Paul Fordham
Director of Development
415-455-5681
pfordham@hbofm.org

January 10, 2008 - The Next Key Center, Homeward Bound of Marin’s innovative job-training and housing center currently under construction in Novato, has received $1 million in funding from the Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco (FHL Bank San Francisco).

Circle Bank, a member of the FHL Bank San Francisco, sponsored the grant application on behalf of Homeward Bound, Marin County’s main provider of shelter and residential services for homeless adults and families. The grant was issued through a competitive process that awarded $30.5 million to 52 projects from the bank’s 2007-Round B Affordable Housing Program.

“This grant will move this important project significantly toward completion,” says Mary Kay Sweeney, executive director of Homeward Bound. “We look forward to opening the doors to people making the journey to independence as well as having more room to involve the public in our work.”

“Circle Bank is honored to partner with Homeward Bound on this project to give more people in our community an opportunity to end homelessness in their lives,” says Kim Kaselionis, President and Chief Executive Office of Circle Bank. The bank has also pledged $50,000 to support the facility.

The Next Key Center will provide 32 affordable studio apartments plus a 150-seat conference space, classrooms and an expanded commercial kitchen for the Fresh Starts Culinary Academy, one of several job-training programs now based at the adjacent New Beginnings Center.

Along with classes and events that welcome the public, the new facility will offer space to extend Homeward Bound’s social enterprise ventures: production of chocolate Halo Truffles and Fresh Starts Catering. The Next Key Center is designed to be financially self-supporting when completed.

Completion of Phase I of The Next Key Center, the 32 apartments, is scheduled for fall 2008. The apartments will be rented to formerly homeless adults engaged in education or job-training programs. Funds raised for the project, including the FHL Bank San Francisco grant, now come to $8.1 million. The total estimated cost of the project is $10 million.

Homeward Bound is reaching out to Marin residents and businesses to raise the $1.9 million needed to complete the center’s job-training, conference and administration space. Homeward Bound will offer hard-hat tours of the construction site to prospective donors and interested parties. The agency is seeking sponsorship of the public areas as well as funding for solar-voltaic panels to generate electricity and heat water for the center.

Shares in Homeward Bound’s unique IPO also will help raise the roof for this unique project. In May 2007, Homeward Bound launched the first nonprofit IPO – an “Immediate Public Opportunity…to end homelessness” – to support construction of The Next Key Center by selling “fundraising shares” for $32 each. To date, this initiative has raised more than $600,000 with purchases by a broad spectrum of Marin residents and businesses, as well as celebrities such as investment guru Warren Buffett and rock musician Sammy Hagar.

Fundraising shares can be purchased at www.IPOhomeward.com or by contacting Development Director Paul Fordham at (415) 455-5681.

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About Circle Bank: Circle Bank is a personalized, full-service bank with assets of more than $200 million, offering customized financing and banking services for businesses and individuals. Headquartered in Novato, the bank also has branches in Santa Rosa, Petaluma and San Rafael. For more information, call (415) 898-5400 or visit www.circlebank.com.

About The Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco: FHL Bank San Francisco delivers low-cost funding and other services that help member financial institutions make home mortgage loans to people of all income levels and provide credit that supports neighborhoods and communities. The Bank’s members—its shareholders and customers—are commercial banks, credit unions, savings institutions, thrift and loans, and insurance companies headquartered in Arizona, California, and Nevada. The Bank also funds community investment programs that help members create affordable housing and promote community economic development. Each year, the Bank sets aside 10 percent of net income for its Affordable Housing Program to provide grants to further housing opportunities for lower-income households. For more information, visit www.fhlbsf.com.