7.05.2000 ET

(CSRwire) Wells Fargo and Opus Northwest, L.L.C. are partnering with Seattle LISC to build critical affordable housing and revitalize distressed neighborhoods throughout Puget Sound. The two organizations donated a total of $60,000 to LISC (Local Initiatives Support Corporation).

LISC is the nation's leading community development support organization. It works to build the capacity of nonprofit community development corporations (CDCs) in Seattle and throughout the country.

A long-time supporter of LISC, Wells Fargo has donated another $40,000 to the organization to help it revitalize neighborhoods, expand economic opportunities and job-creation programs, and help build quality affordable housing in Puget Sound.

"Wells Fargo is one of the nation's leading supporters of community development," said Thomas Lattimore, senior program director of the Seattle LISC Program. "Their continuous support, and new commitments from companies such as Opus Northwest, is vital to our efforts to improve communities and create economic development opportunities throughout Puget Sound."

Opus Northwest gave LISC $20,000 for the development of affordable housing in the South Downtown area of Seattle. "We work with extremely capable and accomplished CDCs in the South Downtown area, " continued Lattimore. "This money will increase their capacity to provide housing to the underserved residents in the Chinatown/International District and other areas."

LISC will match each grant with an additional $20,000, bringing the total amount raised to $100,000.

"At Wells Fargo, we believe in partnering with non-profit organizations that share our goals of improving our communities," said Grace Jeremia of Seattle, Wells Fargo's Community Development Officer for Washington. "We feel that such partnership produce greater results than if we acted individually."

The $40,000 grant to LISC is part of the more than $6.5 million that Wells Fargo has donated to schools and non-profit organizations in Washington in the past few years. Founded in 1852, Wells Fargo & Company is a $222 billion diversified financial services company providing banking, insurance, investments, mortgage and consumer finance through almost 6,000 stores, the Internet (www.wellsfargo.com) and other distribution channels across North America, including all 50 states, and elsewhere internationally.

Opus Northwest is a member of the OPUS group of companies-a nationwide network of interconnecting companies with a 46-year track record of sound financial and management services. OPUS Northwest is one of the largest developers in the area, with over 5.5 million square feet of ongoing or recently completed construction projects throughout the Pacific Northwest.

Nationally, LISC operates 38 local programs and helps neighborhood-based nonprofits tackle community economic and social renewal. In 20 years, LISC has raised (primarily from private sector sources) $3 billion for investment in community redevelopment efforts. This investment has leveraged another $3.5 billion in additional funding, helping 1,700 community nonprofits develop about 100,000 quality homes and apartments and 11.2 million square feet of commercial, industrial and retail space.

The Puget Sound Local Initiatives Support Corporation has assisted community housing development initiatives throughout the State of Washington, with an emphasis on King, Pierce and Snohomish Counties. Along with national LISC, it has invested over $120 million in community organizations that have built over 6,000 homes and affordable apartment. It has also helped community organizations build commercial projects and strengthen their internal operations.