Philadelphia VIP Receives $25,000 Grant from the Citi Foundation to Assist Low-Income Philadelphians at Risk of Mortgage Foreclosure

Philadelphia VIP, a non-profit legal services agency in Philadelphia, has received a $25,000 grant from the Citi Foundation to support its mortgage foreclosure program. In addition, Citigroup has agreed to provide conflict waiver letters to the law firms it works with to help encourage attorneys to participate in the Philadelphia Residential Mortgage Foreclosure Diversion Program.

Sara Woods, Executive Director of Philadelphia VIP, said the funds would be used to support VIP’s mortgage foreclosure efforts to recruit and train volunteer attorneys to represent low-income Philadelphians’ interests in mortgage foreclosure proceedings. "Philadelphia VIP is thrilled to partner with the Citi Foundation to address the mortgage foreclosure crisis and help keep Philadelphians in their homes.”

"The Citi Foundation applauds Philadelphia VIP and the national leadership it has provided in helping to curtail foreclosures,” said Don Haskin, Citi’s Director of Community Relations in Pennsylvania. Overall in the first quarter of 2009, borrowers serviced by Citi in Pennsylvania who received foreclosure prevention solutions outnumbered those who were foreclosed by more than 21 to 1.

Regarding the conflict waivers, Sara Woods, Executive Director of Philadelphia VIP, said VIP will use Citi’s offer to provide waivers as a way to encourage attorneys at large law firms to get involved in the mortgage foreclosure diversion program. Large law firm attorneys are often prohibited from participating in the program because of conflicts that arise from current or prior representations of lenders such as Citi.

"Foreclosure prevention is an important issue for Citi,” said Michael Helfer, Citi’s General Counsel. "We are pleased to support this program and to be working with Philadelphia VIP.” Since the beginning of the housing crisis in early 2007, Citi’s ongoing efforts in foreclosure prevention have helped approximately 520,000 of its customers avoid potential foreclosure.

VIP is at the forefront of mitigating the housing foreclosure crisis in Philadelphia by spearheading the volunteer representation of homeowners in Philadelphia’s historic Residential Mortgage Diversion Program. The Diversion Program, launched in June 2008, is a dynamic collaboration of the Judiciary, VIP, CLS, PLA, lenders, volunteer attorneys, and housing counselors working together to abate Philadelphia’s housing foreclosure crisis. As a result of this collaboration, hundreds of low-income Philadelphia homeowners facing foreclosure, financial ruin and potential homelessness, are being offered free housing counseling, representation by volunteer attorneys, and an opportunity to negotiate terms with lenders to save their homes.

Philadelphia VIP, the hub of pro bono in Philadelphia, was founded in 1981 by the Philadelphia Bar Association and Community Legal Services to meet the legal needs of low-income Philadelphians by recruiting and training attorneys to provide pro bono legal services. Today, VIP serves more than 1,500 clients with critical legal issues that affect basic human needs.

The Citi Foundation is committed to the economic empowerment of individuals and families, particularly those in need, in the communities where we work so that they can improve their standard of living.

Citi, the leading global financial services company, has approximately 200 million customer accounts and does business in more than 140 countries. Through its two operating units, Citicorp and Citi Holdings, Citi provides consumers, corporations, governments and institutions with a broad range of financial products and services, including consumer banking and credit, corporate and investment banking, securities brokerage, and wealth management. Additional information may be found at www.citigroup.com or www.citi.com.

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