PRESS RELEASE
Dec. 16, 2024
Veterans Legal Institute and Orangewood Foundation Selected as Orange County’s 2024 Bank of America Neighborhood Builders
Each Nonprofit Receives a Multiyear Grant & Comprehensive Leadership Training
ORANGE COUNTY, Calif. – Bank of America announced that Veterans Legal Institute (VLI) and Orangewood Foundation have been selected as its 2024 Neighborhood Builders. The bank’s signature Neighborhood Builders® program continues to be one of the nation’s most significant philanthropic investments into nonprofit leadership development while providing unique multiyear flexible grant funding annually to high-impact nonprofits in nearly 100 communities nationwide.
Each nonprofit is awarded a $200,000 grant over two years, comprehensive leadership training for each organization’s executive director and an emerging leader, and access to a national network of nonprofit peers. Since the program’s inception in 2004, 32 nonprofits have been selected as Neighborhood Builders in Orange County, with the bank investing $6.4 million in philanthropic capital into these local nonprofits.
“Our region’s nonprofits provide meaningful and lasting solutions to local challenges that can support economic opportunity. Through our Neighborhood Builders program, we invest significant philanthropic capital and leadership development resources into two high-impact local organizations annually. This year, we’re excited to include Orangewood Foundation and Veterans Legal Institute as Neighborhood Builders'" said Allen Staff, president of Bank of America Orange County. “These two nonprofits are filling a void in the Orange County community, supporting two populations often overlooked – veterans and transitional-aged youth.”
Veterans Legal Institute provides pro bono legal assistance to current and former service members who are homeless, disabled or low income to eliminate barriers to housing, healthcare, education, and employment that foster self sufficiency. VLI will apply its Neighborhood Builders grant to expand its paid internship program, increasing the number of stipends for college and high school interns. The additional support will free up attorneys and other professional staff to take on more clients and cases, allowing VLI to help additional service members. In addition to the increased capacity, the internship program not only provides workforce training for participants but also builds a compassionate future workforce with a service mindset.
"Veterans Legal Institute is thrilled to partner with Bank of America to ensure access to justice for our heroes in need,” said Antoinette Naddour, co-founder and executive director, Veterans Legal Institute. “This funding will create more space to prevent veteran homelessness and reduce veteran suicide by giving our deserving heroes a hand up."
This year’s other Neighborhood Builders awardee, Orangewood Foundation, serves the unique developmental needs of transitional-aged youth, ages 16-24, who have experienced challenges coming out of the child welfare system, homelessness, human trafficking, mental health crises, or are pursuing higher education without traditional family support. The nonprofit will use the Neighborhood Builders grant to expand its services to an additional 250 youth annually, providing a holistic approach to housing, workforce development and wraparound services to support them as they work toward long-term independence.
“We are so grateful to have been selected to receive this generous and prestigious grant from our long- time partner, Bank of America,” said Chris Simonsen, CEO, Orangewood Foundation. “It comes at a time when the number of young people we are serving is increasing dramatically and their issues and challenges are more complex.”
Past Orange County Neighborhood Builders include: Working Wardrobes for a New Start, United Way of Orange County, Pacific Symphony, Healthy Smiles for Kids of Orange County, OC Human Relations,
Bracken’s Kitchen, SPIN OC, The Shea Center for Therapeutic Riding, Human Options, Friendship Shelter, South County Outreach, Boys & Girls Club of Central Orange County, Families Forward, Girls Inc. of Orange County, SeniorServ, Latino Health Access, Mercy House, Discovery Cube Orange County, Goodwill of Orange County, Second Harvest Food Bank, The Wooden Floor, Taller San Jose, HomeAid Orange County, Project Access, Orange County Community Foundation, KidWorks, Jamboree Housing Corporation, Camino Health Center and THINK Together.
The Neighborhood Builders invitation-only program is highly competitive, and honorees are selected by a committee comprised of community leaders and past awardees. Nationwide, since 2004, Bank of America has invested over $300 million in nearly 1,800 nonprofits and helped more than 3,000 nonprofit leaders strengthen their leadership skills through the Neighborhood Builders program.
Bank of America
Bank of America is one of the world’s leading financial institutions, serving individual consumers, small and middle market businesses and large corporations with a full range of banking, investing, asset management and other financial and risk management products and services. The company provides unmatched convenience in the United States, serving approximately 69 million consumer and small business clients with approximately 3,700 retail financial centers, approximately 15,000 ATMs (automated teller machines) and award-winning digital banking with approximately 58 million verified digital users. Bank of America is a global leader in wealth management, corporate and investment banking and trading across a broad range of asset classes, serving corporations, governments, institutions and individuals around the world. Bank of America offers industry-leading support to approximately 4 million small business households through a suite of innovative, easy-to-use online products and services. The company serves clients through operations across the United States, its territories and more than 35 countries. Bank of America Corporation stock (NYSE: BAC) is listed on the New York Stock Exchange.
For more Bank of America news, including dividend announcements and other important information, visit the Bank of America newsroom and register for news email alerts.
###
Reporters May Contact:
Colleen Haggerty, Bank of America
213-621-7414
Colleen.Haggerty@bofa.com