CDCs in the News

NECAC observes National Community Action Month
Moberly Monitor-Index
May 14, 2012

Moberly, Mo. — For almost 50 years, the not-for-profit North East Community Action Corporation (NECAC) has offered a helping hand to people in need in Randolph County. The Randolph County Commission recently signed a proclamation designating May as NECAC Community Action Month to coincide with National Community Action Month. NECAC is joining the 18 other Community Action Agencies in Missouri and a network of more than 1,000 across the nation in the observance.  More.

NECAC proposes tweaks to Section 8 housing subsidy program
Quincy Herald-Whig
May 11, 2012

BOWLING GREEN, Mo. -- A few changes are in store for the Section 8 housing assistance program administered by the North East Community Action Corp.  All participants in the low-income rent voucher program, infants to adults, must now prove their eligibility with a Social Security card. Previously, only participants over the age of 6 were required to have a verifiable Social Security number.  In addition, participants may now be booted [from] the program for criminal activity -- for example, drugs or violence -- only if they have been charged, not simply if they have been arrested.  NECAC staff responsible for the federally funded 11-county program, known legally as the Lincoln County Public Housing Authority, proposed the changes at a public hearing Thursday on its annual five-year plan.  More.

Chicanos Por La Causa
State siphons off $50 million from foreclosure settlement
Tucson Sentinel
May 10, 2012

. . . Housing counseling and educational workshops – both the type that help prepare families to be homeowners and the kind that happens when a family finds itself at the doorsteps of foreclosure – are frequently sponsored by local nonprofit organizations. Some of these nonprofits are well-known and trusted Arizona institutions, including Chicanos Por La Causa and Catholic Community Services of Southern Arizona.  Anecdotally, these organizations are overwhelmed by the need for foreclosure counseling services, and underwhelmed by the funding available.  According to a study by the Center on Responsible Lending,  all of Arizona – its rural areas as well its metros – is among the markets in most need of foreclosure counseling in the entire country.  More.

Comite de Bien Estar
San Luis family moves into new home
KSWT News 13 - Desert News Now
May 9, 2012

SAN LUIS, AZ- A San Luis family is in a new home thanks to the work of some involved community groups.  Francisco and Martha Saldana are the proud occupants of a new home that was built by Youth Build Americorps program and Comite de Bien Estar, Inc.  More.

MACED
With Sights on a Livelihood Beyond Coal
Daily Yonder
May 8, 2012

Helen Lewis has a simple idea for transforming the Central Appalachian economy.  “Promise every child a clean glass of water,” says the sociologist and founder of the field of Appalachian Studies. . . . Lewis’s idea was one of several brought forward during a roundtable discussion April 25 on economic transformation for east Kentucky, organized by the Center for Rural Strategies (publisher of the Daily Yonder) and the Mountain Association for Community Economic Development.  More.

CAP NW MT, CHI, MACE, MACED, Northern Initiatives, RurAL CAP, Tierra del Sol
Starbucks Award Recipients Have Strong Track Record of Service
Nonprofit Quarterly
May 7, 2012

Last week, Starbucks ranked in the top 10 corporations making social media buzz, based on the Social Business Index ranking of 30,000 corporations . . . .While you can see the winning groups in your region by connecting to the Vote.Give.Grow website, some of the awards have appeared on the Internet and the recipients warrant congratulations:  Northern Initiatives, working to support small businesses in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, was awarded $20,000, which it plans to use for staff development and additional programs. . . . A number of groups with long track records of service to low income neighborhoods, not new fly-by-night groups, also got recognized in the Starbucks campaign, including but clearly not limited to:  . . . the Community Action Partnership of Northwest Montana, a community action agency ($15,000) . . . the Mountain Association for Community Economic Development serving central Appalachia ($15,000) . . . [plus: CHI $15K, MACE $5K, RurAL CAP $15K, Tierra del Sol $10K].  See the article here.

Champlain Housing Trust
Vt. Community Loan Fund aids Irene-damaged businesses
Barre Montpelier Times Argus
May 6, 2012

The Vermont Community Loan Fund approved $1.4 million in financing during the first quarter for several projects, including two businesses damaged during Tropical Storm Irene. . . . Champlain Housing Trust in Burlington (www .champlainhousingtrust .org) will purchase nearly an acre of land and two homes at 47 and 35-39 Bright St. in Burlington. . . . The neighborhood redevelopment project could comprise as many as 25 to 30 new units of housing, including affordable, mixed-income, and market-rate apartments and possibly a few affordable home ownership units.  More.

