Making a Connection for Self-Sufficiency

Across the greater Seattle region, small and large, newly established and long-time nonprofit organizations are working together to provide needy residents with financial, food, health and housing assistance. Two such organizations, FISH (Friends in Service to Him) Food Banks of Pierce County, which has been in operation for 35 years, and the South Sound Outreach Services (SSOS) in Tacoma, a 13-year-old entity, joined forces in 2009 to create Connection Centers – “one-stop shops” at food banks that offer additional SSOS resources to help individuals and families in crisis find the community resources they need in a single, familiar location.

So far, the partnership has created five centers around Pierce County that each offer a single point of entry for dozens of community resources, government subsidies, and medical and housing options. SSOS outreach specialists are available during all food bank hours, helping those in need navigate these complex systems. The first two Connection Centers opened in the fall of 2009 in Graham and Edgewood, and the third opened in 2010 in Southeast Tacoma to an overwhelmingly positive response from food bank clients.

Start-up funding was provided through the vision of the United Way of Pierce County and the Gottfried and Mary Fuchs Foundation, along with other community support. Bank of America provided $50,000 in 2010 to support

“Bank of America was inspired to support FISH and its collaboration with South Sound Outreach because of the innovative ways they respond to the diverse needs of so many people in Pierce County,” said Rick Larsen, Bank of America Market President for the Tacoma area. “The efficiencies created by the Connection Centers will enable many more individuals and families to obtain some of the critical health and social services support and guidance they need with a visit to one Center.”

The Connection Centers come at a time when the

The bank’s contribution provided $15,000 for FISH Food Bank coordinators and $20,000 for a half-time SSOS Outreach Specialist to staff the two newest centers. Another $15,000 was put toward emergency assistance funds so that staff could allocate for long-term solutions to prevent further crises such as homelessness.

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strengthen communities — on the Bank of America Facebook page

Dick’s Drive In

In the early 1950s, America was on the move. The country’s entrepreneurial spirit was turning into high gear as life was becoming faster. Cars were ubiquitous and the modern American fast food restaurant, due to its convenience and price, was born, rivaling the formal, sit-down meal.

Returning from the Korean War, Dick Spady recognized that people wanted on-the-go, quality food at an affordable price. Spady was the first in his family to attend college and employed his entrepreneurial spirit in 1954 to open Dick’s Drive In, a full-service drive in restaurant with a simple menu – burgers, fries and shakes. Over the next 20 years, Dick’s only deviated

According to Dick Spady’s two sons, Jim and Walt, the time is ripe to build, expand and create jobs. As a customer- and community-centered business, it was only fitting that the customers choose where the next restaurant would be. Jim and Walt leveraged social media and used an instant poll on the Dick’s website to receive more than 110,000 votes in three weeks. The

city of Edmonds, just north of Seattle, was the lucky winner.

Jim and Walt needed help financing this new location. They talked to banks big and small, but no offers were as competitive as Bank of America’s.

“Bank of America wanted the business,” said Jim Spady, Vice President of Dick’s Drive In. “They were supportive and really wanted to help a small business grow and support jobs.” Bank of America gave Dick’s a line of credit for the new location, and also maintains its checking and treasury management services.

Dick’s has already been recognized as having one of the best compensation and benefits packages , including a 401(K), full health care, an educational scholarship

“We’re a transitional employer – a first step on a ladder – because we want people to go to college, to do bigger and better things,” Jim continued. As small businesses continue grow in today’s increasingly complex society, Bank of America remains committed to helping

businesses that have positive impact on their communities.

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Supporting a Cultural and Culinary Institution in Seattle

As World War II came to a close in 1945, Asian-Americans across the United States struggled to rebuild their lives. Fujimatsu Moriguchi, founder of Uwajimaya, one of the largest Asian grocers in the Pacific Northwest today, needed financial assistance to start and build his new business.

“Japanese lost their businesses, they lost everything,” said Tomio Moriguchi, Chairman of the board at Uwajimaya. “When the war ended, my father came back to Seattle and then we started the Uwajimaya business.”

Bank of America was the only financial institution that would provide that support for what is now an anchor institution in Seattle’s thriving Asian community. Bank of America remains Uwajimaya’s bank to this day.

“Over the years we’ve provided loans to help them grow

Each week, groups of students, tourists and local shoppers visit Uwajimaya to observe and experience the diverse Asian cultures that represent the fastest growing segment of the Puget Sound’s population.

The relationship between Bank of America and the Moriguchi family remains strong. The bank assisted the family expanding the business and relocate to its current Chinatown location. In addition, through the bank’s support, the Moriguchi’s are building a new store in Bellevue which has spurred additional business growth

Tomoko Moriguchi Matsuno, CEO and president of Uwajimaya said, “The surprise is that we can have such a human relationship with a big, big bank.”

Join the conversation: Learn how we're working to help strengthen communities — on the Bank of America Facebook page

Creating Jobs and Sustaining Hope for Seattle’s Most Disadvantaged

In a state with 9.1 percent unemployment, possessing practical job skills and knowledge is crucial to successfully entering the workforce and sustaining a position. FareStart, a Seattle-based culinary job training and placement program, is addressing that need by providing training to enable homeless and disadvantaged individuals to step out of unemployment and into the food service industry. Since 1998, nearly 3500 people across the Seattle region have transformed their lives through this program.

