Banks Award $18K to Hattiesburg Affordable Housing Nonprofit

Cadence Bank, Citizens National Bank and FHLB Dallas Assist in Ward 2 Renewal Effort

HATTIESBURG, Miss.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Representatives from Cadence Bank, Citizens National Bank and the Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas (FHLB Dallas) have awarded $18,000 in Partnership Grant Program (PGP) funding to Twin Forks Rising Community Development Corp. (Twin Forks Rising CDC). They celebrated the awards at a ceremonial check presentation in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, recently.

Twin Forks Rising CDC provides community programming and repairs and builds homes in Ward 2, an area commonly called Twin Forks Rising. It will use the PGP proceeds for contractual services, including accounting and legal expenses.

“It’s great to be here to celebrate the work of Twin Forks Rising CDC and to provide them with some greatly needed monetary support,” said Tra Alford, vice president and community development director at Citizens National Bank.

Awarded annually through FHLB Dallas’ member institutions, PGP funds help promote and strengthen relationships between community-based organizations and FHLB Dallas members. FHLB Dallas matches member contributions of $500 to $4,000 at a 3:1 ratio.

“We really admire how the PGP can bring about a partnership among multiple financial institutions,” said John Griffith, president of the Hattiesburg, Mississippi, market at Cadence Bank. “We hope this combined contribution magnifies the impact.”

Awarded annually through FHLB Dallas’ member institutions, PGP funds help promote and strengthen relationships between community-based organizations and FHLB Dallas members. FHLB Dallas matches member contributions of $500 to $4,000 at a 3:1 ratio.

“We are a small and relatively new agency, serving a multitude of needs in an underserved area,” said Ward 2 Councilwoman Deborah Delgado, founder and advisor for Twin Forks Rising CDC. “Twin Forks Rising has little to no available housing units. The majority of requests for assistance is in the area of housing as much of the existing housing stock is substandard. The funding will enable us to continue to address housing needs, and for that, we are grateful.”

In 2022, FHLB Dallas and its members provided nearly $559,000 to 38 community organizations in its five-state District of Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico and Texas.

“Providing funding to our members to help small and innovative organizations that lack resources is what the PGP is all about,” said Greg Hettrick, first vice president and director of Community Investment at FHLB Dallas.

See the complete list of the 2022 PGP grant recipients. For more information about the 2022 PGP grants and other FHLB Dallas community investment products and programs, please visit fhlb.com/pgp.

About Cadence Bank

Cadence Bank (NYSE: CADE) is a leading regional banking franchise with approximately $50 billion in assets and nearly 400 branch locations across the South and Texas. Cadence provides consumers, businesses and corporations with a full range of innovative banking and financial solutions. Services and products include consumer banking, consumer loans, mortgages, home equity lines and loans, credit cards, commercial and business banking, treasury management, specialized lending, asset-based lending, commercial real estate, equipment financing, correspondent banking, SBA lending, foreign exchange, wealth management, investment and trust services, financial planning, retirement plan management, and personal and business insurance. Cadence is committed to a culture of respect, diversity and inclusion in both its workplace and communities. Cadence Bank, Member FDIC. Equal Housing Lender.

About Citizens National Bank

Founded in 1888, Citizens National Bank has assets in excess of $1.5 billion and is celebrating 132 years of service as an independent, Mississippi-owned community bank with locations in nearly 20 Mississippi communities. The Bank is also certified as a Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) by the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Community Development Financial Institutions Fund. Currently, there are less than 125 banks in the nation which hold the prestigious CDFI designation. Learn more about Citizens National Bank by visiting yourcnb.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 $89.6 billion as of September 30, 2022, serves approximately 800 members and associated institutions across our five-state District of Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico and Texas. FHLB Dallas provides financial products and services including advances (loans to members) and grant programs for affordable housing and economic development. For more information, visit our website at fhlb.com.