Chicanos Por La Causa
Families work together for home ownership
Nogales International
May 4, 2012

Eight months of hard work paid off for nine families on Tuesday when they were handed the keys to their new homes in Rio Rico.  The families – Fonseca, Porchas, Rios, Ibarra, Cañez, Peralta, Agosttini, Santacruz and García – are participants in Chicanos Por La Causa’s Self-Help Housing Program, an effort that helps low-income families who are unable to purchase homes through conventional methods to build their own homes.  More.

Franklin County CDC
Community Development Corporations seek public, private money:  Advocates backing a bill awarding tax credits
22 News / WWLP.com
May 3, 2012

BOSTON (WWLP) - Faced with dwindling state funds, community advocates are searching for ways to raise money through public and private partnerships.  Members of community development corporations (CDC’s) across Massachusetts gathered at the State House in support of the Community Development Partnership Act. This legislation awards up to $150,000 in state tax credits to CDC's, which they would leverage to raise up to $300,000 from private sources. The money would go toward housing and local economic development initiatives. Amy Shapiro, Business Development Director of the Franklin county CDC explained how it works. “It's a way to help small communities across the state develop projects that are important for their own communities, and raise funds to help fund them,” Shapiro said.  More.

CAP Services: Mary Patoka awarded scholarship
Johnson Controls pioneers fuel-saving batteries: Initiative described at awards dinner for Roell
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
May 3, 2012

. . . Also Thursday, the business school club announced that two local nonprofit leaders have been selected to attend a one-week Harvard Business School program in nonprofit management. Funds raised from Thursday's dinner are used to pay for the scholarships.  The winners are Danae Davis, chief executive for PEARLS for Teen Girls Inc., a Milwaukee nonprofit that works with at-risk teenage girls to increase high school graduation rates and reduce teen pregnancy; and Mary Patoka, president and chief executive of CAP Services Inc. Based in Stevens Point, CAP Services is an organization that helps low-income people achieve economic self-sufficiency.  More.

Northern Initiatives wins cash from Starbucks
Upper Michigan's Source / TV 6
May 2, 2012

MARQUETTE -- Northern Initiatives has won $20,000 in a nationwide contest.  They took second place in Michigan for the Starbucks, "Vote, Give, Grow" competition. . . . "It's been one month of voting, and we're very appreciative of the large amount of support that the community extended to us, and especially the two local Starbucks managers here locally were just  phenomenally supportive of this," said Christine Rector of Northern Initiatives.  More.

Red Bluff woman receives CHIP award
Red Bluff Daily News
May 1, 2012

The Community Housing Improvement Program (CHIP) held its annual meeting of the membership on March 30 at Chico's CARD Center and made the first presentation of two new annual awards, including one to a long time Red Bluff resident.  The event was also a fundraiser in support of two of CHIP's housing service programs. . . . CHIP honored long-time CHIP Board Member Verdine Mertens of Red Bluff by presenting her with the 2012 CHIP Outstanding Service Award. CHIP also presented the 2012 Outstanding Partnership Award to Sunseri Construction of Chico.  More.
 

Self-Help Enterprises
Companies pitch in on Madera Solarthon
The Business Journal
April 30, 2012

. . . With a number of independent solar contractors, private companies and job trainees pulling together, the 2012 Solarthon was a testament to the kind of support shown to nonprofit solar installer GRID Alternatives since it established a presence in the Central Valley three years ago.  Self-Help Enterprises hosted this year’s Solarthon block party in its Parksdale community in Madera where 40 homes may eventually be equipped with solar panels to save money for residents struggling to afford electricity.  More.

Southwest Minnesota Housing Partnership
$3.8 million preservation project planned for downtown Lakeland Hotel in Willmar, Minn.
West Central Tribune
April 27, 2012

WILLMAR — A developer is proposing a $3.6 million project to fully rehabilitate and operate the historic Lakeland Hotel building as a mixed use commercial and residential property in downtown Willmar.  Southwest Minnesota Housing Partnership of Slayton is proposing to buy the former hotel from Bremer Bank. The bank acquired the property in a foreclosure proceeding, according to Rick Goodemann, housing partnership executive director.  More.

