By INEZ GONZALEZ PEREZCHICA and KWOFI REED

Originally published in the San Diego Union Tribute, October 9, 2024.

Bank of America’s Neighborhood Builders is celebrating 20 years of community investment. It is the largest philanthropic program in the nation in the size of grants awarded and the support of leadership development for CEOs and emergent leaders throughout the nation.

In the past 20 years, Bank of America has made neighborhoods and communities stronger by investing heavily in nonprofits around the nation. San Diego is no exception. Dozens of local organizations have been selected for this award throughout the years.

San Diego Habitat for Humanity and MANA de San Diego were selected last year. We each received a $200,000 unrestricted grant and leadership development for ourselves and an emerging leader in our organization. In June, we traveled to Bank of America’s campus in Plano, Texas, to meet our counterparts throughout the nation. Scores of nonprofit leaders who most likely would never meet, were able to share challenges and opportunities. What an incredible investment in the nonprofit community. To say it’s an honor to be selected for this prestigious award is an understatement.

Bank of America’s Neighborhood Builders has adopted trust-based philanthropy in its approach. This approach focuses on shifting power from donors to grantees by fostering trust, open dialogue and meaningful relationships. A central tenet of trust-based philanthropy is minimizing the grantee’s burden, such as by simplifying the application process.

It emphasizes an inclusive selection process to ensure that funding is not skewed towards more established or well-funded organizations but rather supports those that effectively serve their communities. The essence of trust-based philanthropy is to encourage donors to support organizations based on their potential for impact and effective leadership, rather than on personal comfort or familiarity. Multi-year, unrestricted grants — often seen as the golden ticket — demonstrate trust in the organization’s leadership and its ability to allocate funds where they are most needed, including overhead and indirect costs.

For MANA de San Diego receiving the Neighborhood Builders grants was transformational. We were able to hire an experienced grant writer. Adding a new position, at the management level, is not an easy task for a smaller nonprofit. Many donors do not want to cover overhead or staff positions.

Planning for growth and sustainability is not possible without multi-year grants. Oftentimes, nonprofits find themselves in a Catch-22. You need an internal, experienced grant writer, but you don’t have the funds to hire for this position. It was only through trust-based philanthropy that MANA de San Diego was able to make this investment. Already this position is paying dividends.

The transformative impact of the Neighborhood Builders grant on San Diego Habitat for Humanity has been equally profound. As a homebuilder, mortgage originator and provider of homeownership education, Bank of America’s flexible, multi-year support has empowered us to significantly enhance our service offerings.

This funding has allowed us to explore and expand our capabilities in critical areas that directly benefit working San Diegans — areas that are increasingly vital as the cost of homes continues to rise in our region. With these resources, we refined our partnership strategies and adapted our business model to more effectively address the real-time challenges of the affordable housing sector.

This strategic shift has placed our organization on a more sustainable trajectory, ensuring that we can continue to meet the evolving needs of our community.

Together, these resources have not only supported our growth but have also reinforced our commitment to making homeownership accessible and affordable. We join in celebrating the 20th anniversary of Neighborhood Builders in San Diego. Thank you for investment in stronger neighborhoods and communities.