"KEY RENEWS $150,000 GRANT TO CLEVELAND HOUSING NETWORK; EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS EASE TRANSITION FROM WELFARE TO FINANCIAL INDEPENDENCE AND HOMEOWNERSHIP"

CLEVELAND, January 2004 - With grants from KeyCorp (NYSE: KEY) now totaling $300,000, more than 4,404** Cleveland residents have already benefited from educational programs* provided by Cleveland Housing Network (CHN) since the organization opened the doors to its Community Training & Technology Center in April 2002.

Located at the corner of East 40th Street and St. Clair Avenue, the 2,700 square-foot vacant KeyCenter (branch) donated by KeyBank also benefits more than 5,000 underprivileged men, women and children who represent 1,900 low-income families participating in CHN's nationally recognized Lease Purchase Program. Of these families, 78 percent are female-headed households, 79 percent are African-American and 78 percent earn less than $25,000 a year.

The training center complements the Lease Purchase Program promise of titled homeownership after 15 years of responsible tenancy. Educational programs teach residents indispensable skills that can ease transition from welfare to financial independence and sustained homeownership. To date, approximately 300 Lease Purchase Program participants have used the training center.

In addition to Key donating the facility and providing volunteers from its Information Technology Department to instruct center classes, the Key Foundation's $150,000 grant renewal helps cover the center's operational expenses through 2007. As well, high-achieving East Tech High School student interns are providing technical support and training. The result is a diverse multigenerational environment where individuals develop a healthy respect for education and economic self-sufficiency, the heart of Key's philanthropic focus.

To date, 90 percent of Lease Purchase Program participants have bought their homes. On average, these homeowners now have lower monthly home costs (principle, interest, taxes, and insurance) then when they were paying rent. Additionally, they have acquired immediate, significant equity in their home, according to CHN Executive Director Rob Curry.

"The range of sale prices is between $6,500 and $16,000, while the range of appraised value is between $55,000 and $85,000," says Curry. "We anticipate sustaining a more than 90-percent success rate in home sales to those participating in our Lease Purchase Program."

As part of the training center's computer and financial literacy curriculum, CHN recently distributed its 100th computer through the organization's Bringing IT Home Program. For residents completing required computer and financial literacy classes, CHN subsidizes their families' purchases of a computer with affordable Internet access by paying for half of the computer, while the families pay the balance, with the option of borrowing from the CHN low-interest Digital Access Revolving Fund. Once these families are trained and equipped, the East Tech High School student interns provide technical assistance and support. Known as Digital Connectors, these students participate in an eight-week intensive program that develops their entrepreneurial vision, and enhances their technology and leadership skills, and financial responsibility.

For information about CHN's Community Training & Technology Center classes and programs, call Center Manager Jeanne Morton at 216.881.8443.

Cleveland Housing Network:
Since 1981, Cleveland Housing Network has generated more than $285 million in capital investments in Cleveland neighborhoods, developing 3,300 homes and delivering energy conservation/home repair services to 60,000 households across Northeast Ohio. This organization currently produces about 300 homes annually and provides weatherization and home repair services to more than 5,00 households each year. Over the past two decades, Cleveland Housing Network has built highly effective and ongoing programs and funding partnerships with a host of individuals and organizations throughout the community. This well-established network of 23 member community development corporations, government agencies and officials, banks, corporations, foundations and academic and religious institutions helps sustain the organization and maximize its benefit to the greater Cleveland region.

KeyCorp
Cleveland-based KeyCorp is one of the nation's largest bank-based financial services companies, with assets of approximately $91 billion. Key companies provide investment management, retail and commercial banking, consumer finance, and investment banking products and services to individuals and companies throughout the United States and, for certain businesses, internationally. Contact Key Foundation Senior Program Officer Quentin McCorvey at 216.689.5505, or quentin_mccorvey@keybank.com, for more information about corporate grants.

* Cleveland Housing Network Community Training & Technology Center Classes and Programs:
Multi-tiered computer training combined with an Internet literacy curriculum
Pre- and post-purchase homeownership counseling
Budgeting and financial literacy education
Targeted job placement and case management services;
Lead safety education and remediation workshops
Home repair, maintenance, energy conservation and weatherization training
Predatory lending education & prevention seminars
Community orientation sessions for Lease Purchase Program participants
Technology training sessions for Cleveland Housing Network member community development corporations training and certification courses Cleveland Housing Network contractors
Healthcare education and screening
Youth education & mentoring

** Statistical Breakdown
Financial literacy students- 1,090
Homeownership students- 2,320
Computer students - 994

2999 Payne Avenue, Suite 306
Cleveland Ohio 44114
2 1 6 . 7 7 4 . 2 4 2 4
w w w . c l e v e h o m e s . c o m