SAN FRANCISCO — Union Bank announced on Thursday a comprehensive effort to aid victims of Hurricane Sandy and support rebuilding efforts on the East Coast through a $100,000 donation from the Union Bank Foundation, as well as personal donations from hundreds of Union Bank employees.
The Union Bank Foundation donation is part of a $500,000 overall commitment from Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group member companies in the wake of Hurricane Sandy. The $100,000 will be allocated to following organizations:
• United Neighborhood Houses ($25,000). The mission of UNH is to promote and strengthen the neighborhood-based, multi-service approach to improving the lives of New Yorkers in need and the communities in which they live. UNH’s network of settlement houses and community centers across the city served on the front lines in preparation of Sandy and have been working non-stop to provide relief for community residents. Even while some agencies lost power themselves, staff of UNH member agencies continued to distribute food, water, and other donated items to those in their neighborhoods, serving as important hubs for relief for residents.
• ACCION East ($25,000). This organization’s goal is to create economic opportunity for primarily low- to moderate-income business owners who lack access to traditional sources of credit. Through business loans and support services, ACCION East strengthens the roots of emerging entrepreneurs and helps them to thrive in their communities, create social and economic change. It is creating a Sandy Recovery Loan Program that will support 75 to 150 businesses.
• Local Initiatives Support Corporation ($25,000). LISC’s mission is to help low-income New York City neighborhoods become healthy communities of choice – good places to live, do business, work and raise families. It has launched the LISC Emergency Relief Fund to help people in low-income neighborhoods who were affected by Sandy to get the assistance they need. LISC NYC has been working with federal, state, local and civic leaders to deliver resources quickly and effectively. The organization will be helping to assess and finance emergency repairs for housing. The LISC Emergency Relief Fund covers the Tri-State area.
• Center for NYC Neighborhoods ($25,000). CNYCN’s mission is to promote and protect affordable and sustainable homeownership in New York City, focusing on those neighborhoods hardest hit by foreclosure. As the central hub of a network of housing counseling and legal services providers, CNYCN leverages private and public resources to ensure that homeowners have citywide access to high-quality foreclosure prevention services. In response to Sandy, CNYCN is providing information and training for its network partners on disaster relief for homeowners and strongly promoting emergency loan programs that will get homeowners back on their feet and return stability to their neighborhoods. Over the longer term, CNYCN will be identifying and re-granting resources to support the ongoing need for enhanced housing counseling and legal services for homeowners struggling with insurance, FEMA and other programs while also seeking assistance from their mortgage lenders.
To date, Union Bank employees have personally donated or pledged more than $27,500 for storm relief and recovery efforts. The bank’s support also includes matching personal contributions from employees through its Union Bank Giving Back Matching Gift program. The Union Bank Foundation will match nonprofit gifts at 66 2/3 cents to the dollar up to $2,500 per employee, per year. The contributions, which continue to grow daily, will benefit the American Red Cross and other nonprofit organizations.
“The Union Bank Foundation’s decision to support these four organizations is rooted in its belief that local nonprofits are often in the best position to assess needs and quickly deliver funding to those with the most challenging circumstances,” said Union Bank Foundation President and Chief Operating Officer Carl A. Ballton. “In addition, each organization’s post-Sandy relief and recovery efforts are focused on either housing assistance, community economic development or small business lending, all of which are aligned with the Union Bank Foundation’s mission.”
Headquartered in San Francisco, UnionBanCal Corporation is a financial holding company with assets of $88.2 billion at Sept. 30. Its primary subsidiary, Union Bank, N.A., is a full-service commercial bank providing an array of financial services to individuals, small businesses, middle-market companies, and major corporations. The bank operated 402 branches in California, Washington, Oregon, Texas, Illinois, and New York as well as two international offices, on Sept. 30. UnionBanCal Corporation is a wholly-owned subsidiary of The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, Ltd., which is a subsidiary of Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Inc. Union Bank is a member of the Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG, NYSE:MTU), one of the world’s largest financial organizations. Visit www.unionbank.com for more information.