Coastal Enterprises
Denis Thoet: Growth of the local food industry has industrial farm lobby worried
Morning Sentinel
April 27, 2012

Living in Maine means that we are at the end of the road -- literally -- if we are in business and rely on out-of-state suppliers. . . . As I learned this week, however, we are a leader one key area: the production of healthy food and providing that food to low-income Mainers who need it. I attended a "convening" of the Wholesome Wave Foundation in Washington, D.C., along with more than 100 partners from 23 states and the District of Columbia.  More.
 

MACED
Leaders exchange ideas for transforming the economy of Eastern Kentucky
Lexington Herald-Leader / Kentucky.com
April 26, 2012

PRESTONSBURG — Set up a permanent endowment to fund projects in Eastern Kentucky's coal counties. Improve access to broadband Internet service. Provide clean water to every resident. Use biomass grown on old surface mines to generate power.  Those were a few of the ideas discussed Thursday at the annual East Kentucky Leadership Conference, held this year in Prestonsburg.  It was an exercise in coming up with ideas to transform the economy of Eastern Kentucky, home to the largest cluster of counties in Appalachia classified as economically "distressed" by federal officials.  More.

Southern Mutual Help Association
Service first
The Daily Iberian
April 24, 2012

Boston area natives are spending a week in New Iberia taking in a different culture and learning what it means to serve others.  On Sunday, 17 students from Glen Urquhart School in Beverly, Mass., arrived in New Iberia to begin their weeklong service project painting three homes on Lombard Street in the West End.  Raymond Nance, GUS head of school, said this is the second time he has brought a group of students to New Iberia and has done so each time with the help of Southern Mutual Help Association.  More.

WSOS
Exchange Club Clyde chapter helps homeless families
The News-Messenger
April 24, 2012

Children of homeless families in Sandusky County will find a little comfort when they seek help at the Liberty Center of Sandusky County or through WSOS, thanks to the efforts of the Clyde Chapter of the Exchange Club.  Three members of the club presented 42 bags recently to the Liberty Center and the Homenet program operated by WSOS Community Action Commission. The bags were filled with blankets knitted and crocheted by the Knifty Knitters of Clyde as well as books and stuffed animals.  "This means that the kids will have something to make them feel at home," said Margaret Weisz, executive director of the Liberty Center. "It will make a big difference."  More.

Champlain Housing Trust (2 articles)

American experience suggests city mayors are a friend of housing: As mayor of Burlington, Bernie Sanders bucked US political trends to invest in a community land trust
The Guardian
April 23, 2012

Tucked away in north-east America, you'll find Vermont. The tiny state prides itself on being slightly outside the US mainstream. This culture extends to politics: junior senator Bernie Sanders is an independent, who confounds US political stereotypes by describing himself as a democratic socialist.  Sanders' unlikely political career began in 1981 when he became mayor of Burlington, the largest city in Vermont. I met him a couple of years ago when I took part in a study visit to Champlain Housing Trust (CHT).  More.

Vermont Community Loan Fund lends over $1.3 million in Q1
Vermont Biz
April 23, 2012

. . . The Champlain Housing Trust (CHT) is a membership-based nonprofit providing a wide range of housing, including affordable housing, throughout Chittenden, Franklin and Grand Isle counties.  They will use a VCLF loan to purchase .8 acres of land and two homes . . . in Burlington. More.

Self-Help Enterprises
Fending off foreclosure
Visalia Times-Delta
April 23, 2012

At a foreclosure sale in an old building at the Tulare County Fairground, Lynette Encarnacion held out hope that her house was not on the sale block because she had applied for a loan modification.  "I was hoping [the bank] had already put a hold on it," she said. "When they said my address, I started to tear up." . . . Encarnacion . . . left the room and immediately telephoned . . . her foreclosure counselor at Community Services & Employment Training or CSET [an early "spin off" of Self-Help Enterprises]. Working with a foreclosure counselor at a HUD-approved counseling agency is better than trying to do it alone, said Jodi Woodsmith, foreclosure counselor at Self-Help Enterprises.  More.

