Mission-Driven Beneficial State Bank Endorses Proposition 10

Today, Yes on 10 proudly announces Beneficial State Bank’s formal endorsement of Proposition 10, a ballot initiative that will empower local communities to limit skyrocketing rent increases and address the housing affordability crisis. The Oakland-based community development bank with branches across California and the Pacific Northwest, led by co-founder and CEO Kat Taylor, is dedicated to corporate citizenship while building an inclusive economy and actively working towards solutions that make housing more affordable.

“Beneficial State strongly believes that safe, clean and comfortable housing is a human right. Each of us has a responsibility to advance solutions to make that a reality -- from building more affordable housing to protecting our existing housing with reasonable limits on rent increases,” said Kat Taylor, CEO and co-founder of Beneficial State Bank. “We’re proud to endorse Proposition 10 as a key step to address this challenge. It’s high time we make decisions based on how economics work -- knowing we need a full set of solutions -- instead of old, dated theories that perpetuate the status quo of injustice and inequity. Prop 10 will not only give our local communities a much-needed tool to rein in staggering rents, but rent control has the potential to help ensure socioeconomic diversity and therefore more distributed power in our neighborhoods, ensuring a better future for all.”

Beneficial State Bank joins a broad coalition of affordable housing providers and advocates that includes Housing California, Non-Profit Housing Association of Northern California, Southern California Association of Non-Profit Housing, Affordable Housing Alliance and Council of Community Housing Organizations in supporting Proposition 10. These organizations recognize the devastating impact the affordable housing and homelessness crises continues to have on Californians, including our young people, families, seniors and veterans.

Damien Goodmon, campaign director of Yes on 10, said: “Beneficial State Bank’s support for Prop 10 speaks to their commitment to being good corporate citizens as well as the wide-ranging support behind this growing movement. Just as Beneficial State is creating a more inclusive economy that works for all, Prop 10 is a vital tool towards reaching that goal in local communities. Skyrocketing rents are now a lead driver of income inequality in our state, which has the nation’s highest poverty rate because of the cost of housing. We must take urgent action.”

Proposition 10 is a key step towards solving California’s housing-affordability and homelessness crises because it will protect California’s renters and guarantee landlords a fair rate of return, all while laying the foundation for stronger communities. By empowering local communities to limit rent increases and curtail predatory housing practices, cities and counties will be able to create thoughtful laws to address their local housing situations.

ABOUT BENEFICIAL STATE BANK

Beneficial State Bank is a state-chartered, federally-insured, triple-bottom-line bank whose economic rights are owned entirely by the non-profit Beneficial State Foundation, which is in turn permanently governed in the public interest. That ownership allows the bank to prove and maintain an innovative model for banking that generates prosperity for people and the planet and eschews harm to any, while being financially safe and sound. For additional information, visit www.beneficialstate.com.

ABOUT PROPOSITION 10

Proposition 10, the Affordable Housing Act, is a ballot measure that will restore the right of local communities to set fair limits on rent increases on all types of homes in order to address California's housing affordability crisis. To learn more, please visit VoteYesOnProp10.org or find us online @VoteYesOn10.

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