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| NeighborWorks America Public Service Foreclosure Prevention Campaign Ranks Number Three in the Nation |
The New York Times recently reported that of the campaigns receiving the most support from media last year, the NeighborWorks America and Ad Council spots to help homeowners prevent foreclosure ranked third. According to the report, the foreclosure prevention campaign received $72.9 million in donated space and time, behind campaigns for parental control of TV sets and the campaign to prevent drunk driving. In total, media companies donated commercial time, ad space and other support for pro bono campaigns worth more than $1.83 billion last year. We would like to thank our network and partners, as well as the media, for their support of our outreach to homeowners facing foreclosure.
Read The New York Times article. View NeighborWorks press release. |
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| New 'Strength Matters' Web Site Builds Capacity of Affordable Rental Property Owners |
NeighborWorks America is pleased to announce www.strengthmatters.net, a new Web site to support nonprofit affordable rental property owners. The purpose of Strength Matters™ is to advance the strength, productivity and profitability of affordable housing property owners; to facilitate the adoption of best practices among these organizations; and to communicate these practices to the private, public, and philanthropic sectors — thereby attracting more capital to the field.
Strength Matters is a national collaborative sponsored by NeighborWorks America, Housing Partnership Network (HPN), and Stewards of Affordable Housing for the Future (SAHF), with ongoing support from The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. Visit www.strengthmatters.net and register to use the materials posted there. Stay tuned as the partners bring forward more services — more papers, webinars and convenings of peers. |
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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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| New Blog Provides Real-time NeighborWorks News and Housing Industry Updates |
| NeighborWorks America has launched NeighborWorks News, a blog that provides updates on activities from NeighborWorks America and its network of 240 local nonprofit organizations. It also covers latest developments, trends and opportunities in housing and community development. Readers can subscribe to the RSS feed for their hand held devices or Web sites, or sign up for email alerts to get instant notification each time a new item is posted. Readers can also quickly act on the information by sending comments or sharing it with friends on their preferred social media sites. If you would like to receive daily updates from NeighborWorks America, bookmark or subscribe to the blog at http://neighborworksnews.blogspot.com/. |
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| United We Serve Volunteer Initiative |
| A "summer of service" initiative has been launched by the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS)in partnership with the White House. The initiative, United We Serve, encourages people to create meaningful change in their communities by engaging in service.The initiative will run through the new National Day of Service and Remembrance on September 11.
As part of our participation in this initiative, NeighborWorks America has committed to the following:
- Recruiting 155 employees from across the organization at four hours each to generate 620 hours of service through our employee volunteer service program
- Supporting network organizations in recruiting and deploying volunteers
- Selecting 68 network organizations to have one or more AmeriCorps Vista Volunteers (see related announcement below)
Visit serve.gov to learn more about United We Serve, including how to find volunteer opportunities, register volunteer projects, and share volunteer stories.
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| AmeriCorps VISTA Volunteers to Work with NeighborWorks Organizations in Local Communities |
NeighborWorks America announces its sponsorship of one of the largest AmeriCorps VISTA programs to date: up to 168 VISTA volunteers will be sponsored by 67 local NeighborWorks organizations in 35 states.
The VISTA volunteers will work in local communities to reduce the rate of foreclosure, strengthen areas hard hit by the recession and foreclosure crisis, and bolster financial fitness and asset building among low- and moderate-income homeowners and renters.
All VISTA volunteers will be in place by September 30, 2009 and each will complete one full year of service.
Find out more about NeighborWorks' VISTA sponsorship.
Learn more about the AmeriCorps VISTA program, including how you or your organization can become involved. |
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| NeighborWorks Salt Lake’s YouthWorks Program Engages At Risk Youth in Community Building |
KLS.com in Salt Lake City, Utah, recently reported on a NeighborWorks Salt Lake program called YouthWorks that offers teens at risk a paycheck, a chance to grow personally, and help improve their neighborhood. YouthWorks follows a gang intervention model that creates opportunities and builds stronger neighborhoods.
The KLS.com report focused on a work crew of 10 teens that are putting the finishing touches on a home that was deteriorating and vacant. The young men in YouthWorks had gutted it and rebuilt it, to put it on the market. |
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| NeighborWorks and NHS of South Florida Join NBA All-Stars for Foreclosure Prevention Campaign |
NeighborWorks America and Neighborhood Housing Services of South Florida (NHSSF) recently joined the HOPE NOW Alliance for the ‘Bringing Hope Home’ foreclosure prevention campaign, which featured NBA All-Stars Alonzo Mourning and Dwyane Wade of the Miami Heat and Latino television host Fernando Arau.
Mourning, Wade and Arau met with NHSSF’s counselors and clients and visit local businesses in the Miami Gardens neighborhood. The goal of the foreclosure prevention campaign is to raise awareness of the foreclosure crisis and the free resources available to homeowners in danger of foreclosure, including the government’s Making Home Affordable Program.
For more information, view NeighborWorks news release and read the Miami Herald’s story about the event. |
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| Eligibility Recently Expanded for Making Home Affordable Mortgage Refinancing |
| A recent expansion of the Making Home Affordable program now allows borrowers who are current but up to 125 percent underwater on their mortgage to refinance those loans according to the terms of the Making Home Affordable refinance program. Participation in the program remains limited to those whose mortgages are currently owned or guaranteed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. This change, however, opens the door to refinance relief for more borrowers fighting to keep their homes in areas hit hard by the foreclosure crisis. View more information on the expansion. Borrowers can check to see if they are eligible for a Home Affordable Refinance on the Making Home Affordable Web site. |
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| HUD Honors NeighborWorks Great Falls Executive Director Sheila Rice |
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) recently presented NeighborWorks Great Falls Executive Director Sheila Rice with an award recognizing her accomplishments in foreclosure prevention and strengthening homeownership programs. HUD's Lyle Konkol presented the award to Rice, and said she was a "dynamic leader at the helm" of NeighborWorks Great Falls.
