The MUFG Union Bank Foundation today announced $1.25 million in grant funding for 30 nonprofit organizations that provide small business technical assistance and homeownership counseling in California and the Pacific Northwest. Through the bank’s Advancing Communities Forward Program (ACFP), the grants, ranging from $25,000 to $100,000, will be provided annually to each organization for the next three years, contingent on performance. This is the second funding initiative since it was developed in 2013, and provides a cumulative total of $2.5 million in grants from 2013-2018. 

Through its grants, the MUFG Union Bank Foundation will help small businesses increase their revenue, create and retain jobs, and gain access to capital as well as help small business technical assistance providers expand their services that will help fuel economic growth in low- to moderate-income (LMI) communities.

The Foundation’s homeownership counseling grants aim is to help individuals and families broaden their knowledge of the home purchasing process, begin or continue home buying steps, understand the foreclosure process and how to avoid it, and/or enable loan modification by providing support to nonprofit organizations that offer financial education, first-time homebuyer education and counseling programs.

“Through our Advancing Communities Forward Program, we are focused on helping businesses grow and achieve their business objectives by partnering with the recipient organizations to enhance the technical assistance programs they provide,” said MUFG Union Bank Managing Director and Head of Corporate Social Responsibility for the Americas Julius Robinson. “We are also committed to helping individuals and families receive access to information, tools, and resources to understand the home buying and homeownership processes.”  

Small Business 2016 Technical Assistance Grant Recipients:

• ACCION San Diego - San Diego, CA

• Centro Community Partners - Oakland, CA

• Chinatown International District Preservation And Development Association - Seattle, WA

• CSU Fullerton Auxiliary Services Corporation - Fullerton, CA

• CSUSB Philanthropic Foundation - San Bernadino, CA

• Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Orange County Education Foundation - Santa Ana, CA

• Homesight - Seattle, WA

• Inner City Advisors - Oakland, CA

• Koreatown Youth and Community Center - Los Angeles, CA

• Long Beach City College Foundation - Long Beach, CA

• Pacific Asian Consortium In Employment - Los Angeles, CA

• Pacific Community Ventures - San Francisco, CA

• Rancho Santiago Foundation - Santa Ana, CA

• Riverside Community College District Foundation - Riverside, CA

• San Diego Regional Small Business Development Corporation - San Diego, CA

• San Diego SCORE - San Diego, CA

• Valley Small Business Development Corporation - Fresno, CA

• Women’s Economic Ventures - Santa Barbara, CA

Homeownership Counseling 2016 Grant Recipients: 

• Affordable Housing Clearinghouse - Lake Forest, CA

• ASIAN, Inc. - San Francisco, CA

• Community Housing Development Corporation, Richmond, CA

• Housing Opportunities Collaborative - San Diego, CA

• Los Angeles Neighborhood Housing Services - Los Angeles, CA

• Neighborhood House Association - San Diego, CA

• Neighborhood Housing Services of Orange County - Orange, CA

• New Economics For Women - Los Angeles, CA

• San Francisco Housing Development Corporation - San Francisco, CA

• Shalom Center For T.R.E.E. of Life - Los Angeles, CA

• Springboard CDFI - San Diego, CA

• West Angeles Community Development Corporation - Los Angeles, CA

2013-2015 Grant Program Outcomes*

As part of the bank’s Community Service Action Plan, the bank’s Foundation provided multi-year grants to small business technical assistance and homeownership counseling programs in 2013-2015 that helped our community partners achieve the following community impacts:

Small Business Technical Assistance Grants – 2013-2015

• Businesses receiving technical assistance - 16,645

• Hours of small business technical assistance provided - 107,407

• Jobs retained as a result of the program - 14,597

• New jobs created as a result of the program - 6,076

• New businesses created as a result of the program - 2,321

• Average change in business revenue for program participants - 63%

Homeownership Counseling Grants – 2013-2015

• People participating in workshops - 23,127

• Program participants increased savings - 56%

• Hours of homeownership counseling provided - 66,405

• New homes were purchased by program participants - 5,314

• Program participants improved their credit score - 56%

• Program participants able to obtain loan modifications - 5,307

“Under our Community Service Action Plan, supporting small business and empowering homeowners through our second special grant initiative is a key area of focus and priority for our Foundation,” said MUFG Union Bank Director and Chief Operating Officer of the MUFG Union Bank Foundation Kathy Patoff. “We are pleased to partner with these nonprofits through our Advancing Communities Forward Program to achieve measurable outcomes and meaningful results in the lives of individuals, families, and among small businesses, which benefit entire communities.” 

The MUFG Union Bank Foundation, a nonprofit public benefit corporation, serves as an agent for charitable contributions made by the bank. Since its creation in 1953, the Foundation has supported the bank’s commitment to help meet the needs of the communities that it serves. Its mission is to make philanthropic investments that expand access to economic opportunity in low- and moderate-income communities specifically in the areas of affordable housing, community economic development, education, human services, and the environment. To learn more visit www.unionbank.com/community.

*Outcome information provided by grant recipients. 

About MUFG Union Bank, N.A.
MUFG Union Bank, N.A., is a full-service bank with offices across the United States.  We provide a wide spectrum of corporate, commercial and retail banking and wealth management solutions to meet the needs of customers.  We also offer an extensive portfolio of value-added solutions for customers, including investment banking, personal and corporate trust, global custody, transaction banking, capital markets, and other services.  With assets of $116 billion, as of June 30, 2016, MUFG Union Bank has strong capital reserves, credit ratings and capital ratios relative to peer banks.  MUFG Union Bank is a proud member of the Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (NYSE: MTU), one of the world’s largest financial organizations with total assets of approximately ¥298.2 trillion (JPY) or $2.9 trillion (USD)¹, as of June 30, 2016.  The corporate headquarters (principal executive office) for MUFG Americas Holdings Corporation, which is the financial holding company and MUFG Union Bank, is in New York City.  The main banking office of MUFG Union Bank is in San Francisco, California. 

¹ Exchange rate of 1 USD=¥102.91 (JPY) as of June 30, 2016

MUFG Union Bank, N.A.

MUFG Union Bank, N.A.

MUFG Union Bank, N.A., is a full-service bank with offices across the United States. We provide a wide spectrum of corporate, commercial and retail banking and wealth management solutions to meet the needs of customers. We also offer an extensive portfolio of value-added solutions for customers, including investment banking, personal and corporate trust, global custody, transaction banking, capital markets, and other services. MUFG Union Bank is a proud member of the Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, one of the world’s largest financial organizations. The corporate headquarters (principal executive office) for MUFG Americas Holdings Corporation, which is the financial holding company and MUFG Union Bank, is in New York City. The main banking office of MUFG Union Bank is in San Francisco, California.

More from MUFG Union Bank, N.A.