Many people don’t realize that DreamKey Partners is a non-profit that provides a number of community programs including financial literacy, homebuyer education, digital literacy and property tax relief in addition to developing affordable housing. This year on #GivingTuesday, we were overwhelmed by the show of support from individual donors including our staff and board members as well as long-time financial partners.
Bank of America
On Giving Tuesday, DreamKey Partners was announced as one of two awardees of Bank of America Charitable Foundation’s Neighborhood Builders® grant. The Neighborhood Builders® program helps to support local nonprofits by providing a $200,000 unrestricted grant and leadership development for nonprofit directors and emerging leaders. DreamKey Partners will use this investment from Bank of America to expand a pilot program that was started last year to provide property tax relief for elderly and disabled homeowners. Through this program, DreamKey Partners will assist even more households at risk of tax lien foreclosure due to the financial burden of property tax increases in rapidly gentrifying areas. Without such assistance, fixed-income seniors who are behind in paying property taxes could see penalties increase their tax bills by as much as 10 percent.
SunTrust Bank
SunTrust Mortgage recently teamed up with DreamKey Partners’s Homeownership Center (HCC) to host the “Open Doors to More Business” continuing education (CE) event for more than 140 realtors in the Charlotte region. Featuring information on down payment assistance, low-cost mortgage programs, local market analysis and other resources; the event provided realtor participants with more tools for their toolkits in assisting future homebuyers. “We are excited about the opportunity to partner with HCC to empower local real estate professionals as well as help connect their customers to down payment assistance and other cost-saving programs,” said Mark Case, SunTrust’s Senior Vice President/ Mortgage Area Manager. In addition to presentations from area nonprofit organizations, brokers in attendance received four hours of CE credit from the NC Real Estate Commission.
Fifth Third Bank
For the past several years, Fifth Third Bank’s eBus II Financial Empowerment Mobile has utilized the expertise of HCC staff to assist local residents in better understanding their credit reports and financial outlooks. Recently, the Fifth Third Foundation took a step towards helping lower-wealth families to achieve financial self-sufficiency by awarding its first cohort of Strengthening Our Communities grant recipients with $25,000 as part of the bank’s $30 billion community commitment. “As a person who grew up in subsidized housing, I know the powerful impact of getting a hand up. Fifth Third Bank is excited to plant the seeds of financial stability and homeownership for generations to come,” said Jada Grandy-Mock, Senior Vice President, CRA Strategies Director-South Region, Community & Economic Development.