For hardworking individuals and families with low- to moderate incomes, rising housing costs have put homeownership out of reach for many. Yet the dream remains powerful—often rooted in family history, personal sacrifice, and the hope of building a stable future. For Phoenix-area resident John, that dream was shaped by the path his parents carved.

“My parents came here as immigrants. They started off renting, eventually moving out here and then were blessed with a home,” John said. “Seeing them as an example was always something I wanted to strive for.”

For John, homeownership wasn’t just about having a place to live—it represented a future with stability, legacy, and a foundation for the family he hopes to build.

For years, John worked in manufacturing in the Phoenix metro area, assembling HVAC units. With a goal of buying a home, he saved diligently, sacrificing vacations and social time to lay the groundwork for his future. “I was a workhorse for five years,” he said. “I sacrificed a lot, buckling down to save money.”

That hard work paid off. After building his savings and qualifying for the Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco’s Workforce Initiative Subsidy for Homeownership (WISH) Program through his local financial institution, TruWest Credit Union, John was able to purchase a home of his own.

Part of FHLBank San Francisco’s Affordable Housing Program (AHP) set-aside funding, the WISH Program offers matching grants of up to four dollars for every dollar a homebuyer contributes, with a maximum annual award of $32,837 for eligible, lower-income, first-time homebuyers. Maximum grant amounts are determined annually by the Federal Housing Finance Agency. The funding can be used to help cover down payment and closing costs—expenses that remain a significant barrier for many buyers. In the Phoenix housing market, rising home prices have made these upfront costs particularly challenging for first-time buyers.

“Owning a home is the number-one wealth-building tool for the middle class,” said Chris Kearney, CEO of TruWest Credit Union, a member of the Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco. “But the ability for a young family or professional to enter the housing market in Arizona is very difficult today.”

Through community lenders like TruWest Credit Union that participate in the WISH Program, eligible homebuyers earning up to 80% of the area median income can receive matching grants to help overcome the steep hurdles of down payments and closing costs. The program is designed to help hardworking individuals like John access sustainable homeownership earlier in their careers and begin building long-term financial security in the communities where they live and work.

“This program really helped me with the funds I needed,” John said. With assistance from the grant, he was able to purchase a home in the Phoenix area—where he now enjoys views of the Superstition Mountains and is refinishing a dining room table. For John, those small but meaningful details reflect the pride and stability that come with homeownership.

For TruWest Credit Union, the WISH Program closely aligns with its mission. “As a credit union and a community-based financial institution, we’re serving our friends, family and neighbors,” Kearney said. “It takes time to get to know them and understand how they might fit into these grant programs. It’s an upfront investment in relationships with our members, not just a transaction.”

Kearney added that the impact goes beyond individual households. “Seeing a family move into a new home and how life-changing that can be—becoming connected to local schools and neighborhoods—is incredibly rewarding. We’re privileged to partner with the Federal Home Loan Bank. We could not make these dreams possible without the funding that is provided.”

Launched in 2000, the WISH Program has helped more than 10,000 first-time homebuyers, providing $178 million in support through partnerships with member financial institutions across Arizona, California and Nevada. The program demonstrates how targeted grant assistance can help lower-income families and individuals achieve the dream of homeownership and begin building generational wealth.

John’s story is one among many and reflects the purpose of the WISH Program: helping hardworking people gain a fair opportunity to build the future they envision.

Learn more about the WISH Program and other mission-driven community programs at FHLBSF.com.