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NeighborWorks
Generated One-Half Billion Dollar Investment in Lower-Income
Communities in Quarter
The
NeighborWorks network generated more than $584 million of
direct investment in 2,500 lower-income communities nationwide
during the first quarter of fiscal year 2004 (October 1, 2003
through December 31, 2003), building on momentum from a record-setting
fiscal year 2003. View
press release.
Tune
In as NeighborWorks Partners with Sears on ABC's Extreme
Makeover -- Home Edition
When
Diane and Mark Cadigan passed away within 16 days of each
other, the couple left behind eight children, ages 12 to 23,
to make their own way in the world. To help ease some of this
family's grief and relieve the stress of living in a deteriorating
house in Livermore, California, the design team from Extreme
Makeover -- Home Edition will rip up and tear down practically
everything to make way for a beautiful, dramatically different
house. This is the season's final episode. The ABC program
airs May 23, 8/7c. NeighborWorks and its partner, the Sears
American Dream Campaign, also have a surprise awaiting the
family. Viewers will also be referred to the NeighborWorks
Web site for information about home-ownership counseling services.
"We're
happy to pursue this opportunity with Sears and ABC,"
said Jeff Epremian, development and communications director
for Neighborhood Reinvestment." Beyond the family receiving
help, many other viewers will have the chance to learn about
NeighborWorks housing counseling services by visiting our
Web site."
National
NeighborWorks Weeks Events Planned for June 5-12
Every
year, tens of thousands of people across the country participate
in National NeighborWorks Week. They roll up their sleeves
with neighbors, friends, co-workers and local leaders, and
work to transform their communities. View
NeighborWorks
Week Web site.
Community
Development the Colonial Way: Hard Work and 'Mind-Numbing'
Tasks
A PBS reality show
running this week demonstrates community development in the
colonial age. Craig Tuminaro (son of NR officer Steve Tuminaro)
was among those who started the day chopping wood, starting
a fire, cooking food, feeding animals, and carrying logs.
"It has been said that the United States was built upon
the great accomplishments of great men and women, but we discovered
that it also stands upon the hard work and labor of countless
people who performed these mind-numbing tasks day after day
after day," Tuminaro said. Visit
PBS Colonial House.
NeighborWorks
Officials Join NCUA Workshop to
Help Credit Unions Make More Mortgages
Two representatives of the NeighborWorks network will serve
as keynote speakers at a free workshop for credit union officials
on expanding homeownership opportunities to people of modest
means. The workshop, sponsored by Deborah Matz, the National
Credit Union Administration representative on Neighborhood
Reinvestment's board, will be held in Boston on June 2. She
will be joined by Nelson Merced, director, National Intiatives
and Applied Research for Neighborhood Reinvestment, and Felix
Torres, executive director of Manchester Neighborhood Housing
Services. View
article.
2004 James A. Johnson Fellows Announced
The 2004 James
A. Johnson Fellows were honored in Washington, D.C. on May
10. Two of the four recipients are members of the NeighborWorks
network. Congratulations to Bruce Gottschall and Lee Beaulac
for winning this prestigious fellowship. View
article.
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| Community
Strategies represents the shared experience of the NeighborWorks
network and Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation 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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| Neighborhood
Reinvestment, working closely with members of the NeighborWorks
network and partners, produces a wide-variety of publications. Most
are free and others cost a nominal fee to order. For a complete
listing and order forms, go to NeighborWorks Publications. |
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| Find lists
and charts on Neighborhood Reinvestment and the NeighborWorks
network organizations. |
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Share Your Homeownership
Innovations and You Could Win $2,000 Award!
Has your organization
designed some great new marketing ads, developed a new partnership
with local employers or set up a popular new postpurchase training
class? Now's the chance to gain some national recognition for your
local homeownership efforts and win some cash too! Neighborhood
Reinvestment is pleased to announce its Innovations in Homeownership
contest! We will be awarding four cash prizes of $2,000 to nonprofit
organizations that have developed and implemented great new homeownership
strategies. More
information.
