Recipient receives multiyear grant, leadership training to expand critical services locally
PORTLAND – Commemorating its sixth year in Maine, Bank of America’s Neighborhood Champions® program provides multiyear flexible grant funding annually to high-impact nonprofits in more than 40 communities nationwide. In Maine, Bank of America has named Tedford Housing as its local 2024 Neighborhood Champion for its work addressing the homelessness crisis in the state’s midcoast region.
As a Neighborhood Champion, Tedford Housing is awarded a $50,000 grant over two years, leadership training resources for the organization’s executive director, access to technical coaching and a national network of nonprofit peers.
“This year we celebrate six years of strengthening Maine nonprofits that provide solutions to local challenges and promote economic advancement through Neighborhood Champions,” said Brian King, president, Bank of America Maine. “Providing these high-impact nonprofits with flexible funding and leadership training helps them address critical needs and scale their efforts in our communities. Countless individuals, families and neighborhoods have felt the profound impact that these nonprofits have had in Maine.”
Tedford Housing serves Maine’s southern midcoast region, encompassing 40 towns and approximately 150,000 residents, where 35 percent of working households cannot meet basic expenses and homelessness is at a crisis level. The organization provides critical services, including homelessness prevention, emergency shelters, permanent supportive housing, and outreach case management. A new facility, scheduled for completion in 2025, will expand Tedford’s shelter capacity by 60 percent while consolidating services and improving efficiency.
“So many more people in the Midcoast are struggling today who never imagined they would need assistance,” said Andrew Lardie, executive director of Tedford Housing. “This funding will allow us to expand our reach and enhance the quality of services in our new facility. The leadership development support will shape our culture-building throughout this transformation, ensuring that ‘Tedford 2.0’ can help more of our neighbors achieve stability more quickly.”
Neighborhood Champions is part of the bank’s longstanding efforts to build thriving communities by addressing issues fundamental to economic opportunity. The invitation-only program is highly competitive, with awardees selected by a committee comprised of community leaders and past awardees. Since 2019, Bank of America has invested over $9 million in more than 200 nonprofits within more than 40 communities through the Neighborhood Champions program.
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 is listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: BAC).
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