Five NeighborWorks Organizations Receive CDFI Funding

October 20, 2003 -- The Community Development Financial Institutions Fund announced $23 million in Financial Assistance Awards made to 34 certified CDFIs. Five NeighborWorks organizations received a total of $3 million in this round of CDFI funding: Charlotte-Mecklenburg Housing Partnership, Inc., Community Ventures Corporation, Inc., HomeSight, Neighborhood Housing Services of Orange County, Inc., and Neighborhood Housing Services Silicon Valley.

These fiscal year 2003 awards primarily support affordable housing and economic development financing activities in economically distressed communities across the country, and are expected to create significant community impact. More information on each of the NeighborWorks organizations receiving CDFI funding follows.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Housing Partnership, Inc.
Location: Charlotte, NC
Award: $500,000
Contact: Patricia J Adair - 704-342-0933, ext. 214
Charlotte-Mecklenberg Housing Partnership, Inc. (CMHP) is a nonprofit CDFI created in 1988 to develop, rehabilitate, and finance single-family and multi-family housing affordable to low-income individuals and families in Charlotte, North Carolina and surrounding Mecklenberg County. The Fund’s $500,000 award will enable CMHP to expand its Individual Development Accounts (IDA) program, which is focused on helping customers save and prepare for homeownership; and to increase the volume of its secondary mortgage product – Home Sweet Loan, a product designed to combat predatory lenders. Approximately 55 percent of this award will be targeted to Hot Zones.

Community Ventures Corporation, Inc.
Location: Lexington, KY
Award: $500,000
Contact: Maria C. Hendrichs - 859-231-0054, ext. 204
Established in 1982, Community Ventures Corporation (CVC) is a nonprofit dedicated to improving the quality of life for urban and rural residents of the Bluegrass Region of Kentucky. The Fund’s $500,000 grant will be used to supplement a loan pool from which CVC will deliver flexible, affordable second mortgages to low-income and very low-income and underserved minority homebuyers in nine Appalachian counties and Lexington/Fayette County who do not have upfront financial resources for a down-payment and/or closing costs. This award will leverage approximately $14.8 million in first mortgages from private lending institutions and second mortgage funds from other federal sources, which will create over 200 new first-time, low-income homebuyers over the next three years. Approximately 58 percent of this award will be targeted to Hot Zones.

HomeSight
Location: Seattle, WA
Award: $500,000
Contact: Tanesha Van Leuven - 206-760-4226
HomeSight’s mission is the revitalization of communities through innovative home-ownership strategies. Homesight provides financial products and services to residents of economically distressed communities within Snohomish and King counties, including Seattle. The Fund’s $500,000 award will be used to enhance a new revolving loan fund through which low-income homebuyers can obtain subordinated amortizing loans. It is estimated that 86 percent of this award will be targeted to Hot Zones.

Neighborhood Housing Services of Orange County, Inc.
Location: Anaheim, CA
Award: $500,000
Contact: Ken Mutter – 714-490-1250
Neighborhood Housing Services of Orange County (NHS OC) is an organization whose goal is to transform lives and transform neighborhoods. NHS OC provides a comprehensive array of services and lending products focused upon increasing homeownership, preserving and developing affordable housing stock. The Fund’s $500,000 will allow NHS OC to lower its loan interest rate to borrowers and leverage needed additional capital. NHS OC estimates it may serve 167 first-time buyers over the next three years with approximately 75 percent buying in Hot Zones.

Neighborhood Housing Services Silicon Valley
Location: San Jose, CA
Award: $1,000,000
Contact: Joyce Duxbury - 408-279-2600, ext. 228
Neighborhood Housing Services Silicon Valley (NHS SV) was certified as a CDFI in January 2002. NHS SV is a housing loan fund that works with the low-income residents of the San Jose, California area, an area with extremely high housing costs. The Fund’s $1 million award will support NHS SV’s new product -– a fully amortized third mortgage. The new mortgage product will be used in combination with the deferred second mortgage to reduce the amount of deferred financing needed by each homebuyer and help most homebuyers avoid private mortgage insurance. Almost all of this award will be targeted to Hot Zones.

For more information about CDFI programs and this year’s recipients, visit www.cdfifund.gov.

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