Hawaii
MHA Has Big Impact on Neighborhood
An
East Honolulu neighborhood is on the rebound, thanks in part to
the work of a Hawaii NeighborWorks organization, Hawaii Mutual Housing
Association. "The renovation of this very large, formally public
housing project has been really fabulous," says Margaret Frisbee,
director of Neighborhood Reinvestment's Pacific district. View
article.
NHS of Phoenix
Receives Grant from Wells Fargo
Neighborhood
Housing Services of Phoenix will receive a $50,000 grant from Wells
Fargo. The NeighborWorks organization will use the grant money to
provide education, counseling, and down payment and closing cost
assistance to low- and moderate-income home buyers in south central
Phoenix.
NCC Loans
Spur NeighborWorks Multifamily Development
Gwinnett
Housing Resource Partnership in Gwinnett County, Ga., is expanding
new affordable housing from 50 units to 96 units assisted by a $715,000
interim development loan from Neighborhood Capital Corporation.
Mutual Housing Association of Greater Hartford, Conn., plans to
build 24 units of affordable multifamily housing with a $150,000
predevelopment loan from NCC.
NHS of Green
Bay and Associated Bank Offer 'Urban Partnership Choice Mortgage
Program'
According
to the Green Bay News Chronicle, Associated Bank will relegate
$500,000 for "below-market-rate" loans for exterior home
improvements as part of a new partnership mortgage program. The
bank will also pay for some closing costs of up to $400. NeighborWorks
member NHS of Green Bay will provide up to $4,000 in down payment
aid. The sum can be put towards a zero-percent interest rate, deferred
payments and forgivable loans.
Fifth Ward Partners With Hewlett Packard
on Digital Divide Solution
Community
Redevelopment Corporation (Fifth Ward CRC), a Houston NeighborWorks
organization, in partnership with HP, kicked off its Technology
Access Points program this month. The goal is to bridge the digital
divide, create access, and increase awareness of the “5th
Ward/HP i-community.” Various computer equipment valued at
$10,000 was awarded to 5th Ward residents as part of a celebratory
event.
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HUD’s
Recalculation of Section 8 Voucher Funding
On April 22, HUD
issued a notice (PIH Notice 2004-7) to implement the Section
8 voucher renewal changes in the FY 2004 omnibus appropriations
bill. Under the notice, HUD announced it would calculate FY
2004 Section 8 voucher renewal funding based upon the number
of vouchers under lease as of August 1, 2003, plus a small
inflation adjustment. This decision is retroactive to January
1, 2004, therefore a number of states and localities report
that they would lose monies already paid out this year. This
change in Section 8 renewal funding, which is at odds with
the commitment of some members of Congress to fully fund existing
vouchers, could result in funding shortfalls for public housing
agencies and potentially thousands of families losing their
vouchers. HUD’s
notice [PDF]
U.S. Senate Response
On April 29, Senate
VA, HUD and Independent Agencies Appropriations Subcommittee
Chairman Christopher Bond (R-MO) sent a letter to HUD Secretary
Jackson detailing his concerns with HUD’s implementation
of the Section 8 voucher provisions included in the FY 2004
appropriations bill.
U.S.
House of Representatives’ Response
On May 4, House
Financial Services Committee Ranking Member Barney Frank (D-MA)
and Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) introduced legislation
(H.R. 4263) to ensure full funding of all existing Section
8 vouchers. The bill would clarify the intent of language
in the FY 2004 appropriations bill concerning the Section
8 housing voucher program. Senator Edward M. Kennedy (D-MA)
plans to introduce companion legislation in the Senate shortly.
Navajo Partnership for Housing Testifies
On May 3, the House Financial Services Committee, Subcommittee
on Housing and Community Opportunity, held a field hearing
in the Navajo Nation, entitled Improving Housing Opportunities
for Native Americans. Rene Konski, loan officer of American
Financial Resources and board president of the Navajo Partnership
for Housing (a NeighborWorks organization), testified. View
more information.
