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KeyBank has announced a grant of $1 million its largest single grant in Seattle to date —to Civic Commons on behalf of the Black Home Initiative (BHI) Network. Civic Commons focuses on racial and economic equity by bringing people and communities together to make transformational, rather than incremental, change; build a shared sense of regional community; and advance equity in all respects rather than focusing on a single issue in isolation.
The focus of the KeyBank investment will help fund two high-impact efforts through Black Home Initiative (BHI), a Black-led, regional network of 120 public, private and nonprofit organizations, initiated in 2021 by Black community leaders determined to transform the policies and practices that have created and perpetuated the area’s racial wealth gap.
These transformational programs include: the BIPOC Developer Program, which aims to mentor and support emerging developers/builders of color; and BHI’s Got Land campaign, which will produce an aggressive land acquisition strategy co-created by public, private, nonprofit and community stakeholders. Ultimately, the campaign’s beneficiaries are the families and neighborhoods whose long-term stability and prosperity benefit from the unique potential of homeownership.
“At KeyBank, our mission is to help our community thrive, and we believe in homeownership as a cornerstone of economic mobility and wealth creation,” said Brian Marlow, KeyBank’s Washington State market president. “Through this significant grant—the largest we’ve made in the state to date—we are demonstrating our wholehearted commitment to help level the playing field and empower the next generation of families to build lasting wealth and prosperity.”
“Owning a home can provide the keys to unlock financial security and wealth,” said Michael Brown, chief architect for Civic Commons. “Yet, today, only 35% of Black households in Washington state own their own homes compared with 68% of white households. This generous gift from KeyBank Foundation will enable Black Home Initiative to establish new development and land-acquisition strategies that will have an impact for generations to come.”