An anonymous donor has offered a $250,000 matching grant to fund the proposed 40 Prado Homeless Services Center. The gift will match community contributions dollar-for-dollar to reach a total of half a million dollars.
With about $750,000 left to be raised on the original $5.4 million effort, the potential $500,000 push has 40 Prado organizers ecstatic. John Spatafore, chairperson for the Homeless Foundation of SLO County, says the gift was unexpected and is a phenomenal boost to a campaign that has already seen tremendous community support. “We have been working on this just over a year, and to think we are within $750,000 of the finish line is simply amazing,” he said. “We are profoundly grateful for our benefactor’s generosity and for the foresight that made the gift a matching grant. We are eager to build the $250,000 to $500,000.”
Spatafore added that the donor, who wished to remain anonymous, is a local resident who supports 40 Prado’s range of services and focus on helping people achieve permanent housing.
40 Prado will replace the aging Maxine Lewis Memorial Shelter and the Prado Day Center. The new center will combine the services of both facilities, streamlining current programs with significant cost saving over time. 40 Prado is envisioned as a clean and safe haven for those in need, single mothers, children, returning veterans, and other who find themselves homeless due to poverty, job loss, emotional hardship/illness, or other economically disabling situations. A fall groundbreaking is anticipated for construction.
For more information, visit www.40prado.org.