<HBCU>

Affordable Housing Finance Certification Program for
Historically Black Colleges and Universities

Full scholarships available for training and coaching --
applications must be postmarked Monday, March 31, 2008!

NeighborWorks America is pleased to collaborate with Danya International, Inc. and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to offer a new and exciting community development program for Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). The HBCU Affordable Housing Finance Certification Program seeks to help selected participants gain the skills and experience necessary to develop and successfully manage sustainable housing and economic development projects for the HBCU and its community development corporation (CDC) partner.

The HBCU Affordable Housing Finance Certification Program leverages NeighborWorks America’s assets to strengthen and broaden the number of HBCUs and their CDC partners engaged in community development projects across the country. These assets include nationally recognized training institutes, a cadre of seasoned trainers, NeighborWorks America district staff who possess significant experience in all aspects of housing and economic development, and a team of consultants/practitioners who possess the technical expertise to help organizations move their community development projects forward.

Fifty individuals from across the country will be selected for this program. The certification program is ideal for professionals within the HBCU or its CDC partner responsible for implementing community development projects. Even if an HBCU has just begun exploring how to become involved in community development projects, this program provides HBCU representatives with the technical training and coaching to help identify and successfully develop and manage a new project. More than one individual from an HBCU may apply for a slot in this program. Applications may be submitted together; however, multiple applications from the same HBCU will still require separate letters of acknowledgement from the HBCU president and CDC board president (if in existence).

What We Look for in a Candidate
What You Can Expect To Get Out of the Program
Seizing the Opportunity – Components of the Program
How Long is This Program?
Schedule
Program Cost
How to Apply

What We Look for in a Candidate

Approximately 50 experienced leaders who are responsible for affordable housing and/or community economic development projects will be selected to participate in this highly innovative and challenging program. The typical selected participant will be an executive director or senior staff person with significant authority in a community development department within the HBCU or community development organization. Preferably, this person should have two or more years of community development experience (even if it is not at the same organization). Those selected must be dedicated to developing their skills and capacity and improving their performance in order to take their development projects to the next level.

What You Can Expect To Get Out of the Program

Selected participants will be responsible for shaping and conducting their learning around a specific housing or economic development opportunity. Your investment in participating in this program not only benefits you professionally, but also the HBCU and or CDC you work for, and the community you serve. Participants work to complete their own customized work plan, which includes a combination of 10 days of exciting, yet challenging, courses, coaching by leading experts in the field of housing finance, and significant peer networking.

The selected training and coaching participants will focus on current or potential development projects managed by their organizations. For participants representing HBCUs with existing housing or economic development projects underway, this program will help enhance existing skills, and develop new ones, to better prepare them to lead and manage projects to successful completion. For HBCUs in the beginning stages of community development, this program will help prepare their representatives to understand key requirements for successfully planning and implementing housing or economic development projects. Ultimately, this program helps expose participants to a wide array of solutions that can prove critical in the development and implementation of sustainable housing or economic development projects.

Seizing the Opportunity – Components of the Program

In addition to submitting an application that provides information on their backgrounds, all participants shall submit information on actual or potential projects they are managing with their HBCU or CDC partner; these projects will be used throughout the program. A NeighborWorks representative will assess each participant and project submitted to determine what requirements and constraints may exist that could potentially hamper the progress of the project.

Implementing a housing or economic development project is never easy, and definitely cannot be completed overnight. Successful projects require the engagement and leveraging of all resources – staff expertise, HBCU resources and capital. Participants will commit -- to their respective institutions, CDC boards, this program and themselves -- to define success and develop a plan of action to achieve it. This program provides the space and support to seize the opportunity to advance both their learning and their respective projects by committing the necessary time and energy required to achieve their goals.

The strategy designed to broaden the skills of the participants and help advance their projects is to get them to apply lessons learned in the classroom and in their work with a coach for their actual development projects. The following components of the program are mandatory for all participants.

Coursework

Each participant will be required to take a minimum of 10 days of courses at NeighborWorks Training Institutes (NTIs). The required number of courses is identified in days, not hours. It is anticipated that there may be a wide range in housing and economic development finance knowledge and experience among program participants. Part of the assessment mentioned above includes determining the level of expertise of the participant and recommending which courses will be required to complete the training certification portion of the program.

