Federal Reserve Governor and Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation Board Chair Edward M. Gramlich announced an innovative loan product pilot developed through a collaboration among Neighborhood Housing Services of America (NHSA), Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation and Fannie Mae. In this pilot, the second mortgages made by local NeighborWorks organizations would be purchased by NHSA and sold to Fannie Mae at their cash window. This second mortgage product greatly increases the availability of funds for down payments, which is is the biggest barrier to homeownership for low-income families.

The announcement was part of a 30th anniversary recognition breakfast for NHSA held this week in Washington D.C. NHSA also used the event to announce its new e-commerce Web site, www.nhsaonline.org. View Governor Gramlich's remarks.

The Center for Financial Services Innovation announced awards totaling approximately $500,000 to four applicants offering a range of programs to better serve the underbanked across the country. Community Action Project, a Tulsa, Oklahoma, NeighborWorks organization, was among the awardees. The organization received funds for their Web-based benefits eligibility screening tool, for use by low-income Oklahomans via employers, to link government benefits to savings products at area banks and credit unions.

Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation participated in the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute’s Issues Conference held September 13. Representative Nydia Velazquez (D-NY) led the forum on “Increasing Hispanic Homeownership: Barriers and Strategies for Success.” Nelson Merced, Neighborhood Reinvestment’s director of National Initiatives and Applied Research, offered comments on cultural barriers to homeownership as well as the importance of high-quality homebuyer education. For more information on the conference, please visit www.chci.org.

The Community Development Financial Institutions Fund (CDFI) recently announced 21 awards totaling $929,506 under the technical assistance component of its program. These awards provide grants to CDFIs and entities proposing to become CDFIs in order to build their capacity to better address the community development finance needs of their communities. Rainbow Community Organization, Inc. (d.b.a. Project Renew), a NeighborWorks organization, was among the technical assistance awardees this year. The Fort Wayne, Indiana, organization won a $50,000 grant to purchase needed technology; to obtain consulting services to assist with a market analysis, lending and financial management systems, and development of microbusiness lending; and for staff and board training.

Close to 50 banks and thrifts were awarded $17 million for the Bank Enterprise Awards program at the Community Development Financial Institutions Fund. These are very flexible awards: some financial institutions have used these funds for grants to CDC projects or loan funds. For more information about this year's awardees, visit www.cdfifund.gov.

Sign up now for one of the year's most popular NeighborWorks Training Institutes venues!

Registration information. Download Registration Form [PDF] Network Member Registration [PDF]

A special symposium on board development will take place at the New Orleans NeighborWorks Training Institute on December 16. This interactive event will provide the forum for you to:
• Take a fresh look at your board -- how you work together and how to bring your board’s work to the next level of excellence
• Hear from other board members and governance experts about resources and methodology that can work for you
• Work with other participants to explore and develop creative, innovative approaches that make board work more fun, value-driven and effective
• Leave with ideas, skills, tools and techniques to unleash the power of your board!
Symposium information 

The Center for Responsible Lending's latest research provides a disturbing indication that predatory lenders are draining hard-earned wealth from rural families. Read the study's key findings (pdf).
Rural homeowners are more likely than similar urban borrowers to have subprime mortgages with prepayment penalties imposed for three years or longer. A majority of rural borrowers who received subprime home loans in 2002 -- nearly 63 percent -- had a prepayment penalty with a term of two years or longer. The disparity appears to be widening over time. In 2000, rural subprime homeowners were eight percent more likely than similar urban borrowers to receive a prepayment penalty
with a term of at least five years. By 2002, the difference had climbed to 20 percent.

View study. [PDF]

The generously illustrated Design Advisor Web site showcases attractive design in affordable housing development. For example, at one Los Angeles apartment complex which houses families with low and very low incomes, someone observed that people needed a place to sit next to the play area and that this could be accomplished by simply thickening the concrete edge which kept the sand in the play area. The result is a great set of outdoor seats that blend into the landscaping and create a truly special place for residents and visitors. View Design Advisor.