Bank of America Charitable Foundation Donates $1 Million to Community Care Fund, Critical Need Response Fund
Posted: 02-23-2010 : CHARLOTTE, N.C.

Charlotte, N.C. – Brian T. Moynihan, chief executive officer and president of Bank of America Corp., today presented a $1 million donation from the Bank of America Charitable Foundation to area funds focused on those in need – $500,000 each to United Way of Central Carolinas’ Community Care Fund and to the Critical Need Response Fund administered by Foundation For The Carolinas. Moynihan made the presentation during a celebration at United Way’s uptown headquarters.

On hand for the presentation were Jane McIntyre, executive director of United Way of Central Carolinas; Michael Marsicano, president and CEO of Foundation For The Carolinas; Tom Lawrence, executive director of The Leon Levine Foundation; Charles Bowman, Bank of America’s North Carolina and Charlotte market president; and numerous executive directors whose nonprofit agencies have received funding from United Way, Foundation For The Carolinas, and the bank’s Neighborhood Excellence Initiative® program.

Moynihan discussed the significance of the grants in supporting the increased immediate and long-term needs facing the Charlotte region.

"At Bank of America, we consider ourselves a vital partner in every community where we work and serve customers," said Moynihan. "Nowhere is that more important to us than right here in our hometown of Charlotte. The commitment we are announcing today is part of a wonderful tradition in Charlotte of business and community leaders working hand in hand to address important community challenges."

Responding to news reports of a $170,000 shortfall in the final days of the United Way campaign, Bank of America stepped up to help the organization surpass its $22.7 million Community Care Fund goal, enabling United Way to earn a $1 million challenge grant from The Leon Levine Foundation.

"So many different donors came forward in the final days of the campaign, and Bank of America was critical in putting us over the top," said McIntyre. "Thanks to all our donors, and especially the Levines, we will provide $2.8 million more than what we distributed last year to United Way’s 96 health and human services agencies in our five-county region."

The other $500,000 goes to the Critical Need Response Fund, which previously received a $1 million donation from The Leon Levine Foundation as well. Counting today’s gift from the Bank of America Charitable Foundation, this winter’s fund has raised more than $3.5 million to be distributed to nonprofit agencies serving the needy in Charlotte-Mecklenburg.

"We are so grateful to Bank of America and Brian Moynihan for this extraordinary donation," said Marsicano. "The bank has always been an important part of the fabric of our community, and it’s clear that relationship is continuing under Brian’s leadership."

Last month, the Critical Need Response Fund distributed $1.7 million in emergency assistance to area nonprofits focused on providing aid to the needy. Fundraising and grant distribution will continue throughout the spring.

United Way’s Community Care Fund is one of the few remaining sources of sustainable, ongoing funding for this region’s nonprofit agencies, while the Critical Need Response Fund, as the name implies, is intended to provide immediate relief for basic human needs – food, utility payments and shelter – during the current economic downturn.

The statistics showing the need for both are stark:

• As of December 2009, the unemployment rate for the five-county region served by United Way was 11.5 percent, or 82,654 unemployed people. That’s an increase of 24,538 unemployed people from December 2008.
• In December 2009, 182,329 individuals in the five-county region received food stamps, a 26 percent increase from December 2008 and a 57 percent increase from December 2006.
• In 2009, there were 3,656 filings for personal bankruptcies in the same region, a 32 percent increase over filings in 2008.

"Our grants via United Way and Foundation For The Carolinas were created for the sole purpose of getting more dollars into the hands of our neighbors who need it most," said Lawrence. "We thank both organizations for making a difference, and we thank Bank of America and the many other donors who made this possible. Finally, we thank the staffs and volunteers of all the community’s nonprofit agencies who work tirelessly to help those in need." 

www.uwcentralcarolinas.org