RANCHO CUCAMONGA, Calif. – The Bank of America Charitable Foundation has awarded a $5,000 grant to National Community Renaissance’s Hope through Housing Foundation to support Hope’s Family Opportunity Center (FOC) in Montclair, Calif.

Bank of America selected Hope for one of its Community Development Grants, designed to support affordable housing and neighborhood revitalization, and help people build better financial lives.

“The Family Opportunity Center concept is something we’re particularly proud of, and we appreciate so much the support of Bank of America in helping us transform the lives of our residents,” said Steve PonTell, President and Chief Executive Officer for National CORE. “We believe that, in the end, transforming lives will transform entire communities as well, and FOCs are a big part of that.”

Hope operates its Family Opportunity Center (FOC) at National CORE’s San Antonio Vista community in Montclair for the benefit of the entire neighborhood. The program provides financial and employment counseling to help families set goals, increase their incomes and build assets, ultimately allowing them to move from dependency to self-sufficiency.

“Hope through Housing Foundation’s mission truly aligns with our very own – to provide much needed programs that play a critical role in helping our residents start down a path to financial stability,” said Al Arguello, Inland Empire Market President for Bank of America. “By partnering with Hope, we can improve the lives of Montclair families by helping them reach their financial goals and together, build a stronger and healthier community.”

Hope’s Family Opportunity Center model is based on the Annie E. Casey Foundation one-stop centers that have proven successful in assisting families increase their income and assets, improve their credit and decrease their debt. Each family who comes to Hope’s FOC works with a financial coach to set long-term economic goals such as purchasing a home, creating an emergency savings fund or obtaining an educational certificate or degree. Action steps are created and monitored to help families reach this goal. Families also have access to a myriad of services to eliminate the barriers that keep them from obtaining financial security.

Research shows that participants in programs such as this are three to four times more likely to achieve major economic success than if they had received only one type of service.

Please follow the Bank of America Charitable Foundation on Twitter at @BofA_Community.

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About National CORE, Hope through Housing Foundation

National Community Renaissance, based in Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., is one of the nation’s largest nonprofit developers of affordable housing. CORE manages nearly 9,000 affordable, senior and market-rate units in California, Arkansas, Texas and Florida. Over the past two decades, its Hope through Housing Foundation subsidiary has provided more than 2 million hours in supportive services to enhance quality of life, including preschool, afterschool, senior wellness and upward mobility programs. For more information on both organizations, please visit www.nationalcore.org or follow us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/nationalcore.

Contact: Steve Lambert, The 20/20 Network
(909) 841-7527/ steve@the2020network.com

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