Bank of the Sierra and FHLBank San Francisco Donate $10K to 5Cities Homeless Coalition
August 17, 2020
Porterville, Calif. – Bank of the Sierra announced today that 5Cities Homeless Coalition (5CHC) will receive a total of $10,000 after the Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco (FHLBank San Francisco) matched the $5,000 grant 5CHC received through the Sierra Grant Program. The San Luis Obispo County nonprofit organization initially received its $5,000 Sierra Grant in the second quarter of 2020.
5Cities Homeless Coalition will use its Sierra Grant to help single-parent households that may not receive assistance through other programs for COVID-19 related hardships. The organization will provide utility and rental assistance to families, plus several transportation-related benefits, including fuel and bus passes, money for driver’s license renewals, and auto repair. 5CHC often serves as the main agency for people who are homeless but do not quality for other San Luis Obispo County programs.
In a statement thanking the banks, 5CHC stated, “The 5Cities Homeless Coalition is seeing an exponential increase in requests for financial assistance, ranging from help with rental or utility payments, to assistance with car repairs or gas vouchers. With no second income to fall back on, single-parent households are especially vulnerable during these difficult times. We are so grateful for the support from Bank of the Sierra and the Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco. These funds will allow us to provide a safety net for single-parent families who have been financially impacted by COVID-19.”
Bank of the Sierra proactively searched for additional funding opportunities for its Sierra Grant recipients and identified 5CHC as a strong candidate for FHLBank’s pandemic relief program. The Bank will continue to research supplementary funding prospects for its Sierra Grant recipients and prioritize funding to nonprofit organizations that are fighting or have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic through its Sierra Grant Program.
“Because low-income single parents are especially affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, we are very glad to match Bank of the Sierra’s $5,000 donation to the 5Cities Homeless Coalition,” said Marietta Núñez, Senior Vice President and Community Investment Officer at FHLBank San Francisco. “The support and resources they are providing to struggling families, including childcare, transportation, and rental assistance, is badly needed to survive this difficult time.”
“We’re excited to have located additional funding for 5Cities Homeless Coalition, and we will keep going above and beyond for the organizations that help our communities through challenging times,” said Kevin McPhaill, Bank of the Sierra President and Chief Executive Officer. “Our Sierra Grant Program will continue to be a valuable resource for nonprofits in our communities as we work together to fight COVID-19.”
About the Sierra Grant Program
Since its inception in 2004, the Sierra Grant Program has been responsible for donating over $2.4 million to organizations that improve local communities. Bank of the Sierra awards $1,000 to $5,000 grants to between 15 and 25 nonprofit organizations each quarter as part of the program. Overall in the second quarter, Bank of the Sierra awarded a total of $60,000 to nonprofits in the eight counties it serves. Nonprofits who wish to apply for a Sierra Grant can pick up an instructional brochure at any Bank of the Sierra branch or visit the bank’s website at bankofthesierra.com/sierragrant.
About Bank of the Sierra
Bank of the Sierra is in its 43rd year of operations and is the largest independent bank headquartered in the South San Joaquin Valley. Bank of the Sierra is a community-centric regional bank, which offers a full range of retail and commercial banking services with full-service branches located within the counties of Tulare, Kern, Kings, Fresno, Los Angeles, Ventura, San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara. The bank also maintains a loan production office and an online branch and provides specialized lending services through an agricultural credit center and an SBA center. Bank of the Sierra is recognized as one of the strongest and top-performing community banks in the country with a 5-star rating from Bauer Financial.
About the Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco
The Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco (FHLBank San Francisco) is a member-driven cooperative helping local lenders in Arizona, California, and Nevada build strong communities, create opportunity, and change lives for the better. In response to the escalating economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the communities they serve, FHLBank San Francisco is matching the donations to nonprofits or contributions to support small businesses that its member financial institutions are making, with up to $10,000 in match funding available per member this year.
About 5Cities Homeless Coalition
5CHC works hard to service families and individuals by providing the resources, support, and hope that they need to become self-sufficient, productive community members. Planning how best to address the needs of the homeless in South San Luis Obispo County today involves many caring citizens and community leaders, and 5CHC is taking a collaborative approach to meet the challenge.
