The Dry Creek Rancheria Band of Pomo Indians is among four North Bay nonprofits awarded a $150,000 grant through FHLBank San Francisco's 2025 AHEAD program, an initiative that supports economic development projects in three states.
Exchange Bank, in partnership with FHLBank, funded Dry Creek Rancheria's award for Honoring Our Elders, a social services initiative.
The funds for the Santa Rosa-based tribe will go toward creating a community center activities coordinator position, providing weekly communal meals to elders and disabled populations, and managing weekly food distributions, according to FHLBank's Sept. 11 news release. The monies also will help cover a portion of the coordinator's salary and support equipment and organizational costs.
FHLBank's 2025 AHEAD program provided a total of $8 million to 64 economic development projects in communities throughout California, Arizona and Nevada, according to the announcement. FHLBank partners with its member banks to provide the funding.
"The AHEAD program provides funding that our member organizations use to make grants to local nonprofits for initiatives that directly address capacity building, jobs and community needs," Joe Amato, interim president and CEO of FHLBank San Francisco, said in the news release.
Exchange Bank also funded $150,000 to Northern Circle Indian Housing Authority in Ukiah to administer affordable housing, community development and wellness services programs, according to FHLBank's release.
Redwood Credit Union provided $150,000 to North Coast Opportunities in Ukiah. The funds will help expand economic assistance programs to farmworkers experiencing financial hardship, as well as help support the Native and Indigenous Foodways Fund, according to the announcement.
Tri Counties Bank funded a $150,000 award to Habematolel Pomo of Upper Lake. The grant for the Lake County organization will be used for a workforce development initiative to help support the economic advancement of tribal members through part-time job opportunities, the release stated.
Bank of Marin funded 2025 AHEAD awards for three organizations in the county.
The bank provided $116,000 to the Agriculture Institute of Marin to help the San Rafael-based organization's Promoting Business Growth project, according to the release. The initiative works to increase financial security for farmworkers through free access to farmers markets and small business trainings.
Bank of Marin delivered $100,000 to Spaulding Marine Center in Sausalito to help train underrepresented young adults to get jobs in the maritime industry through Boatworks 101, a yearlong apprenticeship program, the announcement stated.
San Rafael-based Adopt-A-Family of Marin was granted $63,000, provided by Bank of Marin, for a housing initiative to help prevent homelessness, according to the release.
The application process for the 2025 AHEAD program drew more than 400 grant requests, according to FHLBank. Of the 64 organizations that received awards, 45 were in California, 13 in Arizona and six in Nevada, according to the San Francisco bank.