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NeighborWorks America Builds Capacity of Nonprofits in Gulf Coast With New Housing Resource Center, Chartering Event, Ongoing Training
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NeighborWorks America's recovery efforts in the Gulf Coast region were bolstered in June, with the addition of a charter member and the opening of a homeownership center in Louisiana. NeighborWorks also held a four-day Gulf Coast Community Leadership Institute (CLI) in New Orleans that provided
training, opportunities for relationship building, and leadership development
for more than 300 residents
from a variety of Gulf Coast grassroots and nonprofit organizations. In addition, NeighborWorks America
staff partnered with the East Biloxi Coordination and Redevelopment Agency on a volunteer project in East Biloxi, Mississippi. Learn more.
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| Citi Awards $250,000 to
Support the NeighborWorks Center for Homeownership Education & Counseling |
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Citi and the Citi Foundation announced a $250,000 grant to NeighborWorks America in June to support the NeighborWorks Center for Homeownership Education and Counseling.
NeighborWorks America intends to use the grant funds to increase the number of trained and certified homeownership counselors nationwide and develop tools and best practices to maximize program efficiencies. Housing counselors will be trained at local and regional training events around the U.S. A portion of the funds from the grant will enable a number of scholarships to the NCHEC training events. Learn more.
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Faith-Based Foreclosure Prevention Campaign Launches in New Jersey
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Close to 100 Trenton, New Jersey faith-based and civic leaders attended a "train-the-trainer" foreclosure prevention event conducted by NeighborWorks America on May 31, to learn how they could help their fellow Trenton residents combat foreclosure. The training was followed by a press conference with Mayor Douglas Palmer, who outlined an aggressive faith-based outreach effort to help homeowners know the options available to them. Learn more.
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| Community Strategies represent the shared experience of NeighborWorks America and its member organizations in various topics of community development and affordable housing. |
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| The
NeighborWorks Training
Institute is dedicated to providing the highest quality training
for community development practitioners. Learn about the latest
classes and symposia on leading-edge topics. |
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NeighborWorks America Honors Resident, Government and Private-Sector Volunteers with the 2008 NeighborWorks Awards
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NeighborWorks America has announced the winners of the 2008 NeighborWorks Awards, which annually recognize
the contributions of resident, government and business volunteers.
The Dorothy Richardson Resident Leadership Award honors eight community leaders from around the country for their achievements in the field of affordable housing and community-based development. The Business Leadership Award honors private-sector individuals for their dedication to the community through their volunteerism of time and talent, while the Government Service Award recognizes individuals whose work at the federal, state and local levels improves the lives of those in communities of need. In 2008, special consideration was given to those who have made significant contributions in the face of the current foreclosure crisis. Learn more about the NeighborWorks Awards Program and the 2008 winners.
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| NeighborWorks Recognizes Three Homeownership Innovators |
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Three entities have won the NeighborWorks America 2008 Innovations in Homeownership Contest. The winners are NHS Mortgage Corp. for "The Borrower's Broker," a program that supports sustainable homeownership; HOME Rochester for its collaborative treatment of foreclosed and vacant properties in the city of Rochester; and a post-purchase program called Preserving Homeownership and Savings Education Strategy launched by Money Management International. More information on the winners and the runners-up is available on the NeighborWorks Web site.
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NeighborWorks Member NHDC in Florida Recognized for Green Building Project
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A new project developed by Neighborhood Housing and Development Corporation (NHDC), a NeighborWorks network member, was featured in the Spring 2008 issue of Florida Housing Coalition’s Housing News Network journal for its affordable, green features. NHDC’s North Point at Ironwood development is certified by Florida Green Building Coalition because of its Energy Star features, water efficiency, lot choice, healthy materials and home buyer education. North Point is one of several developments that will be recognized as a “green success story” during Florida Housing Coalition’s statewide national conference September 15-17. Learn more [PDF](pages 18-20)
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Gas Hikes Hit Rural Areas Hard
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NeighborWorks network member, Neighborhood Development Services (NDS), Inc., in northeastern Ohio, is just one of many employers across the country offering the option of a four-day work week to help employees cut back on high fuel costs. In a recent Christian Science Monitor article, NDS executive director Dave Vaughan, said the problem of high gas prices is especially acute in rural areas, where public transportation alternatives are limited. "I didn't want to lose people," Vaughan said of the program. "In rural areas, gas price increases are more challenging because we don't have the mass transit alternative — we can't jump on a bus or take a train." Vaughn said more than half of his 19 employees have began the program. Read more.
