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| NeighborWorks America Receives $4 Million for Housing Counseling |
| NeighborWorks America received $4 million in a grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) for housing counseling. The grant will enable the NeighborWorks Center for Homeownership Education and Counseling and the NeighborWorks Training Institute to provide housing counseling training and certification to professionals in the field and housing counseling support grants to more than 100 NeighborWorks organizations around the country. In addition, 17 NeighborWorks organizations individually were awarded housing counseling grants totaling nearly $680,000. View news release. |
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| Foreclosed Properties Help New Buyers, Low-Income Households in San Diego |
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The mortgage market meltdown and the resulting surge in foreclosed homes offered for sale has created home-buying opportunities for San Diego County's low- and moderate-income households, according to a recent article in the
San Diego Tribune.
"When was the last time we put thousands of affordable housing units on the market?" asked Gabe del Rio of [NeighborWorks affiliate] Community HousingWorks. "We are talking about homes you bought for $450,000 last year that now are being sold for about $300,000. ... It makes a big difference." |
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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 Partners with New Orleans Hornets on 'Hoops for Homes' |
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| NeighborWorks America announced a new partnership with the New Orleans Hornets basketball team. Now in its third year, the Hornet's Hoops for Homes program aims to help New Orleans metropolitan area teachers return to the area’s schools by providing funding that will be used to repair their homes damaged by Hurricane Katrina. NeighborWorks America gave a $250,000 grant to the Hoops for Homes initiative. Additional funding partners include the Louisiana Disaster Recovery Foundation, The Salvation Army, and Hornets star Tyson Chandler. The funding will be administered by Neighborhood Housing Services of New Orleans, a member of the NeighborWorks network. View news release. |
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| Jesse Jackson Visits NHS of Los Angeles to Promote Foreclosure Solutions |
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| Los Angeles Neighborhood Housing Services (LA NHS) hosted a press conference featuring the Rev. Jesse Jackson as he spoke to homeowners facing foreclosure in a Los Angeles neighborhood. Jackson urged Los Angeles homeowners at risk of foreclosure to take the first step to avoid losing their biggest investment by calling for help at 888-995-HOPE. Margaret Frisbee, Pacific director of NeighborWorks America, was joined at the press conference by Jackson, LA NHS CEO Lori Gay, and homeowners who were able to avoid foreclosure through the efforts of LA NHS. View article. |
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| NeighborWorks Great Falls, Montana, Self-Help Program Pays Off for New Homeowners |
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It took more than 15 months of work, but now 15 families are sleeping in the homes they built through the Mutual Self Help program, sponsored by NeighborWorks Great Falls, Montana. Participants are grouped with others who eventually become their neighbors. Each family donates 32 hours of labor a week to the construction, which is supervised by NeighborWorks employees. Everyone works on each others' homes and no one moves in until every house is finished. View article in Great Falls Tribune.
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| NeighborWorks America Receives $140,000 in Grants from TD Banknorth to Shape Communities and Effect Change |
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NeighborWorks America has received a $100,000 grant from the TD Banknorth Charitable Foundation to support specific community needs identified by community leaders who attended the 28th NeighborWorks Community Leadership Institute held last month in Boston. The $100,000 grant is in addition to $40,000 in support the TD Banknorth Charitable Foundation had already given to the Institute. More than 400 residents and emerging community leaders, representing 55 NeighborWorks organizations from eight Northeast states and Puerto Rico, came together to discuss community issues, identify specific needs in their communities, and develop plans of action to address local challenges. One local challenge discussed among the community leaders was the growing foreclosure crisis, and all participants focused heavily on identifying strategies to stop foreclosures in their communities and made them part of their community action plans. The grant from TD Banknorth Charitable Foundation will help the organizations implement their action plans to bring about positive change in their home communities. View news release.
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| NeighborWorks America Appropriation Update |
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The U.S. House of Representatives passed a conference report providing $119.8 million for NeighborWorks America in fiscal year 2008. The report also provides $200 million for mortgage foreclosure mitigation activities to be distributed through a competitive process by NeighborWorks America to NeighborWorks organizations (not more than 15 percent of funds), HUD-approved counseling intermediaries, or state funded housing agencies. However, the legislation still needs to pass the Senate and has to be signed by President Bush before it becomes law.