NeighborWorks America Chief Operating Officer Eileen Fitzgerald has said this about Rice: “She has been instrumental in leading the way to get NeighborWorks organizations to think about new ways to approach service delivery. Where some folks might see a problem or a challenge, Sheila thinks creatively about how to achieve impact and develops strategic solutions that turn a challenge into an opportunity." View more. |
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| FDIC Appoints Ellen Lazar as Senior Advisor for Consumer Policy |
| NeighborWorks America congratulates former NeighborWorks America Executive Director Ellen Lazar on her appointment as senior advisor for consumer policy to FDIC Chairman Sheila Bair. In this new position, Lazar will advise the Chairman on issues relating to the corporation's consumer policy and programs. Chairman Bair, in announcing the appointment, said, "Ms. Lazar's long and distinguished career has been focused on community development and consumer protection. Her expertise and experience in these areas will contribute significantly to the FDIC's consumer programs and policy development." Lazar was executive director of NeighborWorks America from 2000-2003. Read more about Lazar’s appointment. |
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| Housing Industry Federal Funding Opportunities |
Featured now on the nw.org funding opportunities page:
- Green Retrofit Program for Multifamily Housing - now accepting applications on first come first serve basis
- Rural Housing Services Loan Guarantees — Deadline September 28
- Economic Development Administration Grants - Deadline September 30
Learn more about these and other opportunities.
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| Social Networking Enhances Training Experience |
Want to touch base with a colleague who was in a class you took in Phoenix? Interested in networking with your breakout group from the Atlanta Symposium? Looking for a way to learn more about colleagues who will be taking a class with you in Chicago? Social networking through NeighborWorks America can get and keep you in touch with other community revitalization professionals across the country.
To learn more about the ever growing list of social networking resources available to you — many free of charge — attend the Chicago Training Institute this August, where you can take part in the Special Social Networking Symposium, Social Media and Web 2.0: Engaging Community and Achieving Mission. Join us for this innovative symposium where you will learn about cutting-edge social media tools and experience them firsthand. Learn about ways organizations are taking advantage of the technologies of sites such as Twitter, Flickr, Facebook, Digg and more! Registration for the Chicago Training Institute and the Social Media Symposium is now open. Register online and get active in social networking today by joining one or more of the social networking venues NeighborWorks America has developed for you. |
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| Special Notice Regarding Transportation Security Administration |
| Per TSA's Secure Flight guidelines, remember that you must provide your travel arranger with your legal name (exactly as it appears on your government-issued photo identification), date of birth, gender and redress number (if applicable). Make your trip a smooth one and remember to have all your information in place before you travel. For more information on travel and flight guidelines, visit www.tsa.gov. |
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| E-Learning for Foreclosure Intervention and FHA-Insured Homes |
Seasoned foreclosure counselors can explore a wide variety of intervention options available to homeowners in distress by taking the latest online learning course, HO346el — Understanding and Applying Foreclosure Intervention and Loss Mitigation Tools. In this course, participants learn to identify the most critical financial factors in foreclosure cases, review and analyze brief case scenarios and then choose the loss mitigation tool that best addresses a homeowner’s mortgage problems.
HO253el — FHA-Insured Loans: An Affordable Mortgage Option, another recently released e-learning opportunity, is designed for homeownership counselors seeking the nuts and bolts of FHA guidelines and loan requirements for a rapidly changing lending environment. This online course prepares counselors to assist clients in determining if the FHA program is a viable mortgage option based on financial circumstances. Through a variety of exercises and activities, participants learn how the FHA program works and how to qualify borrowers using the program's guidelines. This course is recommended for participants who have a working knowledge of mortgage loan processing and industry terminology. |
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| Free Webinar Series on Energy Financing Models |
| The International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives (ICLEI) is hosting a series of five webinars on innovative municipal financing models that have been used to promote residential energy efficiency and renewable energy efforts. The next Webinar is scheduled for July 23 and will focus on the nationally acclaimed Cambridge Energy Alliance, a city-sponsored non-profit organization that is creating a groundbreaking program to significantly reduce energy and waste use in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Register for and learn more about the Energy Financing Webinar series. |
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| Are You Ready for a Lease-Purchase Program? |
| Lease-Purchase is an increasingly more common neighborhood stabilization approach. A new resource from NeighborWorks America includes a five-point checklist for organizations that are thinking of adopting a lease-purchase program and examples of different program models. The questions posed in this report are meant to help organizations avoid common mistakes in developing a lease-purchase program. Download the report, Are You Ready for a Lease-Purchase Program? |
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| Tenant Organizing in a Rural Community |
| A new case study offers an inside look at tenant organizing in a rural community. Residents of a mobile home park in Elbridge, New York, got together and purchased the park when they learned it was for sale. Champion Mobile Home Park is the first Resident Owned Community (ROC) created outside of New Hampshire under the guidance of the ROC USA system, and featuring PathStone, a member of the NeighborWorks network and a certified technical assistance provider (CTAP) for ROC USA. NeighborWorks America actively supports the missions of ROC USA and PathStone and, through its Innovations in Factory Built Housing program, has provided a capital grant in support of the Champion Mobile Home Park conversion. Download the report. |
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| New Network for Energy Efficient Cities |
| Collaboration to build an informal policy learning network of government staff, researchers, technical assistance providers and non-governmental organizations is underway through a network which has been dubbed the "Efficiency Cities Network." The group is holding regular conference calls open to all. Their Web site has materials for upcoming calls as well as past calls. Learn more. |
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