Since 2004, Bank of America, one of the world’s leading financial institutions, has recognized nonprofits who have played a role in changing the landscape of communities throughout the nation by investing in underserved neighborhoods to advance economic mobility through their signature philanthropic programs Neighborhood Builders Award.
In 2022, they added an extension to the award by creating the Neighborhood Builders: Racial Equity Award. Bank of America “…recognizes the impactful work of leaders who strive to advance racial equality and economic opportunity in Black, Hispanic-Latino, Asian American, and Native American communities. The five individuals were selected for their extraordinary contributions to breaking racial barriers and creating opportunities for people of color across the country.”
Calvin Holmes, CCLF President, and four other outstanding awardee were honored with the Bank of America Neighborhood Builders: Racial Equity Award in October of 2022 in the second round of this newly created accolade. The other four honorees were: Vida Lin: Founder and President of Asian Community Development Council (ACDC) – Las Vegas, NV; Arcenio López: Executive Director of Mixteco/Indigena Community Organizing Project (MICOP) – Ventura, CA; David Robinson: Co-Founder of Admiral Capital Group – San Antonio, TX; and Mary Kim Titla: Executive Director of United National Indian Tribal Youth (UNITY) – Mesa, AZ. These five were chosen because they are breaking racial barriers and creating opportunities for people of color across the country.
“The Racial Equity Award is a recognition of the important work our team has undertaken in constructing our diversity, equity, and inclusion framework over the past several years,” said Holmes. “Both the financial and leadership development support from Bank of America will help us ensure under-represented grassroots organizations always have a welcome mat and a fair chance of achieving their vision and dreams through equitable access to capital investments. We are so energized for this next phase of growing our legacy in the marketplace.”
Each awardee was granted $200,000 in unrestricted funds to present to the nonprofit of their choice. Along with the funds, the nonprofit can participate in Bank of America’s year-long Neighborhood Builders Leadership Program that provides strategic growth and development training. CCLF’s Amorita Falcon was chosen to receive training along with Calvin Holmes.
