MoneyMatch helps Dubuque woman realize dream

Coralita Shumaker was attending a workshop four years ago when the seed of a dream was planted.

Homeownership, it turned out, might be possible for the 32-year-old Dubuque woman too.

Shumaker, who rented a three-bedroom apartment, was at a city of Dubuque homebuyer workshop when Dupaco’s Krystal Frederick discussed the ins and outs of home loans.

“If Krystal wouldn’t have spoken at that particular class, I would have never thought I could purchase a home,” says Shumaker, a single mom of three. “I realized it might be a little work I have to put in. But in the end, I would have a home of my own.” 

Now Shumaker has just that, thanks in part to Dupaco’s MoneyMatch program, in which the savings of a participant are matched by a grant from the Dupaco R.W. Hoefer Foundation. The savings and matching funds are used to purchase a wealth-building asset, such as a home.

With money automatically saved from every paycheck, Shumaker eventually accrued $2,000, with another $2,000 matched by the program. She also qualified for the city’s Washington Neighborhood Homebuyer Loan Program.

As Shumaker saved, she also continued to meet with Frederick, who showed her how to drive up her credit score and offered encouragement along the way.

On Aug. 30, Shumaker realized her homeownership dream, buying a move-in-ready, four-bedroom house—providing more space for her family and opening the door to more dreams for the future.

“To accomplish something as big as this, I’m proud of myself,” Shumaker says. “It just makes me want to strive to do even bigger and better things. I have ideas to open my own business. This homeownership process went so well, I don’t have any doubt in my mind that when it’s time to open my business, Dupaco will be the first one I come to.”