RUPCO's repurposing
Kingston Times
April 23, 2012

A local housing group has embarked on an ambitious plan to rehabilitate a long-vacant factory building and, hopefully, rejuvenate a rugged stretch of post-industrial Kingston.  The Rural Ulster Preservation Company announced last week that it’s purchased the property, a looming brick former lace factory . . . . Plans . . . call for the renovation of the building’s exterior and the reconstruction of the old factory floors and boiler rooms into 50 to 60 units of artists’ housing along with gallery, rehearsal and performance space.  More.

Comite de Bien Estar
Couple move into solar home in San Luis, Ariz.
Yuma Sun
April 22, 2012

Genaro and Eloisa Vargas aren't just letting the sun shine into their home, they're allowing it to power their home.  The couple took possession recently of a home in San Luis, Ariz., with roof panels that will convert sun rays to electricity.  The Vargases build their house at 1479 N. Rio Seco St. in San Luis through the help of Comite de Bien Estar, a San Luis-based nonprofit housing organization that helps families of limited financial means acquire home ownership.  More.

Central Missouri Community Action (3 articles)

Spending grows, shifts in fight on poverty, with mixed results
Columbia Daily Tribune
April 22, 2012

As spending increases for programs aimed at battling poverty in Boone County, reaching an estimated $300 million in 2010, the number of residents in poverty also continues to climb.  The struggle to stem that tide has social service leaders looking to tackle the problem at its roots, with a focus on kids and education. . . . But Hollis doesn’t see poverty and related issues as a lost cause.  “We are seeing a lot of successes” among individual agencies, he said. It’s an observation verified by Darin Preis, executive director of Central Missouri Community Action, the largest provider of social services in Boone County.  More.   See more CMCA reportage in the Daily Tribune's Price of Poverty series here.

Columbia's kids and those making a difference in their lives
Missourian
April 21, 2012

COLUMBIA — This spring, the Missourian examined a topic that's often overlooked. Reporters took an in-depth look at kids and the people in the community who are making a difference in their lives. . . . The idea arose, in part, from a recent award the city received for being one of the 100 best communities for children in the U.S. That award from America’s Promise Alliance singled out several local organizations: the Youth Community Coalition; Central Missouri Community Action, which provides Head Start, job training, housing assistance, mentoring and life skills . . . More.   See more CMCA reportage in the Missourian's special section on Columbia's kids.

CMCA hosts Lunafest Film Festival
Mid-Missouri Public Radio
April 2o, 2012

Catch in the only Midwest screening. “These shorts won’t be coming back,” says Kelley Lucero, volunteer coordinator at Central Missouri Community Action.  The nine films were chosen from more than 800 films that were submitted to Sundance.  More.  See additional event information here.

MACED
Energy Efficency Program Helps Keep The Green in KY Grocery Stores
Public News Service
April 19, 2012

BEREA, Ky. - It costs a lot to keep the lights on and the food cold at a Kentucky grocery store, and one group is helping some independent grocers keep those costs down.  One part of the initiative works with store operators to get a handle on their utility bills, says Elizabeth Graves, program manager of the Mountain Association for Community Economic Development's (MACED) Energy Efficient Enterprises (E3).  More.

Fayette County Community Action Agency
Boy Scouts to hold annual food drive on April 28
Daily Courier / Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
April 18, 2012

The Westmoreland-Fayette Council, Boy Scouts of America, wants help in the fight against hunger in the two-county region with its annual food drive to benefit the Westmoreland County Food Bank and the Fayette County Community Action Food Bank.  The annual food drive will be held April 28. Thousands of Scouts will place door hangers encouraging families to contribute toward the goal of 85,000 pounds.  More.

Kentucky Highlands
Making Dreams a Reality: Ribbon cutting held for second houseboat energy efficient home
The Times-Tribune
April 17, 2012

Thanks to the efforts of local, state and federal partners, a Corbin family will soon be first-time homeowners but they won’t be moving into a typical home.  Key members in the multi-organization partnership gathered together Monday morning at the University of Kentucky Extension Office to celebrate the near completion and ribbon cutting on the second prototype of an energy-efficient manufactured house called Houseboat to Energy Efficient Residences (HBEER). More.

HRDC
MSU's Western Transportation Institute implements statewide ridesharing software in Montana
MSU News
April 17, 2012

There is now a solution to make carpooling a reality on the rural roads of Montana: RideShareMT.com is a state-wide, Web-based ridesharing tool managed by the Western Transportation Institute at Montana State University.  RideShareMT.com helps commuters to find ride matches, form carpools and track trips. For all Montanans, it is an easy way to find alternatives to driving alone, for both personal and business travel.  More. 

