BofA Names Neighborhood Housing Services of New Haven and Wakeman Boys & Girls Club its Southern Connecticut 2025 Neighborhood Builders
Program Provides $400k in Grants & Leadership Training to Expand Critical Services Locally
Southern Connecticut – Bank of America has named Neighborhood Housing Services of New Haven and Wakeman Boys & Girls Club as its 2025 Neighborhood Builders® for their work to expand affordable housing access and prepare students for success, respectively. Bank of America’s signature Neighborhood Builders program continues to be one of the nation’s largest philanthropic investments into nonprofit leadership development, while providing unique multiyear flexible funding annually to high-impact nonprofits in communities nationwide.
These Southern Connecticut nonprofits are each awarded a $200,000 grant over two years, comprehensive leadership training for the organization’s executive director and an emerging leader, and access to a national network of nonprofit peers. Since the program’s inception, 31 nonprofits have been selected as Neighborhood Builders in Southern Connecticut, with the bank investing more than $6.2 million in philanthropic capital into these nonprofits.
“Neighborhood Housing Services of New Haven and Wakeman Boys & Girls Club provide essential support and resources that help individuals and families in Southern Connecticut achieve stability and success,” said Bill Tommins, president, Bank of America Southern Connecticut. “Flexible funding and comprehensive leadership training will allow these nonprofits to continue connecting residents with safe, affordable homes and prepare Connecticut youth for life beyond the classroom.”
Neighborhood Housing Services of New Haven (NHS) provides comprehensive wraparound services that promote sustainable homeownership and help revitalize neighborhoods. By integrating education and community organizing into housing development, NHS fosters long-term stability in neighborhoods throughout Connecticut. Neighborhood Builders funding will support the Creating Community Anchors program, expanding affordable housing through leadership development, cooperative housing planning, and property acquisition.
“This funding will enable us to continue providing homeownership opportunities to low- and moderate-income first-time homebuyers, while keeping our broad scope of services that focus on neighborhood stabilization and community sustainability as vibrant components of our organizational mission,” said Jim Paley, executive director, Neighborhood Housing Services of New Haven.
Based in Bridgeport, the Wakeman Boys & Girls Club (WBGC) is the first-ever repeat Neighborhood Builder in Southern Connecticut and helps guide and inspire young people to reach their full potential. For over 110 years, WBGC has offered youth programs that focus on academic success, health & wellbeing, character & leadership, and life & workforce readiness. Neighborhood Builders funding will support the organization’s Life & Workforce Readiness Program, which connects youth to internships, job shadowing opportunities, and apprenticeships, ensuring they graduate high school with a plan for their future.
“Thank you to Bank of America for serving as a champion for our community and the work that we do at Wakeman Boys & Girls Club. We are extremely grateful to be a part of this network and to be the first organization in our community to be a two-time recipient. This award will help ensure that we have the staffing, resources, and programming needed to build great futures for community youth,” said Sabrina E. Smeltz, CEO, Wakeman Boys & Girls Club.
Neighborhood Builders is part of the bank’s longstanding efforts to build thriving communities by addressing issues fundamental to economic opportunity. Since 2004, Bank of America’s Neighborhood Builders program has invested more than $346 million in communities across the U.S. and trained more than 4,000 leaders at nearly 2,000 U.S. nonprofits.
Bank of America
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