For decades, NeighborWorks® America has defined and championed access to affordable homeownership in many underserved communities. Now, with an Ad Council campaign launch in Washington, DC, NeighborWorks America will underscore its commitment to foreclosure prevention. The June 25th event will feature luncheon speaker Comptroller of the Currency John C. Dugan, and others such as George McCarthy of the Ford Foundation and Ira Goldstein of the Reinvestment Fund. Read more on the campaign launch, or register to attend.

The banking and affordable lending field lost a "giant" in the May 30 passing of Preston Martin, who served as a vice chairman of the Federal Reserve Board, and was instrumental in the creation of NeighborWorks America. "He was a very public man, very interested in low-cost housing for the poor," his wife, Genevieve, told the Associated Press on June 3. Read more.

The large number of mortgage defaults in Texas has prompted lenders, community groups and government organizations to increase their education and outreach effort, as highlighted during a day-long conference held June 12, sponsored by the Federal Reserve of Dallas. Read more.

Before the Regional Inter-Agency Committee (RIAC) in New York City, a breakfast hosted by NeighborWorks, Comptroller of the Currency John C. Dugan said the practice of unverified income for subprime borrowers remains a key problem regarding the current foreclosure issue. Dugan also argued that "at a time of rising delinquencies and foreclosures" that it is imperative "not just to help families buy homes, but to help them keep those homes." Read Dugan speech [PDF 58.8 KB].

The ROSS Self Sufficiency program supports the delivery and coordination of services to help public and Indian housing residents attain economic and housing self-sufficiency. Read about HUD's ROSS program. For more information contact Anice Schervish 202-401-8812 [ext. 2341], or e-mail at: anice_schervish@hud.gov

This Home Depot community program supports organizations that engage volunteers to build, refurbish, or maintain affordable or transitional housing; construct, refurbish, and maintain play spaces; refurbish or maintain community gathering places; and also rebuild structures damaged in weather-related disasters. Maximum grant application is $3,000. For more information, and an application, visit  http://corporate.homedepot.com/wps/portal/Grants

Join peers in our nation’s capital for the highest quality training for community development practitioners and resident leaders. Some featured courses include:

• How to Build a House - For anyone interested in learning about the basics of how to build a house from the foundation to the roof rafters. Participants will receive a copy of the How-To manual.
• ADVANCED FIELD LAB for Neighborhood Revitalization Strategy Development - For those who would like to hone their skills in Neighborhood Revitalization Strategy Development. Participants will visit four distinct neighborhoods during this five-day fast-paced course.
• Certification Program Courses in Financial Training - Through a training partnership with the National Development Council, the training institute offers courses that are part of NDC’s Economic Development Finance Professional and Housing Development Finance Professional certification programs.
• Community Organizers Forum - Intended primarily for experienced community builders, organizers, and volunteer leaders to discuss the current and future state of the community organizing field.
• Don’t forget to also sign up for the symposium on August 15. Preparing for Success and Succession: Maximizing Opportunity at a Time of Leadership Change is about getting ourselves, our organizations and the community development field ready for the coming changes such as an increase in leadership transitions; a workforce more diverse in terms of age, race and gender; and changing community demographics and needs.  Those who are looking to become leaders, are leaders, or will lead the field into the future should register for this thought-provoking and highly interactive symposium.

For a full list of course offerings in Washington, DC and registration information, visit us online at www.nw.org/training. Register by July 2 and receive $50 off your registration fee!

NeighborWorks America offers manuals and guides for consumers and practitioners focused on homebuyer education, homebuyer training, and homeownership maintenance. Realizing the American Dream and Keeping the American Dream are two different manuals developed by industry experts. The former covers all aspects of the homeownership process and the latter focuses on maintaining homeownership status.

Another resource, the Consumer Home Buying Guides, is a set of four manuals, available in a variety of languages, which focus on the various stages of the home buying process. Developed by Fannie Mae Foundation, they deliver practical, specific and concise information in a user-friendly format. SPECIAL OFFER!  Nonprofit and NeighborWorks organizations are eligible for a large number of complimentary Consumer Home Buying Guides in any combination of languages or titles. 

Visit www.nwstore.org to purchase or learn more about each resource and how you can take advantage of the special offer for free Consumer Home Buying Guides.

One of every seven households in the United States now pays more than half its income for housing, according to The State of the Nation’s Housing 2007, an annual report by the Harvard University Joint Center for Housing Studies. Affordability problems are “the nation’s fastest-growing and most pervasive housing challenge,” states the annual report. Read full report.

In 2006, 18 state and local Community Economic Development associations formed the National Alliance of Community Economic Development Associations (NACEDA).  NACEDA serves as a clearinghouse for information and action that advances the field of community economic development through advocacy on public policy, peer to peer learning, promoting the CED field, increasing the ability of CED associations to serve their members, and building the capacity of Community Development Corporations nationwide.

Work to date has included:

• advocacy at the national level on issues such as CDBG, Rural Issues, HOME, CRA/predatory lending, IDA's/Asset Building and the National Housing Trust Fund;
• a Summit in Washington DC that provided opportunities for peer learning and conversations with national CED partners;
• a newsletter providing information about national policy, state policy, funding announcements and community development news; and
• developing new member services such as discounts at national training courses.

NACEDA is actively recruiting new city and regional CED associations, individual Community Development Corporations, and industry partners to join and lend their voices to work at the national level.  For more information about NACEDA, go to www.naceda.org or contact Jane DeMarines, Executive Director, at (301) 229-2077 or jdemarines@naceda.org.

NeighborWorks America and Harvard University’s Joint Center for Housing Studies have selected two graduate students for the ninth year of the Emerging Leaders Fellowship Program.  Each summer, two students with an interest in housing and community develop issues work with NeighborWorks staff and local organizations to research and write about an issue of their choosing, presenting their work to Washington policy analysts and community development practitioners.

This year, Cassi Pittman and Jesse Mintz-Roth have been selected for the fellowship.  Pittman is a doctoral student in a joint program in Sociology and Social Policy and will be working out of the Southern District on the influence of social networks on homebuyers’ choice of mortgage products, with an emphasis on subprime lending and the role of mortgage brokers.  Mintz-Roth, who worked for the Public Advocate for the City of New York, will be working out of the Northeast District on long-term affordability strategies with a focus on programs and policies in New York City. Read Harvard's JCHS press release.