Coachella Valley Housing Coalition
Wolff Waters honored for effort to help poor
MyDesert.com
April 17, 2012

La Quinta's Wolff Waters Place housing project nabbed a 2012 Compass Blueprint Recognition Award from the Southern California Association of Governments. La Quinta's project won in the “Visionary Planning for Prosperity” category and recognized “as an excellent example of successfully advancing disadvantaged members within a resort community,” according to a city news release.  More.

Northern Initiatives turns 20
Upper Michigan's Source
April 16, 2012

MARQUETTE -- Northern Initiatives is celebrating 20 years of non-profit community development here in the Upper Peninsula.  The organization gives small businesses start-up capital and information on markets.  In recent years, Northern Initiatives has focused on developing tourism in the area as well as businesses run by women.  After 20 years of work in the U.P., Northern Initiatives says they're positioned for continued success.  More.

Midwest Minnesota CDC
State program offers entrepreneurial loans
Alexandria Echo Press
April 15, 2012

The Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) has awarded $4.5 million under its Emerging Entrepreneurs Fund to support micro-enterprises and small businesses in the state.  The money was awarded to 13 Minnesota nonprofit organizations, which typically will distribute loans to businesses with fewer than 50 workers.  More.

RCAC
Wells Fargo gives more than $146,000 to Yolo nonprofits
The Davis Enterprise
April 13, 2012

Wells Fargo & Co. announced that it invested a record $146,100 to nonprofits in Yolo County in 2011. . . . Wells Fargo has invested in local nonprofits including the West Sacramento Foundation, Rural Community Assistance Corporation, California 4-H Foundation, Families First, UC Davis Foundation and Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts.  More.

Cabrillo Economic Development Corporation
Green Housing Improves Living Standards For Ventura County Farmworkers
Neon Tommy
April 12, 2012

A new development in Ventura County, Valle Naranjal, is nearing completion in the community of Piru, located 50 miles northwest of downtown Los Angeles.  The development boasts “green” environmental standards, a soccer field, a community garden and three playgrounds or “tot lots.”  It will also house 66 families who must be low-income farmworkers. . . . It used to be the Piru Labor Camp but farmworkers called the place “El Campo.”  The ten barracks-style buildings were packed with cots and public latrines sat out back. According to the USDA, the Fillmore-Piru Citrus Association built the camp in the 1950s to house the farmworkers who picked the lemons and oranges that still remain staple crops in the Santa Clara River Valley.  The camp has seen several reincarnations since then, including its use as a single-resident occupancy lodge. But when the Cabrillo Economic Development Corporation purchased the 8-acre parcel of land, Garcia said he was determined to design a property Piru could be proud of.  More.

Tamaqua Area Community Partnership
Freeh-Stefanek to step down
Times News
April 12, 2012

The volunteer chairman serving at the helm of the Tamaqua Area Community Partnership for the past 12 years has decided to step down.  Pat Freeh-Stefanek will retire from the position later this month after serving four, three-year terms. . . .  "I think it is important to have new, younger people involved. After so many years people have a tendency to become blasé and I don't want to become like that," [Freeh-Stefanek] said. "New people have more energy, more creativity, more excitement and they are the future and they should create what they would like to see. . . . "  Freeh-Stefanek emphasizes that she is not leaving the partnership. She will continue to serve on the organization's board.  More.

WSOS Community Action Commission
Regional planning, Goodwill to build rentals with stabilization funds
The Marion Star
April 11, 2012

MARION - A three-unit rental on North State Street will be the first site of a second phase of the Neighborhood Stabilization Program.  At 3 p.m. Thursday, Goodwill Industries, WSOS Community Action and the Marion County Regional Planning Commission will have a groundbreaking ceremony at 601 N. State St.  More.

Impact Seven
Federal fund spurs more lending for small businesses
BizTimes.com Milwaukee Business News
April 11, 2012

Wisconsin banks have increased their small business lending by $16.9 million since receiving capital through Small Business Lending Fund (SBLF), according to a new report by the U.S. Department of the Treasury. . . . The Wisconsin financial institutions participating in the Small Business Lending Fund include: Almena Impact Seven Inc.; First Menasha Bancshares Inc.; . . . More.

