Bank of America's Neighborhood Builder Awardees For 2019

From Bank of America: The Center for Family Justice and Fellowship Place, Inc. have been named as the 2019 Bank of America Neighborhood Builders®awardees for Southern Connecticut. The nonprofits were selected for their work in the Southern Connecticut area to address issues fundamental to economic mobility, including breaking the cycle of abuse and violence by providing services that drive social change and serving adults with mental illness by offering support and rehabilitation services.

As an awardee, each organization receives a $200,000 grant, a year of leadership training for the executive director and an emerging leader at the organization, a network of peer organizations across the U.S., and the opportunity to access capital to expand their impact. Over the past 15 years, Bank of America has invested $240 million in 49 communities through Neighborhood Builders, partnering with more than 1,000 nonprofits and helping more than 2,000 nonprofit leaders strengthen their leadership skills.

“The Center for Family Justice and Fellowship Place, Inc. are worthy recipients of the Neighborhood Builders grant, and we are excited and proud to partner with them,” said William Tommins, Bank of America market president for Southern Connecticut. “Bank of America believes the Neighborhood Builders program is an excellent opportunity to invest in nonprofit leaders in the community who are tackling tough challenges. The combination of funding and leadership development that accompanies the Neighborhood Builder designation will make a real difference to both organizations and the communities overall.”

Through education and community collaboration, the Center for Family Justice provides services that create hope, restore lives, and promote social change to break the cycle of abuse and violence. The Southern Connecticut market has had a long and increasing partnership with the Center for Family Justice through funding, employee volunteerism and collections.

“The Center for Family Justice is overwhelmingly grateful for being honored as one of the Recipients of Bank of America’s Neighborhood Builders Grant,” said Deb Greenwood, CEO and president of The Center for Family Justice. “The future of victims of domestic violence and their children will be transformed and supported into the future with our ability to expand critical services that will help them through the trauma, they’ve experienced, become self-sufficient to lead an abusive free and productive life as a survivor!”

Highly recommended by local community partners as well as employees who have been involved in the work, Fellowship Place, Inc. strives to promote independence, wellness, and a meaningful life by serving adults with mental illness. The organization offers a full range of therapeutic support and rehabilitation services for residents of the Greater New Haven area.

“Fellowship Place is overwhelmed with pride and appreciation for being selected as one of Bank of America’s Neighborhood Builders. This award is a capstone on Fellowship Place’s 60 year history of providing community supports for individuals suffering with mental illness, said Mary Guerrera, executive director for Fellowship Place. “The men and women served by the agency face challenges such as poverty, unemployment, homelessness, and social isolation. The Neighborhood Builders grant will help us expand Supported Employment services, including job training and job placement, for individuals with a mental illness and criminal justice involvement. We also look forward to creating opportunities for community dialogue about mental illness.”

Since 2007, through its Neighborhood Builders program, Bank of America has partnered with 19 nonprofits in Southern Connecticut, investing $3.8million to provide financial education and economic mobility opportunities within the Southern Connecticut area. The invitation-only program is highly competitive, and leading members of the community participated in a collaborative selection process to identify this year’s awardees. Examples of the leadership training topics include human capital management, increasing financial sustainability, and storytelling. Neighborhood Builders is just one example of how Bank of America deploys capital in communities, builds cross-sector partnerships, and promotes socioeconomic progress as part of its approach to responsible growth.

This press release was produced by Bank of America. The views expressed here are the author's own.