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| Demand for Homebuyer Education Rises in Wake of Home Crisis |
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Concerned by foreclosures but keen to take advantage of sliding home prices, a growing number of prospective buyers in the United States are signing up for homebuyer education courses, according to reports by several NeighborWorks network members interviewed by Reuters. "These people have seen what's happened around them, to their neighbors, their friends or their family," said Tim Bolding, executive director of NeighborWorks member United Housing in Tennessee. Attendance at United Housing's homebuyer classes — mainly for low income borrowers — has jumped some 30 percent this year as a result, Bolding said. At the same time, many of the nonprofit groups say it’s a struggle to help prospective homeowners these days because their resources are stretched thin by providing foreclosure prevention counseling. Read more.
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| Blight of US Home Foreclosures May Take Years to Heal |
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The economic blight of mounting home foreclosures in some American communities could take years to heal, according to government officials and housing advocates, such as Marietta Rodriguez, the national director of home ownership programs for NeighborWorks America. In a recent AFP article on the crisis, experts predicted that the number of homes entering foreclosure will have a serious impact on whole neighborhoods and communities for many years to come. But city officials and nonprofit agencies are acting now, implementing a number of solutions to stave off further foreclosures. These include working with banks to adjust a borrower’s loan. But this process is often complicated, said Rodriguez, because many banks have traded their mortgage portfolios around the world, sometimes selling them to foreign banks. Read more.
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| Foreclosure Crisis Brings Congress to Cleveland |
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A Congressional subcommittee visited Cleveland, Ohio, June 16 to consider additional federal regulations that might help people who are losing their homes or about to lose them. Bankers, lenders, and community organizations working to prevent foreclosures all testified during of the Subcommittee on Housing and Community Opportunity, held at Cleveland State University. Congresswoman Maxine Waters of California chairs the subcommittee. Several Ohio Congressional representatives joined subcommittee members during the four-hour hearing. Learn more.
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| Congressman Steve Kagen Visits NeighborWorks Green Bay to Promote Credit Counseling and Mortgage Assistance Legislation |
| Congressman Steve Kagen (WI) recently toured the NeighborWorks Green Bay offices and HomeOwnership Center, and held a press conference on credit counseling and mortgage assistance. Congressman Kagen emphasized his support of The American Housing Rescue and Foreclosure Prevention Act and the Neighborhood Stabilization Act. Learn more. |
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| U.S. Senator Kit Bond Thanks Foreclosure Counselors at NeighborWorks Event |
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Senator Kit Bond (MO) addressed 220 counselors attending the St. Louis National Foreclosure Mitigation Counseling Program Multi-Course Placed-Based Training, co-hosted by NeighborWorks America's North Central District last month. Senator Bond briefed the audience on foreclosure legislation that is currently being considered by Congress and thanked counselors for the great work they are doing in their respective communities. Learn more.
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| New Award for Nonprofit Collaboration Deadline July 21 |
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The Lodestar Foundation is now accepting nominations for an award of $250,000 that recognizes collaboration among two or more nonprofit organizations that each would otherwise provide the same or similar programs or services and compete for clients, financial resources and staff. The prize seeks to build an information base of effective practice models that can be studied and used by academics, nonprofit leaders and grantmakers to inspire and advance their work. For more information, visit www.thecollaborationprize.org.
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Community Improvement Project Assistance from Lowe's
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The Lowe’s Charitable and Educational Foundation (LCEF) funds community improvement projects and home safety initiatives, including building repair and renovation, community clean-up, landscaping and painting projects, construction and trades related initiatives and playground enhancements. Applications are awarded on an ongoing basis. An eligibility test is available on their Web site.
