Hancock Whitney and FHLB Dallas Award $40K to Mississippi Nonprofit

Mercy Housing to Use Funds to Help Those Impacted by COVID-19 with Rental Assistance

GULFPORT, Miss.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Hancock Whitney and the Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas (FHLB Dallas) have awarded $40,000 in Partnership Grant Program (PGP) funds to Mercy Housing and Human Development (Mercy Housing) in Gulfport, Mississippi.

PGP grants help qualified nonprofit organizations fund a variety of operational and administrative activities that are critical to serving their communities.

Mercy Housing seeks to provide financial literacy and prosperity to low- to moderate-income clients. It helped nearly 5,000 people last year, including 488 with homebuyer education, 204 with homeownership assistance and 111 with foreclosure and loss mitigation assistance. It also offers free tax preparation and help in finding healthcare. Mercy Housing will use the grant to help people affected by the coronavirus pandemic with rental assistance and counseling and to help frontline responders become homeowners.

“Mercy Housing does a great job for the Mississippi Gulf Coast communities, and Hancock Whitney is proud to support its fine work,” said Anthony Montgomery, senior vice president and director of Community Development for Hancock Whitney. “By joining with the Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas and its generous matching donation, we can help Mercy Housing with important administrative expenses during these difficult times.”

The grant for Mercy Housing is part of the overall $244,245 in PGP grants made by Hancock Whitney and FHLB Dallas in 2020 to nonprofits in Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas.

Funding of the PGP was increased by $2 million this year under FHLB Dallas’ COVID-19 Relief Program to support community-based organizations (CBOs) involved in affordable housing activities, stimulating small business development or providing small businesses with technical assistance. For 2020, program parameters also were expanded to include COVID-19 relief.

Through this unique grant program, FHLB Dallas member institutions contribute from $500 to $6,000 to a CBO, which FHLB Dallas matches at a new, higher 5:1 ratio (compared to the previous 3:1 ratio) resulting in a match of up to $30,000. If multiple member institutions contribute to the same CBO in one year, the maximum FHLB Dallas match for those member contributions is $60,000 per year. In both cases, the total grant to the CBO would be the sum of the member contribution(s) plus the FHLB Dallas match. Grants are awarded annually through FHLB Dallas and its member institutions.

“Clearly, Mercy Housing does a lot for coastal Mississippi communities,” said Greg Hettrick, first vice president and director of Community Investment at FHLB Dallas. “It’s a pleasure for us this year to add a larger match to the contributions of Hancock Whitney.”

See the complete list of the 2020 PGP grant recipients. For more information about the 2020 PGP grants and other FHLB Dallas community investment products and programs, please visit fhlb.com/pgp.

About Hancock Whitney

Since the late 1800s, Hancock Whitney has embodied core values of Honor & Integrity, Strength & Stability, Commitment to Service, Teamwork, and Personal Responsibility. Part of the Hancock Whitney Corporation Gulf South financial services family, bank offices and financial centers in Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, and Texas offer comprehensive financial products and services, including traditional and online banking; commercial and small business banking; private banking; trust and investment services; healthcare banking; certain insurance services; and mortgage services. The company also operates a loan production office in Nashville, Tennessee, as well as trust and asset management offices in New Jersey and New York. BauerFinancial, Inc., the nation’s leading independent bank rating and analysis firm, consistently recommends Hancock Whitney as one of America’s most financially sound banks. More information is available at hancockwhitney.com.

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 $75 billion as of June 30, 2020, is a member-owned cooperative that supports housing and community development by providing competitively priced advances and other credit products to approximately 800 members and associated institutions in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico and Texas. Visit fhlb.com for more information.