The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) has announced the creation of a national 501(c)(3) non-profit organization to be the umbrella for philanthropic ventures by MBA and its members to help American families and communities. MBA has selected Spare Key, a charity based in Minnesota devoted to making mortgage payment grants to assist parents with critically ill children, as a model for its new nationwide philanthropic initiative. With plans to roll out Spare Key nationally so that eventually millions of families are helped, MBA will initially establish three pilot programs, the first of these in the Washington, D.C. area.
"Spare Key Minnesota has provided assistance to almost 1,300 Minnesota homeowners with critically ill or seriously injured children by making a mortgage payment on the family's behalf, allowing them to spend time with their child," said David H. Stevens, MBA's president and CEO. "Spare Key's assistance allows parents the ability to take unpaid leave from their work so they can be with their child and involved in their medical treatment and recovery at a very critical time."
MBA will charter the Spare Key chapters, ensuring that each chapter follows national tenets and guidelines, and will provide the necessary guidance and support to help each chapter become successful, leveraging the resources of Spare Key Minnesota.
"As members of the community, professionals in the mortgage industry, and parents, in many cases, we recognize that helping families who are current on their mortgage but are under financial pressure while dealing with the hardest emotional challenge parents can ever face is the right thing to do," said Stevens. "For this reason, MBA has also donated $50,000 to support the establishment of the Spare Key pilots."
Spare Key was founded in Minnesota in 1997 by Patsy and Robb Keech after the death of their two-and-a-half year old son, Derian, who had been born with a genetic birth defect and endured many hospitalizations, and five open heart surgeries in his short life.