If the participant can demonstrate (as part of the individualized assessment) the required skills (e.g., testing out of a course or evidence of completing a similar course content) for any of the required courses, a supplemental course may be substituted to meet the minimum number of training days required. Each participant will attend two NTIs to complete the necessary coursework as identified in the individual training assessment. Each NTI offers five days of training in various locations across the country and participants will be expected to attend the two NTIs for the full five days at each.

A sample of the kinds of courses that will be available to the participants:

Core Courses (required):

Real Estate Financing Nuts and Bolts

Project Feasibility Analysis

Bank Financing: Assembling Your Loan Package and Discussing Your Deal

Creative Project Financing Strategies

Using Bonds to Finance Affordable Housing Development

Supplementary Skill Courses:

Intermediate Bond Financing

Nuts and Bolts of Asset Management

Managing the Construction Production Process

Commercial Real Estate Development

Mixed Use Development

Working with a Coach

This program is designed to help develop participants’ housing finance skills, which will increase their capacity to manage their housing or economic development project successfully. To help achieve this, they will be assigned coaches who will work with them to assess the progress of their respective projects, and may conduct site visits to meet with them and others from the participant’s team to address questions or concerns about the project. Participants may also be asked to visit the offices of the coach to observe other housing or economic development projects and to shadow him/her. The coach will serve as a resource to help in transferring their classroom learning into real-world application.

Learning Circles

Attending NTIs provides participants with the opportunity to take courses that will improve their skills and make them more effective in their jobs. It also provides networking opportunities to learn from the experiences of other practitioners in the program. At least one evening session will be scheduled at each NTI to bring all HBCU Affordable Housing Finance Certification Program participants together to talk about their individual progress, as well as opportunities and challenges associated with their proposed projects. Facilitated by a NeighborWorks representative, the learning circles provide a unique time to share, compare and strategize with other program participants. These sessions also allow program participants to connect with their coaches.

How Long is This Program?

Successful participants must invest significant time and effort toward achieving their individual and organizational goals over the nine months of the program. The time commitment includes:

attending two NTIs for a full five days at each to complete the necessary coursework,
working with a coach in person at your office and/or their office,
periodic phone conversations with your coach,
individual meetings with your coach while attending the NTIs, and
meeting with NeighborWorks representatives to assess your progress in completing all aspects of the program.

Given time required to complete this program, it is critical that your HBCU president or CDC board fully understand and support the time commitment needed. This support will be demonstrated by returning signed copies of the letters of acknowledgement that accompany the application. NeighborWorks representatives may also contact the leadership of the HBCU or the CDC to address any questions they may have about the program and its requirements for participation.

The table below can be used to help you plan your travel schedule. Remember, you have to commit to attend a maximum of 10 days of course time at two out of the following three NTIs in 2008:

May 5 to 9: Cincinnati NTI - five days coursework, learning circles, networking reception
August 18-22: Chicago NTI - five days coursework, learning circles, networking reception
December 8 to 12: Washington, DC, NTI - five days coursework, learning circles, networking reception
Possible short visits to/from assigned coach

Schedule

Dates	Actions Required
Monday, March 31 , 2008	Postmark deadline for applications
Early April	Candidates notified of decision
April 2008	Individualized assessment and training plans developed
April 2008	Participants register for Cincinnati NTI
June/July 2008	Participants register for Chicago NTI
May to December 2008	NTIs and mentoring engagement begins
October/Early November 2008	Participants register for Washington, DC NTI
January 2009	Program completed and certificates awarded

Program Cost

All costs associated with the program will be covered – including travel and lodging associated with attending the NTIs. Danya International, Inc. will manage all travel expenses and arrangements. Participants may also have to travel to their coach’s site. Danya International, Inc. will also cover any travel-related expenses associated with these visits. While there is no cost to the participant or the HBCU, participants are required to attend all assigned classes. NeighborWorks America takes attendance in each class daily and reports this to Danya International, Inc. and HUD.

How to Apply

Dowload an application [MS Word]. Applications must be postmarked or received electronically by March 31, 2008.

For more information about the NeighborWorks America
HBCU Affordable Housing Finance Certification Program,
call (800) 438-5547 or (202) 220-6308 or e-mail hbcu@nw.org.