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Building Green: Four NeighborWorks Houses in Columbus, Georgia Are Energy-efficient Wonders
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As a case manager at the Muscogee County Department of Family and Children Services, Lillian Winfield often hears stories about families struggling to make ends meet as their utility bills skyrocket during winter. But since last summer, when she moved into one of the most energy efficient houses ever built in Columbus, Winfield knows it's a hardship she won't be enduring personally. See the Columbus Valley Ledger-Enquirer's story.
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| Long Island Cottages at Mattituck: In This Jackpot, 22 Affordable Homes |
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Forty-nine slips of paper with names printed on them tumbled around inside a spinning gold-colored drum at Southold Town Hall one day in early December, as a crowd of nearly 100 waited to see who would be the 22 given the chance to buy homes at prices they could afford. Read about CDC of Long Island, a NeighborWorks member, in The New York Times.
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| NeighborWorks of Western Vermont Gets $750,000 from CDBG Program |
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Governor James Douglas announced $2.4 million in community development block grants during a ceremony at the Maples Senior Housing facility in Rutland. Almost $1 million went to the Rutland area in the form of $750,000 to NeighborWorks of Western Vermont and $200,000 to PACE VT Inc. Read story here.
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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 America 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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A DASH of Hope, and then Some, for Bayou La Batre, Seafood Capital of Alabama
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For people who didn't have insurance or can't afford to repair, rebuild or raise their homes higher off the ground, DASH for the Gulf Coast in Mobile, Alabama, a NeighborWorks member, and a $15.6 million FEMA grant, offer the chance to get into homes of their own again. See full story here.
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Subprime Foreclosures to Spike: Many Vulnerable Americans Will Lose Their Homes During the Next Few Years
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The number of homeowners with subprime mortgages who will lose their homes to foreclosure will jump over the next few years, according to a recent study, released from the Center for Responsible Lending (CRL),
which revealed key findings:
- 2.2 million subprime home loans made in recent years have already failed or will end in foreclosure.
- These foreclosures will cost delinquent homeowners as much as $164 billion.
- Nearly one in five (19 percent) subprime mortgages originated during the past two years will end in foreclosure
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NeighborWorks Hosts First National Community Development Conference in New Orleans Since 2005 Hurricanes
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NeighborWorks America held a training in New Orleans last month demonstrating its commitment to revitalizing the Gulf region. From December 11-15, the NeighborWorks Training Institute was host to more than 1,900 community development professionals, one of the largest training turnouts in its history. NeighborWorks America also officially opened its new Louisiana office in New Orleans. The week-long training also supported the work of volunteers, who pitched in to build a playground, rehabilitate homes, and refurbish a local high school. Read More.
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Office of Thrift Supervision Issues Proposed Rule
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On November 24, 2006, the Office of Thrift Supervision (OTS), the primary federal regulator of federally chartered and state-chartered savings associations, their subsidiaries, and their registered savings and loan holding companies, issued a proposed rule to align their Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) regulations with those of the three other national banking regulators (the Federal Reserve, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC).
In aligning its CRA regulations with the other banking regulators, this proposed rule would: (1) eliminate the option of alternative weights for lending, investment and service under the large retail savings association test (2) define small savings institutions between $250 million and $1 billion as intermediate small savings associations and develop a new community development test for them (3) index the asset threshold for small and intermediate small savings associations based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI) and (4) clarify the impact on savings association’s CRA rating if discrimination or illegal practices are found.
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| Citigroup Foundation & Aspen Institute Summer Internship: Micro Enterprise Researchers Program |
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Deadline: January 31, 2007
The program will provide 25 graduate interns with opportunities to work directly with nonprofit community development organizations during the summer of 2007, collecting data on clients and increasing their knowledge of the field of microenterprise in the United States. Each organization chosen to participate in the program will then be responsible for recruiting and selecting one intern, who should be pursuing a graduate degree in public policy, planning, business, or a related field.
The internships will run from late May to mid-August. Each intern will receive a stipend of $5,760 and 25 nonprofits from across the country will be awarded. Eligible applicants include nonprofits engaged in small businesses development will be selected to participate in the program and will receive assistance in collecting information about their clients' needs, experiences, and accomplishments.
How to Apply: Microenterprise development programs must formally apply by January 31, 2007, to FIELD, which will make its final selection decisions by March 1, 2007.
Contact: David Black / 202-736-2533 / david.black@aspeninstitute.org
Andrea Browne-Phillips / 202-736-1089 / andrea.browne-phillips@aspeninstitute.org
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| The MetLife Foundation and LISC Seeking Applications for Sixth Annual MetLife Foundation Community-Police Partnership Awards |
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Deadline: February 24, 2006
The awards honor innovative partnerships between community groups and police to promote neighborhood safety and revitalization. Applications are invited in two categories: Neighborhood Revitalization Awards recognize collaborations that reduce crime and foster economic development, with awards of $10,000 to $25,000. Click here for applications.
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Community Development Financial Institutions Fund Offers Tax Credit
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Deadline: February 28, 2007
The U.S. Department of the Treasury has opened the fifth round of competition for tax credits on $3.9 billion in investments under the New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) Program. The NMTC Program attracts private-sector capital investment into the nation's urban and rural low-income areas to help finance community development projects, stimulate economic growth and create jobs. Under this round of the NMTC Program, $3.5 billion in allocations authority is available under the general round and an additional $400 million specifically for recovery and redevelopment in the Hurricane Katrina Gulf Opportunity Zone.
Guidance and application materials for the NMTC Program are available on the CDFI Fund's Web site. The allocation application deadline is February 28, 2007.
