponsor	Grant Amount
Oakland, CA	Citibank, N.A.	WAGES (Women's Action to Gain Economic Security)	$50,000
Project Description: The sponsor will create living-wage jobs with benefits for low-income Latinas by establishing a worker-owned cooperative to deliver green housecleaning services. Six co-owners will be recruited to start the new venture. Technical and business management training will be provided to the co-owners and the cleaning co-op will have access to a larger network for purchasing, marketing, benefits administration, and training. The grant will be used to fund salaries, training, and overhead expenses.

Location	Member	Sponsor	Grant Amount
Santa Ana, CA	Citibank, N.A.	Taller San Jose	$50,000
Project Description: The sponsor will expand its construction training program for at-risk low-income youth to include a green component offering graduates the opportunity to acquire skills in solar panel installation, weatherization, and energy-efficiency technologies. A crew certified in weatherization will subcontract with Orange County utility companies to retrofit a backlog of 110,000 units for low-income households. The grant will fund program start-up costs, including a project manager’s salary, tools, equipment, and transportation.

Location	Member	Sponsor	Grant Amount
Sacramento, CA	Citibank, N.A.	California Coalition for Rural Housing	$25,000
Project Description: To increase homeownership opportunities for residents of 13 rural jurisdictions throughout California’s San Joaquin Valley, the sponsor will launch Pathways to Rural Homeownership, a network of Individual Development Account (IDA) programs. The new program will increase capacity in non-profit housing organizations that offer IDA programs by providing training, technical assistance, and operating capital. The grant will be used to fund program start-up salaries and overhead expenses for a twelve-month period.

Location	Member	Sponsor	Grant Amount
Pasadena, CA	Citibank, N.A.	Episcopal Housing Alliance	$50,000
Project Description: This sponsor will develop a licensed commercial food preparation kitchen that will offer a food service job training program and serve as an incubator for micro-entrepreneurs to start new or grow established food-based businesses. The grant will fund start-up costs, which may include curriculum development, marketing, and instruction.

Location	Member	Sponsor	Grant Amount
Oakland, CA	Citibank, N.A.	Spanish Speaking Unity Council ("The Unity Council")	$25,000
Project Description: The sponsor seeks to expand the capacity of this social enterprise sewing service to support medium, large, and specialized customers; manufacture and market its own line of clothing; and pursue the repurposing and reuse of  excess client materials and donations. A modular skills-attainment curriculum will offer workers access to higher-level industry opportunities. The grant will be used to purchase equipment and technology.

Location	Member	Sponsor	Grant Amount
San Francisco, CA	Citibank, N.A.	Mission Asset Fund	$25,000
Project Description: Through peer lending groups and financial education, Cestas Populares will help low-income immigrants establish or improve their credit scores. To develop a positive credit history, participants in the groups lend to each other; their borrowing and repayment activity is then reported to consumer credit agencies and tracked by FICO. The grant will be used to fund staff salaries, program design costs, and implementation and outreach expenses.

Location	Member	Sponsor	Grant Amount
Los Angeles, CA	Citibank, N.A.	New Economics for Women (NEW)	$25,000
Project Description: The sponsor will build a shared-use commercial kitchen incubator to offer low-income Latino culinary entrepreneurs an opportunity to develop food-based businesses. Bilingual business training will also be provided on-site. The grant will pay costs associated with project development, which may include staff time, architectural and engineering services, and entitlement and permit fees.

Location	Member	Sponsor	Grant Amount
Sacramento, CA	Citibank, N.A.	Mutual Assistance Network of Del Paso Heights	$25,000
Project Description: The sponsor will open a café in the Firehouse Community Center, the first of four social enterprises to be located in the commercial center of a low-income community in Sacramento. Designed to be a sustainable enterprise, the cafe will provide a positive social environment while creating jobs for community residents. The grant will pay for start-up costs, which can include staffing, equipment, supplies, and marketing.

Location	Member	Sponsor	Grant Amount
Los Angeles, CA	City National Bank	Los Angeles LDC, Inc.	$25,000
Project Description: By becoming a Business and Industrial Development Corporation (BIDCO), the sponsor, a certified Community Development Financial Institution, will be able to lend under the SBA7(a) loan program. The new BIDCO’s lending initiative will offer small minority-owned businesses in low-income communities throughout Los Angeles, Orange, and Ventura counties increased access to SBA lending. The grant will be used to pay costs associated with securing BIDCO status, producing marketing materials for the lending initiative, and acquiring SBA software and the services of an SBA consultant.

