VENTURA COUNTY — The Ventura County Community Development Corporation 
(VCCDC) was recently awarded a $40,000 grant by Wells Fargo Bank for its Changing Lives Through Homeownership Program which provides homebuyer education and counseling services to low-to moderate income families in Ventura and Santa Barbara Counties.
This Wells Fargo Foundation Grant will allow VCCDC to provide 700 low-to-moderate income families the access to educational workshops and one-on-one counseling services that will help them navigate through the homeownership process which can be complex and intimidating. The participating families will work with VCCDC’s Certified Homeownership Specialists to establish a solid action plan that will prepare them towards achieving homeownership and provide a support system that includes education and counseling services before, during and after the home-buying process. In addition, counselors will work with families that are not ready to purchase by providing financial coaching to help them improve their financial capability, and learn how to build and preserve assets over the course of their lives.
“The services and programs VCCDC offers are vital for families in our community who are finding increasingly difficult to find a home to call their own due the rising home prices in Ventura and Santa Barbara County. The Wells Fargo Foundation grant will make it possible for VCCDC to continue to make the dream of homeownership a reality for the families that we assist,” says Bertha Garcia, VCCDC’s Executive Director.
With the support of Wells Fargo Bank and the Wells Fargo Foundation over the past 16 years, VCCDC has been able to provide homeownership education and counseling services to nearly 10,000 local families. “Throughout its 16-year history, VCCDC has become a leader in the region, growing in response to community need and market opportunities, and providing high quality services aligned with best practices in the industry. However, it is only in partnership with our supporters like Wells Fargo that VCCDC has been able to accomplish its mission” says VCCDC Executive Director, Bertha Garcia.