CILC Receives $200K Grant from KeyBank as Bicentennial Birthday Gift
KeyBank Alaska Market President Lori McCaffrey (center) presents a $200,000 grant to Cook Inlet Lending Center CEO and President Jeff Tickle (pictured to her left). Also pictured are Financial Wellness Program Manager Abby Miller, KeyBank Business Banking Relationship Manager Garet Plantz and Regional Corporate Responsibility Officer I.V. Reeves.
Photo Credit: KeyBank
About 200 years after the oldest city in New York was established as a Dutch fort, the Commercial Bank of Albany was incorporated in 1825. Now, another two centuries later, the institution known since 1979 as KeyBank is celebrating its bicentennial. Instead of unwrapping birthday presents for itself, the bank’s philanthropic arm is bestowing gifts.
In Alaska, that gift takes the form of a $200,000 grant from the KeyBank Foundation to Cook Inlet Lending Center (CILC), a subsidiary of Cook Inlet Housing Authority, a nonprofit affiliate of Cook Inlet Region, Incorporated. The grant is part of $5.4 million that KeyBank is donating to Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) in each of the twenty-seven markets where it operates.
Stronger Financial Wellness
The grant is meant to provide flexible funding to help CDFIs and community foundations achieve their broader mission, whether through expanding services, enhancing infrastructure, or deepening their community impact.
“As KeyBank marks two centuries of service, we are proud to invest in organizations that share our mission of creating lasting, positive change in the communities we serve,” says Eric Fiala, CEO of the KeyBank Foundation and the bank’s chief corporate responsibility officer. “These grants celebrate these organizations that foster economic empowerment, business growth, and financial stability, and help build and sustain neighborhoods block by block.”
CILC was created in 2001 mainly to service home loans, and in 2020 it expanded into small business financing.
“We are deeply grateful to KeyBank for investing in the financial health of Alaska’s communities,” says CILC President and CEO Jeff Tickle. “This grant strengthens our Financial Wellness Program, which helps individuals and families build credit, reduce debt, and take confident steps toward homeownership, creating small businesses and long-term financial stability.”
CILC has operated as a Native CDFI since 2007. By helping people buy homes, access affordable consumer credit, and start businesses, CDFIs support the financial health of underserved communities.
“KeyBank is committed to helping our community thrive through investments that promote neighbors, education and workforce,” says Lori McCaffrey, KeyBank’s Alaska market president. “We are not only here to serve our clients but to invest in neighborhoods where we live and work, providing opportunities and making a difference in people’s lives.”
Earlier in this bicentennial year, KeyBank awarded a $300,000 grant to Anchorage Community Land Trust to launch a new commercial kitchen in the Mountain View Neighborhood to support early-stage food businesses. The gifts have grown since 2019, when a $75,000 grant to expand the trust’s Set Up Shop entrepreneurship program was KeyBank’s largest small business donation in Alaska at the time.
Big Lake Farm Obtains License to Propagate Patented Berry Bushes
A license to propagate patented hybrids of honeyberry and sour cherry opens a new chapter for Common Ground Alaska farm in Big Lake.
Korean Steel Supplier and Gas Buyer Signs Up for Alaska LNG
Glenfarne and POSCO finalized a strategic partnership to supply steel to build the Alaska LNG pipeline and a Heads of Agreement for the Korean manufacturer to buy gas.
Ketchikan Indian Community Launching First Tribal Wellness Center at Salmon Falls Resort
Ketchikan Indian Community acquired Salmon Falls Resort to convert from commercial tourism into the first residential substance abuse detox center in Southeast.
Also in this issue: building a company and planning an exit strategy; several ESOPs, and UAS’ foray into a new model for tuition. Enjoy!