Location	Member	Sponsor	Grant Amount
Phoenix, AZ	Desert Hills Bank	Neighborhood Housing Services of Phoenix, Inc.	$25,000
Project Description: The sponsor will acquire, rehabilitate, and resell twelve bank-owned homes to low- to moderate-income first-time homebuyers. Sustainable green technologies and ecologically suitable landscaping will be used in the rehabilitation. The grant will be used to pay costs of rehabilitating twelve bank-owned properties for resale.

Location	Member	Sponsor	Grant Amount
Oakland, CA	Far East National Bank	Neighborhood Housing Services of America	$25,000
Project Description: The sponsor will modify NHSA’s BestFIT loss mitigation software to allow the California State Housing Finance Agency to assess alternative approaches to managing delinquencies in its large loan portfolio. The grant will pay for engineering software modifications.

Location	Member	Sponsor	Grant Amount
Sebastopol, CA	First Community Bank	California FarmLink	$50,000
Project Description: The sponsor seeks to develop an equity financing model that will enable expanding the scope of the existing FarmLink loan pool to include loans to finance land purchases. California FarmLink will also develop an REO program to help small farmers secure land. The grant will be used to pay costs of consulting and overhead.

Location	Member	Sponsor	Grant Amount
Ajo, AZ	National Bank of Arizona	International Sonoran Desert Alliance	$40,000
Project Description: The sponsor seeks to restore the historic Ajo Town Plaza to its former purpose as the center of commerce and social interaction and as a tourist attraction. Restoration of the plaza buildings and the train depot will produce affordable housing, commercial space, and space for community activities. The grant will pay salary and benefits for a project manager who will move the project forward through 2010.

Location	Member	Sponsor	Grant Amount
Phoenix, AZ	National Bank of Arizona	International Rescue Committee	$25,000
Project Description: The sponsor will enhance an IRC program that helps low-income refugees establish microenterprise farms by building mobile processing/packaging units for produce and for poultry. Access to this costly equipment will improve the farmers’ market access and enable them to grow their businesses. The grant will be used to purchase two hauling trailers and processing equipment.

Location	Member	Sponsor	Grant Amount
Flagstaff, AZ	National Bank of Arizona	BOTHANDS, Inc.	$25,000
Project Description: The sponsor will create an IDA matching grant savings program with a financial education component to help homeless women and children who are survivors of domestic violence build financial resources needed to obtain permanent housing. The grant will be used to pay overhead costs and provide matching funds for initial housing expenses.

Location	Member	Sponsor	Grant Amount
Battle Mountain, NV	Nevada State Bank	Nevada Rural Housing Authority	$25,000
Project Description: To accommodate the housing needs of an expanding workforce in a mining community, the sponsor will construct ten modular buildings to produce 40 units of for-sale housing affordable to low- and moderate-income homebuyers. Some of the units will be set aside as rent-to-own homes and financed with special funds from the sponsor. The grant will be used to pay for predevelopment reports and surveys.

Location	Member	Sponsor	Grant Amount
Los Angeles, CA	Union Bank of California	Thai Community Development Center	$25,000
Project Description: This social enterprise is an indoor market and food court located at a Metro subway station that will serve as a business incubator for immigrant entrepreneurs. The enterprise will also feature a weekly outdoor farmers market to attract local farmers to this low-income community. The grant will fund predevelopment costs for facility construction and salaries for staff to raise additional funds and manage the development process.

Location	Member	Sponsor	Grant Amount
Fresno, CA	Union Bank of California	West Fresno Health Care Coalition	$25,000
Project Description: The sponsor proposes to develop a family resource center to provide families, children, and individuals access to integrated, comprehensive support services. The grant will be used to fund predevelopment costs such as site evaluation, preliminary design, public approval process, and community engagement activities.

Location	Member	Sponsor	Grant Amount
Palo Alto, CA	United Commercial Bank	Businesses United in Investing, Lending, and Development (BUILD)	$25,000
Project Description: Focused on entrepreneurship, BUILD Oakland is a four-year college preparation program that partners with high schools to redirect marginally performing youth toward success models. The program includes intensive academic, entrepreneurial, and life skills training. The grant will fund program expansion costs, which can include staff salaries, overhead, and marketing expenses.

Location	Member	Sponsor	Grant Amount
Los Angeles, CA	Wachovia Mortgage, FSB	Los Angeles Housing Partnership	$25,000
Project Description: The sponsor will increase the local food bank’s capacity more than seventy percent by purchasing produce from local farmers and providing storage and distribution space in the community kitchen and commercial space of a mixed-use housing development. The sponsor will also develop and implement an entrepreneurial training program to help interested residents of this community start or expand small food enterprises. The grant will be used to pay predevelopment costs for the build-out of the community kitchen and to purchase food and non-food items for the food bank program.

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