MINNEAPOLIS – Dec. 8, 2000 — A $1.16 million grant to the Family Housing Fund leads the list of 52 grants recently approved by the Carl and Eloise Pohlad Family Foundation. The Family Housing Fund grant will provide working families with assistance needed to move from subsidized to market-rate housing.

Half of the grant will be used to create a pilot program that will provide direct dollars to help low- and moderate-income working families move to market-rate homes and apartments. The other half will be used to expand an existing program that provides home-buyer education and additional mortgage dollars to qualified families. Both programs are expected to begin in early 2001.

“Finding decent, affordable housing has become nearly impossible for working families,” said Bill Pohlad, president of the Carl and Eloise Pohlad Family Foundation. “We expect this grant to help at least 200 families move to market-rate housing – many of whom will be able to move closer to their jobs or to new job opportunities. And we selected the Family Housing Fund to help us in this work because of the agency’s leadership, success and ability to leverage our grant with other resources."

"The Pohlad grant is very exciting because, as we move families into market-rate housing, additional subsidized rental units will be available to assist an another 200 families currently on waiting lists," said Tom Fulton, president of the Family Housing Fund. The Family Housing Fund expects to leverage the Pohlad grant with support from several public agencies.

The pilot program, which will be called "Moving On," will provide direct and flexible financial assistance, such as dollars to cover a down payment on a home, a security deposit for an apartment, or time-limited rental subsidies. The details of this program are still under development.

The second half of the grant will be used to support a metro-wide expansion of a program known as HomeSteps. HomeSteps will provide families living in public housing or holding Section 8 certificates with intensive home ownership counseling, including budgeting and maintenance, and special loans toward down payment assistance, and closing costs.

The Foundation also approved 51 other grants totaling $807,250 to a wide variety of Twin Cities’ nonprofit organizations. Among the grants are support for capital campaigns of several organizations that provide services to families and children, including the Ronald McDonald House, PACER Center, Jewish Family and Children’s Service and the Minneapolis Urban League.

The Carl and Eloise Pohlad Family Foundation is a private family foundation focused on improving the lives of economically disadvantaged families and children. With $13 million in assets, the Foundation carries out its mission by providing support to nonprofit organizations through a community grants program and by creating and operating its own giving initiatives. The Foundation is part of Pohlad Family Charities, an umbrella organization that also includes the Minnesota Twins Community Fund and the Marquette Financial Companies Corporate Giving Program. Together, the three grant making entities distribute charitable funds or operate programs totaling several million dollars annually.