Coastal Enterprises
Soup to Nuts: Middle Eastern fare is heaven scent in Portland
The Portland Press Herald
April 11, 2012

. . . Tucked behind Downeast Appliance and in the same row of businesses as Haggarty's and the Fishermen's Net, Tandoor is one of Portland's hidden gems. There are only two tables, so most people get take-out, and the decor is plain to say the least – but no one goes there for the decor.  Audai (pronounced Oh-day) Naser, an Iraqi refugee, has a small but extremely loyal following. . . . In 2008, Naser moved to the United States. His first stop was Atlanta, but he found it too violent there, and within three months had moved to Portland, which he had heard about from a few friends who had lived here. Naser and his family (he and his wife have seven children) started Tandoor at the Portland Public Market in 2009, with the help of Coastal Enterprises Inc.  More.

NESDCAP
State money to help transportation study
Aberdeen News
April 10, 2012

. . . In other action, the council voted unanimously to waive permit fees for a program which helps low-income residents improve their homes. The Northeast South Dakota Community Action Program assisted 129 households last year to either weatherize their homes or make modest upgrades, said Marsha Erickson with the program. Last year, about $229,000 was spent improving homes, she said.  More.

Chicanos Por La Causa hosts annual dinner
ABC15.com
April 10, 2012

More than 43 years have passed since the day a group of community and student activists of Mexican descent created Chicanos Por La Causa (CPLC) to address the problems of the barrios of South Central Phoenix, Arizona. Although its initial focus was creating employment opportunities and combating community deterioration, CPLC became increasingly aware that these problems were much deeper. As a result, CPLC expanded its services to provide assistance to disadvantaged individuals regardless of ethnic origin. More.

NECAC
Crutchfield joins NECAC team
The Moberly Monitor-Index
April 10, 2012

Moberly, Mo. — North East Community Action Corporation (NECAC) President and Chief Executive Officer Don Patrick announces that Randolph County Western District Commissioner Jerry Crutchfield of rural Huntsville has been appointed by the Randolph County Commission to serve on the agency’s board of directors.  With his appointment, Crutchfield will also serve as the voting representative on the LCPHA 11-County Joint Housing Commissioner, which governs the HUD Section 8 Housing Rent-Assistance Program in an 11-county area and is administered by NECAC.  More.

Rural Ulster Preservation Company hopes to convert former Kingston factory into apartments
Daily Freeman
April 10, 2012

KINGSTON, N.Y.  — Rural Ulster Preservation Co. made an informal presentation Monday night to the city’s Planning Board on its proposal to turn a vacant former lace curtain factory into a 55-unit apartment building, according to a press release. . . . "RUPCO hopes to convert the structure into  approximately 55 apartment units of varying sizes, including as many as eight live/work studios . . .  Kevin O’Connor, RUPCO’s  executive director, said in a prepared statement that “virtually no one today disputes the idea that when you attract artists to a community, you create a vibrancy that really speeds rejuvenation of neighborhoods and communities.”  More.

Central Missouri Community Action
CMCA to take political tack, may back EEZ: Director wants proactive shift
Columbia Daily Tribune
April 9, 2012

Central Missouri Community Action, which provides services for low-income residents of eight Mid-Missouri counties, is poised to soon have a louder voice on social issues that affect the poor. . . . Darin Preis, executive director of the not-for-profit CMCA, said over the past year the agency has shifted from focusing on individual case management to looking for ways to get more deeply involved in social issues.  More.

Champlain Housing Trust
Efforts Underway To Make Mobile Homes More Resilient, Efficient And Affordable
Vermont Public Radio
April 9, 2012

. . . We talk to Shaun Gilpin, program director of the Mobile Home Project at the Champlain Valley Office of Economic Opportunity, JoEllen Calderara, who's on the board of the Long Term Disaster Recovery Group, Matt Lutz, an assistant professor of architecture at Norwich University, and Emily Higgins, director of home ownership at the Champlain Housing Trust, about finding ways to make mobile homes more resilient, and give their owners more options and control over their living situations.  More.

CAP Services
Taking Stock: Appointments, Promotions, Achievements
Wausau Daily Herald
April 7, 2012

The Federal Home Loan Bank of Chicago recently announced the appointment of three new members to its Community Investment Advisory Council. Mary Patoka of CAP Services is among the new members and will serve a three-year term effective Jan. 1.  More.

