M&T Bank Gives $615,000 in Community Development Grants to New Jersey

Cash will be awarded to 45 organizations strengthening the Garden State's neighborhoods

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Aug 22, 2016, 11:51 ET

PARAMUS, N.J., Aug. 22, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- M&T Bank announced today that it has awarded $615,000 in funding to 45 not-for-profit organizations in New Jersey, part of M&T's commitment to the growth and development of neighborhoods across the Garden State.

M&T's grants are focused on housing development, financial counseling, housing counseling, neighborhood stabilization, community organizing, and an overarching promise to strengthen New Jersey's neighborhoods—and the people who live in them.

M&T awarded its first of these grants last week, a $20,000 donation to Jersey City-based Garden State Episcopal Community Development Corporation in an effort to support the cultivation of resources for vulnerable communities to develop healthy neighborhoods. The grant will support the GSEDC's Affordable Housing and Neighborhood Revitalization project, which provides quality affordable housing opportunities to families that cannot afford to comfortably rent or buy in the private market. The organization has developed over 240 residential units, providing housing for over 630 people in the past two decades.

"This series of grants demonstrates our dedication to the state of New Jersey, and our commitment to building long-term relationships with organizations that make New Jersey a better place to live and work," said Paula Mandell, area executive for M&T Bank. "As community bankers, we understand how important it is for us to support a multitude of innovative and proven community development initiatives across New Jersey."

M&T Bank has a 160-year legacy of serving as a community-focused and community-oriented bank and has earned the highest possible Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) rating on every exam by the Federal Reserve since 1982.

"Since becoming part of this community, M&T Bank has been working arduously and actively to engage with New Jersey's community organizations, building on our 160-year legacy of community banking and corporate citizenship," said Alle Ries, regional Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) officer for M&T Bank in New Jersey. "As we have been in all of the communities we serve, M&T will be deeply focused on strengthening the Garden State's neighborhoods. We look forward to partnering with these 45 outstanding New Jersey organizations to stabilize and develop neighborhoods, provide financial literacy, promote home ownership and do other valuable work."

Other notable organizations receiving funding through M&T Bank include:

Saint Joseph's Carpenter Society: Saint Joseph's Carpenter Society (SJCS) helps families improve their quality of life through homeownership in Camden, New Jersey. The organization will receive a $15,000 grant from M&T Bank.
La Casa de Don Pedro: La Casa is an activist, community-based, grassroots organization committed to empowering the marginalized Hispanic and Latino communities in Newark, and serves as the largest link to this community in New Jersey. M&T Bank is providing La Casa de Don Pedro with a $20,000 grant.
Interfaith Neighbors: Interfaith Neighbors, Inc. is a group of congregations assembled from throughout Monmouth County to address the issue of homelessness, and will receive a $20,000 grant from M&T Bank.
The Housing and Community Development Network of New Jersey: The Housing and Community Development Network of New Jersey works to improve the environment for the work of community development corporations (CDCs) and strengthen their capacity to create housing in distressed neighborhoods. M&T Bank will provide a $20,000 grant to the organization.

Additional grants will be presented throughout the fall to recipients including:

- New Jersey Community Foundation	- Camden Lutheran Housing Inc.
- Build with Purpose, Inc.	- Heart of Camden
- Community Hope	- Homes of Montclair Ecumenical Corp
- New Jersey Community Capital	- Latin American Legal Defense and
- Ironbound Community Corporation	Education Fund
- Isles, Inc.	- LISC of Greater Newark and Jersey City
- Jersey Counseling & Housing	- Metropolitan Camden Habitat for
Development, Inc.	Humanity, Inc.
- Moorestown Ecumenical	- Morris Habitat for Humanity, Inc.
Neighborhood Development, Inc.	- New Jersey Future
- New Jersey Community Development	- New Jersey Citizen Action Education
Corporation	Fund
- Central Jersey Housing Resource	- Northern Ocean Habitat for Humanity
Center	- Parkside Business & Community In
- Family Guidance Center	Partnership, Inc.
- Housing & Neighborhood Development	- Paterson Habitat for Humanity
Services, Inc.	- PRAHB
- Housing Partnership	- South Ward Children's Alliance
- O.C.E.A.N, Inc.	- UCEDC
- PA Housing Authority/Partner	- Unified Vailsburg Services Org
- Urban League of Essex County	- Urban League Hudson County
- NHS of Camden	- Women Rising
- Essex Community Land Trust	- Sierra House
	- Lincoln Park Coast Cultural District
	- East Orange Arts Council

About M&T Bank
M&T is a financial holding company headquartered in Buffalo, New York. M&T's principal banking subsidiary, M&T Bank, operates banking offices in New York, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Connecticut, Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia. Trust-related services are provided by M&T's Wilmington Trust-affiliated companies and by M&T Bank.