Bank of America Charitable Foundation Awards More Than $1 Million to Delaware Nonprofit Organizations Supporting Job Readiness and Education
The Bank of America Charitable Foundation is awarding more than $1 million in grants to 25 Delaware area nonprofits offering job training, education programs and support services that help connect the unemployed, underemployed, veterans, youth and people with disabilities to employment opportunities.
As part of this support, the Bank of America Charitable Foundation has also named ServiceSource Delaware (formerly Opportunity Center Inc) as a 2012 Neighborhood Builder award recipient. The organization will receive a $200,000 unrestricted grant and leadership training to expand employment opportunities for underserved Delawareans with disabilities, including veterans. This is in addition to a $25,000 grant for their Employment Solutions program. The only service of its kind in Delaware, the program connects adults with Asperger’s Syndrome to employment services with individual communication and social skills training and matches participants to employed adult mentors.
“Bank of America recognizes that jobs and education play a critical role in advancing economic development, and we continue to look for ways to support innovative programs connecting the unemployed and underemployed with employment success,” said Chip Rossi, Delaware market president for Bank of America. “Our investment in ServiceSource and other local nonprofits is just one of the ways we are supporting education and workforce development organizations and improving local economies across the country.”
Some of the Delaware nonprofits receiving grants that support workforce development and education are:
· Connections Community Support Programs, Inc. in Wilmington was awarded a grant to support the expansion of Connect to Work, a job readiness program which successfully employs those with barriers to employment, offering individuals a meaningful work experience and increasing long-term financial independence. This program will individually train 145 people, find job placement for 380 workers and foster a 95 percent increase in wages.
· Communities in Schools of Delaware, Inc. in Dover received a grant for its On-Track College Access and Readiness Initiative for high school students. As part of the program, organizations provide community-based, integrated student services to help at-risk students and their schools succeed. These services, ranging from providing mentors to meeting health and counseling needs, vary by student, but are systemically linked to school-based efforts to meet the health, safety and counseling needs of at-risk youth. Ninety percent of the high school students in this program graduate to higher education access or post-secondary school training.
Grants are also being awarded to Autism Delaware, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Delaware, Boys & Girls Clubs of Delaware, Challenge Program, Christina Cultural Arts Center, Delaware Adolescent Program, Delaware Council on Economic Education, Delaware Futures, Delaware State University, Delaware Technical & Community College Educational Foundation, Easter Seals Delaware & Maryland’s Eastern Shore, First State Community Loan Fund, Friendship House, Goodwill Industries of Delaware & Delaware County, Jewish Family Services of Delaware, Junior Achievement of Delaware, Latin American Community Center, Metropolitan Wilmington Urban League, NPower Delaware, Teach for America, The Arc of Delaware and United Way of Delaware.
The more than $1 million in grants to Delaware nonprofits is part of the Bank of America Charitable Foundation’s investment of more than $22 million in grants to over 1,050 nonprofits in 34 states that support workforce development and education initiatives. According to estimates provided by grant recipients, the funding will enable them to reach more than six million people, match over 100,000 youth with mentors, and help 29,000 students graduate with a degree or certification. The grants will focus on low- and moderate-income communities that have been hardest hit in the economic downturn. The funding is part of Bank of America’s intensified philanthropic focus on three core issues vital to the economic health of communities – housing, jobs and hunger and represents an important component of the company’s lending, investing and giving activities to help advance local economies.
Earlier this year, the bank announced nearly $600,000 in grants to Delaware nonprofits to build and rehab affordable housing, offer foreclosure prevention services and homeowner counseling, and provide other services intended to revitalize neighborhoods and help working families find and keep sustainable homes.
Bank of America Corporate Social Responsibility
Bank of America’s commitment to corporate social responsibility (CSR) is a strategic part of doing business globally. Our CSR efforts guide how we operate in a socially, economically, financially and environmentally responsible way across more than 100 markets around the world, to deliver for shareholders, customers, clients and employees. Our goal is to help create economically vibrant regions and communities through lending, investing and giving. By partnering with our stakeholders, we create shared value that empowers individuals and communities to thrive and contributes to the long-term success of our business. We have several core areas of focus for our CSR, including responsible business practices; environmental sustainability; strengthening local communities with a focus on housing, hunger and jobs; investing in global leadership development; and engaging through arts and culture. Learn more at www.bankofamerica.com/opportunity and follow us on Twitter at @BofA_Community.
- 2012 Regional Commercialization Conference in Wilmington Delaware
- The Delaware Business Weekly Round Up – December 7, 2012