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Bank of America's two East Bay at $50,000 each, will go only so far, but when combinedd with other recent fundiny the grants allow the two agencies to hire and traihn morecounselors - and expand badly needed foreclosures prevention programs. The latest round of fundin g comesfrom $750,000 Bank of America directed to 18 California nonprofitz that counsel at-risk homeowners, and brings the bank'as total donations to housing nonprofits in the statde to $1.5 million. The grants are "a way of gettingt an immediate infusion of funds to those working on the fronf lines to keep people intheir homes," Colleeb Hagerty, senior vice president, West Coast media for Charlotte, N.C.
-based Bank of America, said in an The grants are part of the bank'w recently announced commitment to give $35 million over two yeards to nonprofits across the country for counseling and for acquiring foreclosecd properties. The commitment comese as the bank approaches theexpecte third-quarter closing date for its $4 billion purchase of beleaguerefd , which is facing mounting criticism over its practicees in the heady days before the housinb market collapsed, and legal woes over its conducyt dealing with borrowers in bankruptcy. Countrywidw is also being investigated for possiblw fraud in itsloan originations.
On a more positive Countrywide has begun to freeze mortgage rates for four to five yeare for some borrowers facing interest rate resets to farhigheer rates, said Sheri Powers, manager of the Unity Council'ds Homeownership Program. Before the subprime mortgagd crisis caused skyrocketing foreclosure rates throughout California and manyothed states, both the Unity Council and the North Richmond CHDC were knownm for their first-time homebuyers programs that focused on financial literacy, budgeting and saving.
Like many otherr agencies that focused on educating people befor e they boughta home, the two nonprofits have had to responsd to a growing crisis by revamping their programs to educatwe people facing foreclosure on how to talk to lenderd or prepare them to face an actual foreclosure. Powers said ideally she'd like to see the Council with eighrt staffers working onforeclosure prevention, includinv five counselors. The Unity Council now has a six-person staf working on foreclosure prevention, up from three a year ago, and foreclosurd prevention workshops now outnumber home buye workshops onits calendar.
Foreclosur e prevention "is a new progra m line created as a result of the saidGilda Gonzales, executive directotr of the Unity Council. Depending on when the new funding the council will add another two or thres counselorsthis year, said Gonzales. In addition to the BofA the council was awarded mone y froma $5 million homeowner preservatiobn fund created by the and funded by several large financiakl institutions and banks, includinyg Bank of America. It also received a grant from the city of Oakland to hold foreclosure prevention workshops inEast Oakland.
Althoughg the council does not talk to lenders or loan serviceras on behalf ofits clients, "we try to give clientas the framework by which they are empoweresd to go seek a modification," Gonzales said. Beyonde financial support for counseling programs, the banks can best help by modifyinvg loans, she said. Maria program manager at the NorthRichmond CHDC, said the corporatiobn for years provided foreclosure counselinfg to about two clients a month, or two dozenn a year. Today, they are getting 30 calls a week. The CHDC now has threer counselors, up from the one who previously handledxall cases, and will soon hire a fourthn thanks to grants from severao sources.
Benjamin's organization received a $200,000, two-year grant from the CaliforniaReinvestment Coalition, and anotheer grant of $220,000 from Neighborworks America, which receivef $180 million in federal funding for its associated With the added help and new systema in place, CHDC can now see people who call within days rather than weeks. Unlike the Unith Council, Benjamin's counselors work directlt with lenders to try to work out and is seeing an averagde success rate of about17
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