APARTMENTS.COM DONATES $5,000 TO MASSACHUSETTS HOUSING AND SHELTER ALLIANCE, TO HELP COMBAT HOMELESSNESS THROUGH FIRST ANNUAL HELP FOR HOMELESS GRANT PROGRAM

More Than $100,000 in Grant Funding Awarded to 16 Homeless Service Providers Across the U.S. to Support Innovative Programming and Services

CHICAGO (December 19, 2013) — Apartments.com launched its inaugural Help for Homeless Grant Program by inviting not-for-profit homeless service providers from across the country to apply for grants totaling more than $100,000. Nearly 500 organizations that tirelessly work to combat homelessness applied for grants to support programmatic or operational expenses directly benefitting the homeless population. Today, Apartments.com announces the homeless service organizations that will each receive grants for the important work they do in their local communities.

The Massachusetts Housing and Shelter Alliance (MHSA), based in Boston, received a $5,000 grant to help support MHSA’s increased operational capacity needs as the organization undertakes a significant social innovation financing endeavor. MHSA serves more than 1,000 clients annually as a nonprofit public policy advocacy organization, with the singular mission of ending homelessness in the Commonwealth.

“Having a place to live is a basic human need, and so closely tied to the core nature of our business. That is why throughout the years we have chosen to support organizations that work to help the homeless,” says Dick Burke, president of Apartments.com. “Apartments.com is thrilled to expand our efforts this year by providing grants to 16 organizations that serve a distinct segment of the homeless population through innovative programming and services in local communities. We were pleased by the tremendous response we received from hundreds of top-notch organizations who applied for funding through our inaugural grant program. It was wonderful to see the depth and breadth of work being done in cities across the country that benefits this vital cause.”

There is an overwhelming need for the more than 3 million people in the U.S. who experience homelessness each year. While Apartments.com realizes that the contributions made through their Help for Homeless Grant Program will not bring an end to homelessness, it is their hope to help change a few more lives one step at a time. To that end, the 16 charitable organizations that will receive funding from the inaugural Apartments.com Help for Homeless Grant Program include:

Massachusetts Housing and Shelter Alliance (Boston, MA) – $5,000 Grant            

ALIVE! (Alexandria, VA) – $10,000 Grant

Connections for the Homeless (Evanston, IL) – $10,000 Grant

JOIN (Portland, OR) – $10,000 Grant

Literacy Lab (Washington DC) – $10,000 Grant

Mobile Loaves and Fishes (Austin, TX) – $10,000 Grant

Bethesda Cares (Bethesda, MD) – $5,000 Grant

Chicago Coalition for the Homeless (Chicago, IL) – $5,000 Grant

Homeward Bound (Marin County, CA) – $5,000 Grant

Macomb Emergency Shelter (Roseville, MI) – $5,000 Grant

New Orleans Women's Shelter (New Orleans, LA) – $5,000 Grant

NYC Rescue Mission (New York, NY) – $5,000 Grant 

People Serving People (Minneapolis, MN) – $5,000 Grant  

Social Advocates for Youth (Santa Rosa, CA) - $5,000 Grant   

Upward Bound House (Santa Monica, CA) – $5,000 Grant

Vogel Alcove (Dallas, TX) – $1,000 Grant

“Apartments.com appreciates and has the utmost respect for the hundreds of organizations that applied for funding through the inaugural Help for Homeless Grant Program,” adds Susan Bryant, vice president of marketing and media sales for Apartments.com. “The need for services and support continues to grow, especially given the current economy, and so we encourage not-for-profit homeless service providers to apply for grants in 2014.”

The second annual Help for Homeless Grant Program will begin accepting applications in summer 2014 at www.apartments.com/grants.

About Apartments.com

Apartments.com (http://www.apartments.com) is a leading national apartment Internet listing subscription service with more than 50,000 unique addresses representing millions of rental units from managed properties, newspaper classifieds and for-rent-by-owner properties. By incorporating the most relevant products to reach renters including personalized searches and highly visual ads featuring live chat, real-time rent, online video walk-through demonstrations, professional photography, a mobile website and iPhone and Android apps, Apartments.com creates easy access to its listings. Providing unmatched exposure to its advertisers through an intuitive name, strategic search engine placements and featured partnerships and more than 120 newspaper websites and innovative emerging media, Apartments.com reaches millions of renters nationwide, driving both qualified traffic and highly-engaged renters to leasing offices nationwide. Apartments.com is a division of Chicago-based Classified Ventures, LLC. The Apartments.com network of apartment rental websites includes Apartment Home Living (http://www.apartmenthomeliving.com), a leading social media apartment website distinguished by a "live for fun" community experience, proprietary lifestyle matching and local living guides to help renters find their perfect place to live; Rental Homes Plus (http://www.rentalhomesplus.com), an online destination where house hunters who prefer to rent can choose from a robust inventory of houses, condos, town houses, duplexes and apartments from around the country; and Rentfish (http://www.rentfish.com), a national apartment website offering customizable searches by neighborhood, favorite coffee spot, sports arena, famous landmark and more.