Bay Area

Free Money for Black Home Buyers

Published

7 years ago

September 5, 2019

If you’re buying a house, did you know there’s a pool of $50 million waiting to help Black residents with down payments?

You’re invited to hear a mortgage specialist who will tell you how African Americans are cracking open these funds. On Saturday Sept. 14, 2019, come to the Berkeley NAACP chapter’s general membership meeting where Michael E. Rutland Jr. will explain an exciting array of down payment assistance (DPA) grants.

Rutland, a native of Richmond, CA., is a loan originator with United Security Financial Corporation. That’s a Black-owned mortgage company that has partnered with the trade group for black real estate brokers to make $50 million in assistance funds available for low and moderate-income African Americans.

Rutland will discuss a variety of ways to finance your next house at the September monthly meeting of the Berkeley NAACP. He’ll also answer your questions. This event is free and open to the public. The meeting runs from 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. and will be held at the Harriet Tubman Terrace Community Room, which is located at 2870 Adeline Street (just two blocks from the Ashby BART station) in Berkeley.

United Security Financial, which is based in Salt Lake City, Utah, sources home loans for buyers all across the United States. Meanwhile, its partner, the National Association of Real Estate Brokers (NAREB), has advocated for Black home buyers to enjoy “Democracy in Housing” for 73 years.

One of the biggest obstacles for any would-be homebuyer is coming up with the big nut of a down payment. Yet few African Americans probably know that they might qualify for free or low-priced money from one of more than 2,500 down payment-assistance programs across the country. The number of these programs increased by 10 percent between 2010 and 2016. That’s according to an analysis by the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation or Freddie Mac.

Last February, United Security and NAREB announced that a federally-chartered government agency – LBC Funding, LLC – had committed $50 million to help low- and moderate income home buyers get over the proverbial hump by fronting them the all-important down payment.

Rutland, who is flying in from Utah specifically to address the Berkeley NAACP, will talk about DPA plans that his company offers.

They include programs for first-time home buyers such as the Eagle Connect Fund and Freedom Choice, and programs that don’t have a first-time buyer requirement including the Freedom Plus and Freedom Advantage options. All of these provide the buyer with between 3 percent and 3.5 percent of the house price up to certain limits.

Of course, prospects must qualify. Generally, a person needs a credit score of 620 or better. Some of the programs impose an income limit based upon the area median income (AMI).

Rutland will even discuss what his company calls a Zero Down Payment Mortgage. “[That’]s a great option for clients that have limited cash on hand,” he writes in an email. “We understand the need for affordable housing is greater than ever before.”

Black homeowners are becoming an endangered species. After World War II, federal policy and the so-called G.I. Bill subsidized millions of white military veterans to buy homes but granted only a trickle to Black vets. More recently, race-based predatory lending led to minorities being foreclosed on in disproportionate numbers after the 2008 mortgage crisis.

The Berkeley NAACP, under chapter president Mansour Id-Deen, brings housing issues to the forefront. The organization and its housing committee address disparities, injustices and solutions with city commissions as well as residents and other stakeholders.

Recently, for instance, the Berkeley NAACP partnered with activist group The Friends of Adeline to turn back an effort by the City of Berkeley to evict an elderly Black veteran and homeowner whom a court had ordered to make more than $700,000 in city code renovations.

The NAACP also was among organizations that helped pay the man’s legal and administrative fees.

By Anthony Chapelle

Berkeley NAACP

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Oakland Post: Week of February 25 – March 3, 2026

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of – February 25 – March 3, 2026

Published

1 week ago

March 1, 2026

Oakland Post

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Chase Oakland Community Center Hosts Alley-Oop Accelerator Building Community and Opportunity for Bay Area Entrepreneurs

Over the past three years, the Alley-Oop Accelerator has helped more than 20 Bay Area businesses grow, connect, and gain meaningful exposure. The program combines hands-on training, mentorship, and community-building to help participants navigate the legal, financial, and marketing challenges of small business ownership.

Published

2 weeks ago

February 21, 2026

Oakland Post

Bay Area entrepreneurs attend the Alley-Oop Accelerator, a small business incubation program at Chase Oakland Community Center. Photo by Carla Thomas.

By Carla Thomas

The Golden State Warriors and Chase bank hosted the third annual Alley-Oop Accelerator this month, an empowering eight-week program designed to help Bay Area entrepreneurs bring their visions for business to life.

The initiative kicked off on Feb. 12 at Chase’s Oakland Community Center on Broadway Street, welcoming 15 small business owners who joined a growing network of local innovators working to strengthen the region’s entrepreneurial ecosystem.

At its core, the accelerator is designed to create an ecosystem of collaboration, where local entrepreneurs can learn from one another while accessing the resources of a global financial institution.

“This is our third year in a row working with the Golden State Warriors on the Alley-Oop Accelerator,” said Jaime Garcia, executive director of Chase’s Coaching for Impact team for the West Division. “We’ve already had 20-plus businesses graduate from the program, and we have 15 enrolled this year. The biggest thing about the program is really the community that’s built amongst the business owners — plus the exposure they’re able to get through Chase and the Golden State Warriors.”

According to Garcia, several graduates have gone on to receive vendor contracts with the Warriors and have gained broader recognition through collaborations with JPMorgan Chase.

“A lot of what Chase is trying to do,” Garcia added, “is bring businesses together because what they’ve asked for is an ecosystem, a network where they can connect, grow, and thrive organically.”

This year’s Alley-Oop Accelerator reflects that vision through its comprehensive curriculum and emphasis on practical learning. Participants explore the full spectrum of business essentials including financial management, marketing strategy, and legal compliance, while also preparing for real-world experiences such as pop-up market events.

Each entrepreneur benefits from one-on-one mentoring sessions through Chase’s Coaching for Impact program, which provides complimentary, personalized business consulting.

Garcia described the impact this hands-on approach has had on local small business owners. He recalled one candlemaker, who, after participating in the program, was invited to provide candles as gifts at Chase events.

“We were able to help give that business exposure,” he explained. “But then our team also worked with them on how to access capital to buy inventory and manage operations once those orders started coming in. It’s about preparation. When a hiccup happens, are you ready to handle it?”

The Coaching for Impact initiative, which launched in 2020 in just four cities, has since expanded to 46 nationwide.

“Every business is different,” Garcia said. “That’s why personal coaching matters so much. It’s life-changing.”

Participants in the 2026 program will each receive a $2,500 stipend, funding that Garcia said can make an outsized difference. “It’s amazing what some people can do with just $2,500,” he noted. “It sounds small, but it goes a long way when you have a plan for how to use it.”

For Chase and the Warriors, the Alley-Oop Accelerator represents more than an educational initiative, it’s a pathway to empowerment and economic inclusion. The program continues to foster lasting relationships among the entrepreneurs who, as Garcia put it, “build each other up” through shared growth and opportunity.

“Starting a business is never easy, but with the right support, it becomes possible, and even exhilarating,” said Oscar Lopez, the senior business consultant for Chase in Oakland.