Press Release | Realtors Group Makes Donation to Support Housing Needs

Sonoma County People for Economic Opportunity (SCPEO) receives $7,500 from Real Estate Housing Endowment Fund of Community Foundation

For Immediate Release

Contact: Gloria Duncan 707/579-4073

Santa Rosa, CA — January 9, 2002 - Helga Lemke, executive director of Sonoma County People for Economic Opportunity (SCPEO) was presented with a check for $7,500 from the Real Estate Housing Endowment fund at a recent meeting of the North Bay Association of REALTORS (NorBAR). The money will be used to assist families with urgent housing needs through the HCA Fund which is administered by SCPEO.

"No need is greater in Sonoma County than affordable housing", said Lemke. "This contribution will help us to help people find housing and keep housing."

Pat Miller, immediate past president of NorBAR, said that such a deserving organization as SCPEO provides a direct benefit to the community. "It is my sincere hope that this donation will increase involvement in the Real Estate Housing Endowment fund so that we can continue to help," she explained.

The League of California Community Foundations has embarked on a statewide visibility campaign to raise the public’s awareness of community foundations and their role in the communities they serve. There are 582 community foundations in the United States holding assets of approximately $31.5 billion. In 2000, they gave approximately $2.2 billion to a wide variety of nonprofit activities in the areas of urban affairs, the arts, education, environmental projects, health and disaster relief. All share the common goal of serving donors, nonprofit organizations and the community as a whole.

The Real Estate Housing Endowment fund, created in 1991 at the Sonoma County Community Foundation, was originally formed when the Sonoma County Multiple Listing Service and the Sonoma County REALTORS Association joined forces to set up a permanent endowment fund to support solutions to homelessness and the housing crisis. The NorBAR board of directors appoints a committee which advises on grants made from the fund. Contributions may be made to the fund at any time, in any amount. "By establishing their fund with the Community Foundation, this group has been able to use the income from donations to meet their charitable goals," said Kay M. Marquet, president and CEO of the Community Foundation.

The HCA Fund distributes mini-grants of up to $900 to Sonoma County residents who are in imminent danger of eviction or are regaining housing after an episode of homelessness. Established in 1990 by a local philanthropist committed to preventing, as opposed to "treating" homelessness, the HCA Fund has to date provided assistance to 17,500 Sonoma county residents. For information, contact SCPEO at 707.544.6911.

For more information, visit the Community Foundations’ website at www.sonomacf.org

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