NeighborWorks Invests More Than $11 M in Communities

For Immediate Release

July 28, 2006
Contact: Douglas Robinson, 202-220-2360; drobinson@nw.org

NeighborWorks® America Invests More than $11 Million in
Communities Around the Country

(Washington, D.C.) – Thousands of communities across the nation received a much-needed affordable housing boost when NeighborWorks America distributed more than $11.4 million in grants to its national network of more than 240 organizations.

Housing and community development organizations around the country use the funds to increase homeownership, produce and manage affordable, high-quality rental properties, empower consumers through financial literacy and homeownership education and counseling, stem the tide of foreclosures that threaten neighborhoods and local economies, and revitalize and strengthen communities.

This was the second round of grants this year, including a special deployment of more than $2.1 million to provide relief for communities and people devastated by last year’s hurricanes. NeighborWorks America distributed $75 million in the first round in Jaunary.

NeighborWorks hurricane related grants help evacuees resettle in NeighborWorks communities across the nation, while also financing rebuilding efforts in affected communities across the Gulf Coast. Moreover, NeighborWorks funds are financing a public education campaign that gives practical advice on ways to rehabilitate flood-damaged homes, avoid foreclosure after missing mortgage payments due to loss of income, steer clear of predatory lenders.

Research shows that for every dollar spent on affordable housing, at least $10 are returned to the community in the form of increased equity to start new businesses and pay for higher education, job creation and stability, tax revenue, and citizens more engaged in their local communities and political process.

“Investments in affordable housing and community development represent an engine of economic and social wealth,” said NeighborWorks America CEO Ken Wade.

As the nation’s largest certifier of homeownership counselors, NeighborWorks created a national force of counselors, who have served more than 500,000 people with pre- and post-purchase guidance and education. By 2007, NeighborWorks will increase national capacity to serve more than two million individuals each year. Borrowers who received NeighborWorks counseling have half the default risk of those who have not participated in a counseling program.

Homeownership plays a vital role in helping families move into the economic mainstream and stay there. A report by The Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard University showed that low-income homeowners had a net worth more than 60 times that of renters at the same income level.

In addition to homeownership, NeighborWorks organizations across the nation are helping families grow their assets through matched savings programs called Individual Development Accounts. Families can use this money for down payments or home safety updates and renovations. Other rungs in the ladder of opportunity NeighborWorks provide include: full-service affordable rental housing; educational and financial alliances with insurance providers; the repair and rebuilding of damaged housing, and providing catalysts for housing and economic development investments in struggling rural areas.

NeighborWorks recently began using the Success Measures Data System as one important tool to quantify the results generated among its member organizations. This state-of-the-art program can measure outcomes such as changes in safety, property values, levels of civic engagement and the quality and performance of schools and healthcare. “Capturing these quantifiable outcomes will help us to work smarter in serving the real and present needs in our communities,” Wade said.

“As stewards of taxpayer money and advocates for our most needy neighbors, we must make sure our investments are working in ways that truly make a difference,” Wade said. “It’s not good enough to talk about simple counts of housing units produced or dollars leveraged. We must be willing to hold ourselves accountable for results. If banks and actuaries can refine their investment and insurance packages with increasing accuracy and sophistication, we also must find new ways to measure the impact of our work.”

About NeighborWorks America

NeighborWorks America provides financial support, technical assistance and training for communities across the nation, including the NeighborWorks network – a nationwide network of more than 240 community development organizations working in more than 4,400 urban, suburban and rural communities across America. These organizations engage in revitalization strategies that strengthen communities and transform lives. In the last five years alone, NeighborWorks organizations have generated more than $10 billion in reinvestment and helped more than 780,000 families of modest means purchase or improve their homes or secure safe, decent rental or mutual housing.