Zero-Downpayment Act
On May 5th, the
House Financial Services Subcommittee on Housing and Community
Opportunity passed an amended version of H.R. 3755, the Zero
Downpayment Act, which would provide FHA loans over 100 percent
LTV to approximately 150 families in the first year. The amendment
included language that requires the buyer to receive counseling
by an independent third party, approved by the Secretary of
HUD. NeighborWorks organizations that are HUD-approved counseling
agencies would qualify to provide this counseling. The bill
will proceed to the full Financial Services Committee for
markup later this month. View
information.
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HUD
Releases 2004 "SuperNOFA" Grants
HUD
has consolidated most of its grants into one SuperNOFA. Please
note that each grant has its own application process and its
own deadline. View
2004 SuperNOFA.
NEA
Arts Education for Children & Youth - June 14
This
funding supports projects that help children and youth acquire
knowledge, skills, and understanding of the arts, including
dance, design, literature, theatre, and several other disciplines.
View
eligibility guidelines.
Department
of Education Community Technology Centers Program - June 1
This
grant aims to create or expand community technology centers
that provide disadvantaged residents of economically distressed
urban and rural communities with access to information technology
and related training. Contact: Karen Holliday, 202-245-7708;
email: Karen.Holliday@ed.gov. View
guidelines.
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Urban Communities:
The Future of Successful Regions - June 4
NHS
of Cleveland NeighborWorks HomeOwnership Center is among the
sponsors of this event at Case Western Reserve University,
Cleveland. More
information.
NeighborWorks
Training Institute -- August 9-13 in Washington, D.C.
Mark
your calendar for the NeighborWorks Training Institute in
Washington, D.C. August 9-13.
This Institute will feature more than 70 cutting-edge courses,
including:
Tuition-Free Courses in
Spanish
Are you a predominately Spanish-speaking community development
practitioner working with a growing Latino population? Then
consider taking these courses in Spanish at no tuition cost:
Aptitud
Financiera: Enseñando Destrezas de Administración
Financiera (Financial Fitness) – 3-day course.
Consejería
para la Compra del Hogar (Housing Counseling) –
2-day course
These courses will help you learn important skills and tools,
and you will receive the materials in Spanish. Translation
of these course materials was made possible by funding from
the MetLife Foundation. Download
Flyer
Symposium - Homeownership
Education and Counseling: Where Do We Go From Here?
This symposium
to be held on Wednesday, August 11, will provide an opportunity
for participants to engage in structured discussions on how
to advance the quality, sustainability and scale of homeownership
education and counseling. At this symposium, sponsored by
Bank of America, Fannie Mae, and Freddie Mac, participants
will review the history of homeownership education and counseling
and analyze trends for the future. Learn what recent studies
tell us about the value of homeownership education and counseling
and which elements are most effective. Explore how the field
can appeal to a broader range of industry stakeholders to
help expand and maintain high-quality homeownership education
and counseling programs. Examine quality-standards and success
measures for homeownership education and counseling. View
more information.
Advanced Practitioner
Program (APP) Offerings
The following APP courses will be offered:
Exit
Strategies for LIHTC Projects (AP301) - August 9-10
Creating
a Culture of Evaluation (AP310) - August 9-10
The APP is designed for seasoned community development practitioners
and their board members.
NeighborWorks Community Leadership Institute
- July 15-18, 2004 in Kansas City, Mo.
The NeighborWorks
Community Leadership Institute, which will be held July 15-18,
2004 in Kansas City, Mo. at the Kansas City Marriott Downtown,
will provide resident leaders with the opportunity to share
and learn about proactive approaches for dealing with neighborhood
issues. The Institute, sponsored by Neighborhood Reinvestment’s
North Central and Great Lakes districts, will focus on the
theme of “Developing Effective Leaders, Building Diverse
Communities” and will give participants the chance to
visit local neighborhood improvement projects and challenge
themselves and others to explore culturally sensitive issues.
The registration deadline is Monday, May 24.
Download
Brochure and Registration Form [PDF]
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