Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco awards a record $10 million in economic development grants across three states
The AHEAD program's 72 grants, now up to $200,000 each, go to nonprofits, local agencies and tribal groups in Arizona, California and Nevada through the bank's member financial institutions. Recipients have 18 months to spend the money.
San Francisco. The Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco said on Sept. 8 that it has awarded $10 million in economic development grants through its Access to Housing and Economic Assistance for Development program, known as AHEAD. That is 25 percent more than the $8 million of 2025 and, the bank said, a record. The money goes to 72 projects in Arizona, California and Nevada, the three states the bank serves.
The bank is one of 11 regional Federal Home Loan Banks, a cooperative owned by its member financial institutions, and the grants reach recipients through them. This year 63 members, 14 of them new to the program, applied with the nonprofits, local government agencies and tribal organizations that will use the money. The largest possible grant rose from $150,000 to $200,000. Since 2004 the program has awarded more than $50 million to over 1,000 projects.
Where the grants go
By the Herald's count of the bank's recipient list, California projects receive $7.6 million in 53 grants, Arizona's 11 grants total about $1.4 million and Nevada's eight about $1 million, and 27 grants are at the new ceiling. The bank puts 26 percent of the awards in job training and 18 percent in entrepreneurship and microenterprise, and expects the projects to create or retain about 2,675 jobs.
Community Investment Corporation in Tucson, Ariz., receives $200,000 to expand what the bank calls Arizona's first coordinated heirs' property initiative, through estate planning education, legal help and title resolution. The Center by Lendistry in Los Angeles receives $200,000 for FORGE LA, which seeks financing and policies to help communities rebuild faster after disasters. St. Jude's Ranch for Children in Boulder City, Nev., receives $83,000 for vocational certifications for young people ages 17 to 24.
How the program works
Only members may apply, each with a partner organization, and applications are taken in April and May; this year's deadline was May 27. A project must create or keep jobs paying at or below the area median income set by HUD, or 115 percent of it in rural areas, serve households at or below those incomes, or provide services to the community. Housing projects that qualify for the bank's Affordable Housing Program are not eligible.
Recipients have two months from the award to request the money, which the bank pays through the member, and 18 months to spend it. Each Federal Home Loan Bank must set aside 10 percent of its income for its Affordable Housing Program. FHLBank San Francisco adds about 5 percent of net income for other programs, including AHEAD, and said in April it would double that share to 10 percent of its 2025 net income, up to $45.7 million.
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