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$10K Grant from Comerica Bank and FHLB Dallas to Benefit PowHer Play
[September 15, 2017]

$10K Grant from Comerica Bank and FHLB Dallas to Benefit PowHer Play


Comerica Bank and the Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas (FHLB Dallas) awarded a $10,000 Partnership Grant Program (PGP (News - Alert)) grant to PowHer Play, a Houston-based organization that supports women in improving their lives. The grant funds were announced yesterday at a check presentation during an open house event hosted by The Chatman Women's Foundation, the company through which PowHer Play does business.

This Smart News Release features multimedia. View the full release here: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170915005952/en/

(L-R) Amanda Edwards, Houston City Council Member At-Large, Position 4; Shantera Chatman, Founder & ...

(L-R) Amanda Edwards, Houston City Council Member At-Large, Position 4; Shantera Chatman, Founder & Executive Director at The Chatman Women's Foundation; Vanessa T. Reed, Assistant Vice President of Corporate Public Affairs and Community Reinvestment at Comerica Bank; and Bruce Hatton, Vice President and Affordable Housing Program Manager at FHLB Dallas, celebrate a $10,000 Partnership Grant Program award to the Foundation from Comerica Bank and FHLB Dallas. This is the nonprofit's third PGP award in three years. (Photo: Business Wire)

"These grant funds will help The Chatman Women's Foundation continue to empower women through PowHer Play," said Houston City Council Member Amanda Edwards, who joined bank representatives and organization leadership at the event. "I applaud the banks for their partnership and commitment to empowering women in the Houston area."

This is the third PGP grant awarded to the nonprofit in three years. The 2017 grant will be applied to scholarships for women in transition, capacity-building and contractual services. Grants in 2015 and 2016, each for $4,800, bring PowHer Play's total PGP grants, icluding the 2017 award, to $19,600.



Now in its ninth year, the foundation has provided skills training, which includes mentoring, assertiveness, negotiations and updates on corporate trends to more than 1,000 Houston-area women since 2008.

"Comerica Bank and FHLB Dallas are helping us make a real difference in the lives of women, enabling them to go back to school, build businesses, as well as move out of shelters," said Shantera Chatman, founder and executive director of PowHer Play.


Vanessa T. Reed, assistant vice president of Corporate Public Affairs and Community Reinvestment at Comerica Bank, worked with Ms. Chatman through the PGP application process.

"At Comerica Bank, we strive to enhance and help educate the communities where we live and work. One of the ways we demonstrate this is by making charitable contributions to community nonprofits through unique partnerships with organizations like the Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas," said Ms. Reed. "Comerica Bank is proud to support this organization through the PGP for a third time, and it is our privilege to partner with FHLB Dallas to help further the organization's mission."

The structure of the PGP enables FHLB Dallas member institutions like Comerica Bank to make a contribution of $500 to $4,000 to a community-based organization (CBO), which FHLB Dallas will match at a 3:1 ratio. In 2017, FHLB Dallas awarded $300,000 in Partnership Grant Program (PGP) funds through 31 member institutions to assist 30 community-based organizations. Combined with the $104,550 contributed by FHLB Dallas members, a total of $404,550 was awarded to the organizations.

"The PGP helps promote and strengthen the relationships between our member institutions such as Comerica Bank and organizations like PowHer Play," said Greg Hettrick, first vice president and director of Community Investment at FHLB Dallas. "The key component of this program is the partnership aspect."

Ms. Chatman said there is a great need for programs such as the PGP. She said without the grant funds, the organization would have only been able to award a maximum of two scholarships. The PGP grant funds will enable the organization to award four to six scholarships in the upcoming year.

"This is the only program that I know of that is so easily accessible to nonprofits such as PowHer Play," said Ms. Chatman. "The PGP allows organizations such as this one to thriv, and I am so grateful to the banks for providing these funds."

About Comerica Bank

Comerica Incorporated (NYSE: CMA) is a financial services company headquartered in Dallas, Texas, and strategically aligned by three business segments: The Business Bank, The Retail Bank, and Wealth Management. Comerica focuses on relationships, and helping people and businesses be successful. In addition to Texas, Comerica Bank locations can be found in Arizona, California, Florida and Michigan, with select businesses operating in several other states, as well as in Canada and Mexico.

About the Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas

The Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas is one of 11 district banks in the FHLBank System created by Congress in 1932. FHLB Dallas, with total assets of $62.9 billion as of June 30, 2017, is a member-owned cooperative that supports housing and community investment by providing competitively priced loans and other credit products to approximately 850 members and associated institutions in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico and Texas. For more information, visit fhlb.com.


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