Recognizing FareStart’s role in priming a workforce of self-sufficient and employable Seattleites, Bank of

America recently awarded a $15,000 grant to support FareStart’s Adult Culinary Job Training program. The contribution stems from the bank’s consistent financial support since 2006. Over the last decade, the bank has awarded numerous grants to FareStart and named the organization a Neighborhood Excellence Initiative

“It’s more than a meal. It reminds us to support non-profits,” said Bob Peters, Washington State President at Bank of America. “Our whole community benefits from that and FareStart is an excellent example of what is possible.”

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Giving back to her city

It’s clear from listening to Mandy Kwan that she loves the city she calls home. She speaks passionately about growing up playing in Seattle’s parks, supporting area students, and helping newcomers find their place. “I really like helping out in the community because I’ve grown up in it,” she said. “It just kind of makes sense to give back to what’s given to you.”

In high school, Kwan has been making a difference through her involvement in Key Club, a community service club with chapters at schools across the country. Local Key Club chapters participate in a variety of service projects, ranging from helping out at charity

Anxious to expand her participation in Key Club, Kwan ran for the position of lieutenant governor for division 26, which encompasses the entire Seattle area. “I hold meetings every other month, and that gets the eight different clubs together so that they know each other,” Kwan said. She also sees it as her responsibility to ensure that students are “having fun doing community service,” so she makes herself available as a resource to all the chapters for assistance with membership or other questions.

Kwan is also a peer mentor at Garfield High School

For her leadership and service, Kwan was honored with a Student Leader award from Bank of America, part of the bank’s Neighborhood Excellence Initiative. Kwan is one of hundreds of individuals across the country last year to receive a bank award.

The teen particularly enjoyed getting to meet other students at the Bank of America Student Leadership Summit in Washington, D.C. “I feel like the only community I’ve really known is Seattle, so it was really

As part of the bank’s award, Kwan interned at the Atlantic Street Center, a unique nonprofit that assists individuals at all stages of life — from toddler to adulthood — with educational services. “It really exposed me to how diverse the community is,” Kwan said. “The only communities I knew were my home and then school. So when I came here, I was able to see a lot of different people.”

Kwan is certain she will continue giving back to the community. “I see myself starting my own nonprofit,” she said. “I’d like it to be centered around education…I’d really like to open up education to different communities that might not otherwise have access.”

See more about Bank of America's Neighborhood Excellence Initiative.

A collaboration between the Tulalip tribes and their farmer neighbors, generates power back to the grid

An unlikely collaboration in Monroe, Washington between local dairy farmers, the Tulalip tribes, and environmentalists who want to protect the salmon in local rivers has resulted in a groundbreaking effort to create clean energy from farms’ least appealing farm wastes.

The contentious issue was that bio-waste from local dairy operations was creating runoff into local streams, endangering the fish. The farmers, feeling the economic pinch, didn’t want to limit the size of their herds

and the tribes wanted to protect their fishing stocks. The result of their discussions was the formation of three-way consortium Qualco Energy and, ultimately, the building of an Olympic-pool-size biomass plant or “digester” to create sustainable energy from animal waste.

Qualco Energy is a clean-energy project that is generating green power from cow manure —and $300,000 in revenue for consortium partners. To help make the project work, Bank of America, which had been the Tulalip tribe’s bank for many years, developed the complex financing to build a biomass plant, or “digester,” using clean renewable energy bonds.

Today, Werkhoven Dairy, a dairy farm run by brothers Andy and Jim, funnels manure from approximately 1000 cows to the biogas plant, which converts the waste into methane gas. The gas is then burned in a generator, producing enough energy back to the grid to power about 300 homes. The energy is funneled to Puget Sound Energy, generating revenue for the consortium, which plans to use it for habitat restoration projects like river cleanup.

Financing was critical to making the project work. Bank of America worked with the CFO of the tribe to structure the transaction, Tulalip applied for the clean energy bonds, and the biomass plant went online in December 2008. According to Mel Sheldon, chairman of the

Tulalip Tribes, “Bank of America was the first to step up to the plate and work with the Tulalip tribes on our projects. Early on it was a hatchery project, but fast-forwarding to today, it’s the biogas project. Out of this relationship, not only do we have a business relationship, but the bank is working with us to make a better community and help us be stewards of the environment.”

The potential of the project is broad, according to Andy Werkhoven, noting that the plant, even now, could accommodate wastes from three to four additional dairies or add another generator to supply power to 900 more homes. But he sees the project through a

bigger lens: “On a national level, I think you’re going to see more people using digestion as a process to create alternative energy because it’s a valuable source.”

The project is a “win-win-win,” providing benefits for the three groups, as well as for the local community and economy. Because of the creation of Qualco, the dairy farmers can grow their herds and increase profitability, and Tulalip will be able to use the revenues from generating electricity to fund restoration projects that will protect the rivers for salmon fishing. As Mel Sheldon, Chairman of Tulalip, puts it, “We like to think that our ancestors are looking down on us and smiling on our good work.”

Matching students with mentors in Washington State

Today, 30,000 children in Washington State have mentors. But 200,000 more could benefit from the advice and companionship of a caring adult. The Bank of America Mentoring Initiative supports high-quality mentoring programs that serve children from low-to-moderate-income families in underserved communities across the state. This year, 12 communities were the focus of bank support. They received the funding needed to reduce the operating cost and improve the quality of their mentor programs. Since 2006, the bank initiative has invested $315,000 in 58 mentoring programs in 19 counties throughout Washington State.

It has also shared best practices to make good programs better. Because when you’re giving, lending and investing in more communities across the country, more opportunities happen.