“NeighborWorks America understands how important these funds are to individuals and communities across America,” said NeighborWorks America CEO Ken Wade. “If this bill is enacted, we will reach out to all the HUD housing counseling intermediaries and eligible recipients so that together we can utilize these funds in the most effective manner possible. Additionally, we will be committed to a distribution plan that is both quick and efficient.”
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| House Passes Mortgage, Anti-Predatory Lending Reform Legislation |
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The House of Representatives approved legislation to reform mortgage and anti-predatory lending practices. The legislation will create a licensing system for residential mortgage loan originators, establish a minimum standard requiring that borrowers have a reasonable ability to repay a loan, and will attach a limited liability to secondary market securitizers. The legislation will also expand and enhance various consumer protections and establish an Office of Housing Counseling through the Department of Housing and Urban Development. View House news release. |
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| Federal Reserve Board Member Speaks on The Challenges Facing Subprime Mortgage Borrowers; Lauds Progress of NeighborWorks in Providing Foreclosure Solutions |
| NeighborWorks America is making important strides in helping facilitate loan workouts and modifications, said Randall S. Kroszner, member of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, in a speech this month. Kroszner addressed the challenges facing mortgage borrowers, speaking at the Consumer Bankers Association 2007 Fair Lending Conference. Kroszner, who also serves on the board of NeighborWorks America, commented: "I have the privilege of seeing firsthand how this organization has mobilized its national network of affiliates and partners to respond to the threat of foreclosures in various communities throughout the country." View speech. |
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| Nike to Invest Millions in Nonprofit Programs That Support Youth Health |
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Nike's corporate giving focuses on programs that support youth and physical activity. The company is inviting nonprofits to apply for grants for programs that "increase and promote physical activity in some way — indoor, outdoors or both — whether it's something as traditional as soccer or a basketball camp, the fluidity and passion of dance, or jumping rope, riding a unicycle or something completely fresh and new." View program guidelines.
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Atlanta NeighborWorks Training Institute Will Include Green Symposium,
February 25-29, 2008
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The upcoming NeighborWorks Training Institute in Atlanta will offer more than 100 courses in green building, affordable housing, homeownership education, community building, neighborhood revitalization, management and leadership, and much more. View complete online course grid for course offerings and details.
Don’t forget to also sign up for the symposium on February 27: Go Green Now: Embracing Energy Efficiency, Healthy Housing and Green Building. The symposium will offer a comprehensive introduction to the green building movement, which is quickly going mainstream in the affordable housing and community development industry. Participants will explore a wide range of topics related to sustainability and discuss how they apply to housing rehabilitation, rental housing development and management, community and economic development, and homeownership.
Learn more or register for the NeighborWorks Training Institute in Atlanta, Georgia online at www.nw.org/training. Register by January 14 and receive $50 off your registration fee.
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NeighborWorks Achieving Excellence in Community Development Program
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NeighborWorks America is looking for its next group of inspired individuals to lead their organizations and communities into performance-driven change. Approximately 50 experienced leaders from community development organizations will be selected to participate in this highly innovative and challenging program, sponsored by Fannie Mae and created in collaboration with Harvard University.
Visit www.nw.org/ae to learn more and to apply. Accepting Applications until January 28, 2008
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| Financial Institutions and Foreclosure Intervention: Innovative Partnerships |
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A new report from NeighborWorks America provides several examples of leading financial institutions employing innovative strategies to help prevent borrowers in distress from becoming yet another foreclosure statistic. The report draws upon existing programs to develop a number of common themes, as well as suggestions for areas of future innovation. View report [PDF]
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| Financial Institutions and Foreclosure Intervention: Innovative Partnerships |
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A new report from NeighborWorks America provides several examples of leading financial institutions employing innovative strategies to help prevent borrowers in distress from becoming yet another foreclosure statistic. The report draws upon existing programs to develop a number of common themes, as well as suggestions for areas of future innovation. View report [PDF] |
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| Nominations Sought for Next Generation of Affordable Housing Leaders |
| Affordable Housing Finance magazine is planning a special feature on people ages 35 and younger who have demonstrated a commitment to the mission of affordable housing and community development, even if they are not in a position of great authority. The magazine is accepting nominations through the first week of December. To nominate someone, visit the awards site. Nominations should be sent to Andre Shashaty at ashashaty@hanleywood.com or faxed to (415) 315-1248. |
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