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July 24, 2024
Providing Affordable Homeownership Opportunities
Financial
Institutions
contributes
$720,000 to
Proud Ground
Proud Ground, a nonprofit orga-
nization that provides affordable
homeownership opportunities to
underserved communities using
the Community Land Trust mod-
el, announced it has been award-
ed more than $720,000 from six
financial institutions in Oregon.
The grant funding will be used to
support their Opening Doors ini-
tiative, which aims to help first-
time homebuyers, including those
from historically marginalized
communities, achieve affordable
homeownership in the Portland
Metro area and statewide.
“This collaborative investment
from our financial partners will
be instrumental in our efforts to
bridge the homeownership gap,
especially during this time of
higher interest rates. We have a
goal of raising $5 Million by the
end 2025 and this unexpected
support has helped us surpass our
2024 milestone, having raised $4
Million to date. We are truly grate-
Back row (left to right): 1) Undra Adams, Proud Ground Realtor, 2) Juan Pablo Izquierdo, Proud
Ground Housing Counselor; 3) Jeff Pratuch, Mortgage Retail Area Manager U.S. Bank; 4) Paul Runge,
Proud Ground Board Member; 5) Laurel Marquand, Proud Ground Board Member
ful for this community partner-
ship with U.S. Bank Foundation,
Washington Trust Bank, Wells
Fargo, OnPoint Credit Union and
many others” said Dominique
Merriweather, Executive Director
at Proud Ground.
Grant funding includes:
- U.S. Bank Founda-
tion $500,000
- Washington
Trust
Bank $100,000
- Wells Fargo $75,000
- OnPoint Community
Credit Union $25,000
Proud Ground has a strategic
goal to create 200 new home-
ownership opportunities, with
a focus on communities of col-
or and historically marginal-
ized communities through the
Opening Doors Initiative. Proud
Ground operates under the Com-
munity Land Trust model to pro-
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mote inclusivity in residential
neighborhoods while preventing
displacement and nurturing eco-
nomic, racial, and ethnic diversi-
ty, as well as multi-generational
stability and wealth creation.
“Safe and stable housing
helps children, families and
communities thrive. Supporting
organizations like Proud Ground
to help make homeownership
a tangible possibility for more
people is an investment that will
benefit generations to come,”
said Meghan Valley, community
affairs manager at U.S. Bank.
“Far too many people are fac-
ing housing instability. Some
households pay half or more of
their income on housing and
the number of families who are
struggling to achieve home own-
ership is on the rise," said Eliza-
beth Lorenzo, Senior Community
Impact & Sustainability Special-
ist at Wells Fargo. “Wells Fargo is
committed to helping to increase
access to housing, which is the
foundation for wellness, dignity,
and economic opportunity.”
The U.S. Bank Founda-
tion created the Opportunity
Fund in 2023 to support orga-
nizations working to increase
wealth-building
opportunities
for underserved communities,
including low- to moderate-in-
come communities, rural com-
munities and communities of
color. The fund currently prior-
itizes grants toward community
development financial institu-
tions (CDFIs); small business
technical assistance and business
incubators; affordable housing
development; homeownership
and down payment assistance;
and digital access and economic
development in rural and Native
American communities.