Bank produced music CD to boost housing effort

Northwestern Financial Review, Feb 15-Feb 28, 2007

University Bank in St. Paul, Minn., recently teamed with Red House Records to produce a compact disc filled with folk music about the meaning of home. University Bank's mission includes an emphasis on affordable housing and urban renewal.

The CD, called "Songs of Home," features artists such as Greg Brown, Lucy Kaplansky and Prudence Johnson. The CD was unveiled at the annual October-fest hosted by St. Bernard's Church and School in St. Paul. The festival featured an appearance by Johnson, under bank sponsorship. Proceeds from the concert and CD sales are being donated to Urban Homeworks, a non-profit agency dedicated to renovating homes for low-income families. One thousand CDs were produced.

University Bank has been active in affordable housing initiatives since 2000 when it started its Houses to Homes program. The bank provides up to 100 percent financing to rehabilitate older houses in the Twin Cities. Through the program, more than 1,200 homes have been renovated in the past six years. David Reiling, CEO of Sunrise Community Banks, University Bank's parent company, said the 12 songs on the Songs of Home CD have been specially selected to refleet the bank's commitment to affordable housing.

"We surveyed our customers to see which community development issues they felt were crucial, and affordable housing topped the list," Reiling said. "The need for safe, secure homes has been even greater than we had realized when Houses to Homes was born. Creative projects like Songs of Home and partnerships with organizations like Urban Homeworks give us another avenue to make a difference in our community."

The bank gave copies of the CD to customers who designated their deposits for the bank's Socially Responsible Deposit Fund. The SRDF offers customers a competitive return and positive social impact in local neighborhoods. SRDF deposits are used to grow local businesses, support non-profits and develop community services. The CD also is available for purchase at $10.

Sunrise Community Banks owns University Bank, Franklin Bank in Minneapolis and Park Midway Bank in St. Paul. All three banks are designated Community Development Financial Institutions by the U.S. Treasury Department.