Grants up to $70,000 provided per family

For Immediate Release

August 5, 2021 – San Diego, CA – The San Diego Foundation, LISC San Diego and the Urban League of San Diego County have joined together to launch the San Diego Black Homebuyers Program with a goal to improve the racial wealth gap in San Diego by investing in generational wealth-building opportunities through Black home ownership.

Founded and seed-funded by an initial pledge of $1 million by The San Diego Foundation Black Community Investment Fund, along with administrative funding from the County of San Diego, through the office of Board of Supervisors Chair, Nathan Fletcher, the goal of the fund is to further wealth building and a stabilizing force for family, community, health and self.

In addition, financial institutions are partnering with the coalition as mortgage lenders and grantors.

Along with providing mortgage financing, a participating lender will provide at least $9,000 in grants for qualifying homebuyers and leverage matching grants through sources such as the Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco’s Workforce Initiative Subsidy for Homeownership (WISH).

The WISH program offers eligible low-to-moderate income households 4-to-1 matching grants of up to $22,000 for down payment and/or closing costs. By working together, homebuyers may receive over $70,000 in grant assistance towards the purchase of a home.

LISC San Diego will be the administrator of funds granted to eligible homebuyers, while also providing an additional $250,000 contribution of its own.

The Urban League of San Diego County will provide its HUD-certified homeownership counseling services for these homebuyers prior to and post-purchase, and will lead outreach efforts.

The proposed guidelines for the program are available here.


About The San Diego Foundation

The San Diego Foundation inspires enduring philanthropy and enables community solutions to improve the quality of life in our region. Our strategic priorities include advancing racial and social justice, fostering equity of opportunity, building resilient communities, and delivering world-class philanthropy to realize our vision of just, equitable and resilient communities. For more than 46 years, The Foundation and its donors have granted more than $1.3 billion to support nonprofit organizations strengthening our community. Learn more at SDFoundation.org.

About LISC San Diego

A non-profit funding agency founded in 1991, LISC San Diego has invested $232 million in grants, loans, and equity investments in the city’s low-income communities. This investment has leveraged $1 billion in total development costs, leading to the creation of more than 6,000 affordable rental-housing units for San Diego’s most vulnerable families and the development of 1 million square feet of retail and commercial space. Learn more at lisc.org/san-diego.

About Urban League of San Diego County  

The Urban League of San Diego County is one of three National Urban League affiliates located in California. There are approximately 90+ affiliates nationally fulfilling the goal of empowering communities and changing lives. Organized in 1953 under the leadership of Percy H. Steel with employment and on-the-job training as its primary focus, the Urban League of San Diego County (ULSDC) continues its tradition of employment services. Additionally, it also has a strong focus on youth education and related family support services such as housing counseling, elderly health outreach and women’s re-entry. Learn more at sdul.org.

Contacts

Ricardo Flores, LISC San Diego, (619) 384-4353, rflores@lisc.org
Lorena Nava Ruggero, The San Diego Foundation, lruggero@sdfoundation.org