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Bank Enterprise Award (BEA) Program 2007 -- U.S. Department of Treasury
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Deadline: March 15, 2007
Through the Bank Enterprise Award (BEA) Program, the CDFI Fund supports financial institutions around the country that are dedicated to financing and supporting community and economic development activities. BEA complements the community development activities of insured depository institutions (i.e., banks and thrifts) by providing financial incentives to:
- Expand investments in CDFIs
- Increase lending, investment, and service activities within economically distressed communities.
Providing monetary awards for increasing community development activities leverages the fund's dollars and puts more capital to work in distressed communities throughout the nation.
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| Home Depot Foundation: 2007 Awards of Excellence for Affordable Housing Built Responsibly |
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Deadline: March 31, 2007
The 2007 Awards of Excellence for Affordable Housing Built Responsibly program competition has been launched and nonprofits can obtain this year's program guidelines, timetable and a Letter of Interest (LOI) form to submit for program consideration by visiting the Home Depot Foundation web site:
The deadline for submitting a LOI is March 31, 2007
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| Bank of America Charitable Foundation Announces Fourth Round of Neighborhood Excellence Initiative Grants |
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Deadline: June 29, 2007
The 2007 Bank of America Charitable Foundation Neighborhood Excellence Initiative is underway. Through this unique program, qualified organizations can apply to be awarded $200,000 in unrestricted general operating support to further their work.
Since 2004, the Neighborhood Excellence Initiative has provided in excess of $48 million to 220 organizations through this exciting program. The Neighborhood Excellence Initiative has quickly set the standard- combining leadership development with mission based funding to organizations addressing the most pressing needs of their communities across the country.
The Neighborhood Excellence Initiative is designed to recognize and reward individuals and groups who are making a difference in their communities, and is divided into three categories of recipients:
- Neighborhood Builders – Provides $200,000 in grant funding and leadership training over two years to two neighborhood non-profit organizations working to promote vibrant neighborhoods.
- Local Heroes - Recognizes and honors five community heroes per year; recipients will be able to direct a $5,000 contribution to an eligible non-profit of their choice.
- Student Leaders - Recognizes five high school students who are recommended as exemplary young people with an interest in improving their neighborhoods. Each student will participate in an eight-week paid internship with a community-based organization, as well as a leadership program arranged by Bank of America.
To learn more about the program and for details on the application process, click http://www.bankofamerica.com/foundation/index.cfm?template=fd_neighborexcell
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REGISTER ONLINE TODAY! -- NeighborWorks® Training Institute -- Atlanta -- February 19-23
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The NeighborWorks® Training Institute in Atlanta is an ideal venue for building your skills and enhancing your career. This event promises to be an exciting and educational experience, with a fantastic line-up of cutting-edge courses and plenty of opportunities to network with peers.
Featured at this training institute:
Register today. The pre-event registration deadline is January 29. Learn more about the NeighborWorks Training Institute in Atlanta or register online at www.nw.org/onlinereg.
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SAVE THE DATE! -- NeighborWorks Training Institute in Phoenix -- May 7-11
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| Featuring the five-day Advanced Nonprofit Housing Management Specialist, the Native American Community Economic Development Training Program, and a one-day symposium – Taking Care of Business: Managing the Business Side of Homeownership Programs. Check www.nw.org for the latest event and registration details! |
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| www.KeysToMyHome.org - A Comprehensive Counseling and Education Resource for Housing Counselors and Their Clients |
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NeighborWorks® Center for Homeownership Education and Counseling (NCHEC), in partnership with E*Trade Financial, has launched an exciting and highly useful new Web site to support homeownership education and counseling efforts across the country. Based on the nationally recognized curriculum from NCHEC’s pre-purchase consumer manual Realizing the American Dream, Keys to My Home (www.keystomyhome.org, or accessible through www.nw.org/nchec) has calculators, learning modules, and comparison tools that are easy to use, clearly designed, and free to practitioners and their clients. Keys to My Home is poised to become a cornerstone educational resource for housing counselors and their clients.
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| NeighborWorks' Bright Ideas Highlights New Evaluation Methods For Community Development Field |
| The winter issue of Bright Ideas features a cover article on evaluative methods and their integration in the community development field. The article profiles new tools that enable organizations to plan, implement and improve services that promote change and help families in lower income communities. Other articles of importance in the magazine include NeighborWorks' rebuilding work in the Gulf region; efforts to slow the rate of foreclosures; and various research and training notes. |
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Top Planning Issues Of 2006:
From Green Building to the Housing Bubble, the Editors of Planetizen Review the Most Talked about Stories of 2006.
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Over the course of 2006, the Planetizen staff editors review and post summaries of hundreds of planning and development-related articles, reports, books, studies, and editorials.
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| A New Study Says Massachusetts' Affordable Housing Programs Constricting Investment in Blighted City Neighborhoods |
| According to a new study issued by the Pioneer Institute, potential home buyers may be less interested in purchasing homes that, under program rules, cannot be resold at full market value for years or even decades. The study, Housing Programs in Weak Market Neighborhoods: Developing the Right Tools for Urban Revitalization can be found here. |
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Two New Analyses of Housing Affordability Outline Hurdles Faced by Low-Income Wage Earners
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| NeighborWorks America has recently released a report on homeownership affordability trends in 127 housing markets. The report describes “funding gaps” for low- to moderate-income households, creating an affordability-based typology of housing markets. A second analysis by The Center for Housing, the research arm of the National Housing Conference, has created a tool to allow users to see how working families fare in various housing markets. The database can be accessed here. |
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