FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 11, 2004
Contact: Jayna Bower,
202-220-2451
Innovations in Homeownership Contest Winners
Announced
August 11, 2004 — Neighborhood Reinvestment
Corporation, the founder of the NeighborWorks network, announced
the four winners of its 2004 "Innovations in Homeownership"
contest at the NeighborWorks Training Institute in Washington,
D.C. The purpose of the contest was to highlight innovative strategies
by nonprofit housing agencies to promote homeownership in their
communities. The contest winners by category are:
- Best Collaboration to Promote Homeownership:
Neighborhood Housing Services of Great Falls, Montana
"Montana Homeownership Network"
- Best Marketing Strategy to Promote Homeownership:
Columbus, Ohio, Housing Partnership
"Fire the Landlord Now" campaign
- Best Postpurchase Strategy:
Neighborhoods Inc. of Battle Creek, Michigan
"Best of Neighborhood" contest
- Best Strategy to Promote Minority Homeownership:
NCALL, Dover, Delaware
"Finanzas" - financial education program
"The entries in the ‘Innovations in Homeownership
Contest' underscore the creative and cost-effective approaches
that nonprofit housing organizations are using to promote homeownership
to underserved Americans," notes Kenneth D. Wade, Chief
Executive Officer of Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation. "We
are proud to recognize not only these winners, but all of the
entries for their efforts to increase homeownership in their communities."
The winners receive a $2,000 grant award along with the national
recognition. In all, more than 90 entries were received in the
Innovations in Homeownership Contest.
All of the contest entries are available for review in a searchable
database at Neighborhood Reinvestment's Web site, http://www.nw2.org/InnovationContest_2004.
The awards were announced at the conclusion of the national symposium
at the NeighborWorks Training Institute called "Homeownership
Education and Counseling: Where Do We Go From Here?" The
symposium was attended by 300-plus community development professionals
and was also the official launch of the NeighborWorks Center for
Homeownership Education and Counseling (NCHEC).
NHCEC's goals are to serve the housing counseling industry
by promoting industry standards, to provide advanced training
and certification for counselors and to create new tools and materials
for counselors and trainers.
"Nonprofit organizations are always looking for ways to
maximize their impact and stretch their operating funds. These
contest entries are proof of the creative strategies that nonprofits
across the country are using to promote homeownership,"
reports Jayna Bower, Senior Manager of NCHEC. "We congratulate
the winners and are proud to make all of the entries available
as a public resource on our website."
The Innovations in Homeownership Contest was jointly sponsored
by NCHEC and the NeighborWorks Campaign for Home Ownership. The
Campaign is a national initiative of 150 organizations in the
NeighborWorks network. Since 1993, the Campaign has assisted over
80,000 new homeowners, counseled almost 500,000 families and promoted
investments of over $8 billion.
"Homeownership is the American Dream, and, for too long,
many Americans have been shut out of this dream," said Doug
Dylla, national director of the NeighborWorks Campaign for Home
Ownership. "The entries to this contest provide a compendium
of creative ideas and best practices that others replicate in
their communities to help expand the American Dream."
Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation, created by an act of Congress
in 1978, strives to improve the quality of neighborhoods by offering
financial assistance, technical support, and training to local
communities. Through innovative local partnerships of residents,
businesses andgovernment, Neighborhood Reinvestment supports a
network of 230 NeighborWorks organizations that build affordable
housing, promote financial literacy and revitalize communities.
Information about Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation and the
NeighborWorks network is available at www.nw.org.
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