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| Green Building Initiative Planning Grants from Kresge Foundation |
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The Kresge Foundation awards planning grants on an ongoing basis for the renovation and historic preservation of existing structures – as well as new green construction. Grants range from $50,000 to $100,000 to support the integrated design process for the following projects:
- Renovation
- Historic preservation
- New construction designed to achieve LEED – Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design – certification at the Platinum level from the U.S. Green Building Council
- New construction designed to meet the Cascadia Region Green Building Council’s Living Building Challenge (also endorsed by the U.S. Green Building Council)
- New construction designed to be net-zero energy efficient (the facility produces as much energy as it consumes each year)
The Foundation recently announced grant awards totaling nearly $43 million. Visit the Kresge Foundation online for more information on the costs covered by the planning grants, as well as application and eligibility criteria.
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| Community Organizing & Building Courses Filling Fast! |
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Don't miss your chance to participate in the popular Community Organizing and Building courses at the Chicago Training Institute this August. Courses are filling quickly, so register now before space is gone. Two courses are already completely full, and three are close to full. Learn more about the courses and the Community Organizing Symposium online at www.nw.org/training.
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| AH350 - Advanced Bond Financing Offered in Chicago |
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This hands-on course gives experienced practitioners the opportunity to enhance their experience with training in formal bond transactions in community development. Through this course, practitioners broaden their understanding and learn to analyze bond transaction choices, and gain better insight into the particular issues related to bond transactions. Learn more about this valuable course and register today while space is still available.
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| New Course Focuses on Strengthening the Community Organizing Workforce |
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In this interactive class, participants will learn about successful strategies for recruitment and retention, based on information that has been gathered from across the community development field. Participants will leave this class with a tool kit to help them locate, attract and retain a top notch workforce to reach their organization's goals. In the course, ML 299 - Strengthening Your Human Resource Toolbox: New Strategies for Retention and Recruitment, strategies from across the country will be examined and best practices shared. Learn more about this class being offered at the Chicago Training Institute this August and register now.
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| More Than 500 Participants Have Taken the New Online E-Learning Foreclosure Basics Course |
| NeighborWorks America launched a new E-Learning Foreclosure Basics course last month, and already more than 500 people have taken it. The course introduces participants to the tools and skills needed to make a difference in the lives of residents in their communities, while still being close to home and the tasks at hand. The online course satisfies one of the requirements for counseling certification and is equivalent to the popular two-day Foreclosure Basics course taught at the NeighborWorks Training Institutes and regional trainings. Sign up for this course now – offered either online or at the Chicago Training Institute this August. |
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Report Cites Strategies for Perpetual Affordable Housing
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A new report from the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University and NeighborWorks America inventories strategies for maintaining affordable housing toward perpetuity in hot markets. The strategies span rental and homeownership delivery mechanisms, subsidy and equity sharing, cooperatives and community governance, land regulation, extending existing termed programs, and generating funds to sustain affordable housing. According to the study, "neither relying on inclusionary zoning nor extending affordable housing programs should be considered a replacement for federal subsidies." To access the report, "Long-Term Affordable Housing Strategies in Hot Housing Markets," click here.
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Publication Showcases Foreclosure Prevention in Rural America
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The latest issue of "Rural Voices," the quarterly magazine of the Housing Assistance Council, explains the impact of the foreclosure crisis on rural America and describes programs that have helped rural families keep their homes. Among the authors was David Dangler, director of NeighborWorks America Rural Initiative. To access the magazine, click here.
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| NeighborWorks Consumer Home Buying Guides |
| The newest additions to our growing range of valuable practitioner resources are the Consumer Home Buying Guides, a set of four consumer-focused guides to various stages of the home buying process. Developed by Fannie Mae Foundation, these guides deliver practical, specific and concise information in a user-friendly format. For more information on the guides, including translations into a number of languages and ordering details, click here. |
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