NeighborWorks Umpqua
Tamm receives top honors for growth of NeighborWorks
The News-Review
April 6, 2012

When Betty Tamm joined NeighborWorks Umpqua as a grant writer in 1996, it was a small operation.  The entire organization, then called Umpqua Community Development Corp., consisted of the director, a bookkeeper and Tamm. Eight months later, Hanan Bowman stepped down as director, and Tamm found herself in charge of the nonprofit company, which secured funding to build apartments for low-income residents in Southern Oregon.  More.

Rural Housing Development Corporation
SelectHealth Announces Recipients of the Select 25 Award:  Utah insurance carrier awards $2,500 to 25 Utah nonprofits
MarketWatch
April 5, 2012

SALT LAKE CITY, Apr 05, 2012 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- SelectHealth is pleased to announce the recipients of the 2012 Select 25 award. The nonprofit health insurance carrier will give $2,500 to each of the 25 winners to assist them in their efforts to improve health and wellness, or to serve populations with special needs.  More.

Northern Cambria CDC
Veterans' discount program starts Monday
Pittsburgh Tribune / Blairsville Dispatch
March 30, 2012

There was good news on multiple fronts for local veterans at Wednesday's Indiana County Commissioners' meeting as the county board announced the launch on Monday of a program that offers those who have served in the military discounts from local retailers and service providers. Also, the commissioners agreed to take an option on a donated property that could serve as a second Indiana-area housing site for veterans in need of shelter. . . . The commissioners approved entering into a one-year option to accept donation of a property along Chestnut Street in Indiana Borough that would be donated by Albert A. and Louise J. Corte for the purpose of constructing housing units for income-qualifying veterans under a partnership between the county and Northern Cambria Community Development Corp.  More.

Cabrillo Economic Development Corporation
Residents move into new farmworker apartments in Oxnard
Ventura County Star
March 30, 2012

After 55 years of marriage, Maria de Jesus Cornejo and Miguel Gomez Vasquez finally have their own space.  The couple spent their first night in their new Oxnard apartment Wednesday. "I feel like I'm in a new world," said Cornejo, 70.  The couple is one of 18 families set to move in this week at Camino Gonzalez, an affordable-apartment community in Oxnard for past and current farmworkers.  The complex is a Cabrillo Economic Development Corp. project . . . .  All residents pay 30 percent of their monthly income for rent. The head of the household must be authorized to legally work in the United States, said Miguel Garcia, project manager for the complex.  He said the new complex houses an eclectic mix of residents, including traditional farmworkers, single mothers and disabled workers. More.

Tierra del Sol
Las Crucen at White House today to receive Cesar Chavez 'Champions of Change' award
Las Cruces Sun-News
March 29, 2012

WASHINGTON — Rose Garcia, executive director of Tierra del Sol Housing Corporation — with offices in Las Cruces and Anthony — is one of 10 people at the White House today being recognized as Champions of Change who, like Cesar Chavez, have dedicated themselves to improving the lives of others throughout their community and across the Nation.  More.

See the White House announcement here, and Rose Garcia's statement, "Fruitful Under the Sun", here. 

Rose was nominated for this award by the National Association for Latino Community Asset Builders (NALCAB).  For the NALCAB notice, click here.  

WSOS Community Action Commission
Sandusky County recognizes Child Abuse Prevention Month
The News-Messenger
March 28, 2012

. . . Events are being organized in Sandusky County by the Sandusky County Child Abuse Prevention Committee, a group of community organizations that aims to promote child abuse prevention strategies. Activities include a monthly article on child abuse prevention in the newsletter for Fremont City Schools and WSOS Community Action Commission Inc.  More.

Franklin County CDC
Western Massachusetts Food Processing Center in Greenfield cooks up success for local businesses
MassLive.com
March 28, 2012

GREENFIELD – The Franklin County Community Development Corp. has a recipe that has spelled success for a host of entrepreneurs who have ventured into the marketplace with food products made and packaged at its Western Massachusetts Food Processing Center. . . . For the entrepreneurs, the beauty of the food processing center is the low capital cost for startup; instead of buying needed equipment for thousands of dollars, they can rent it at the center for a reasonable hourly rate.  More.

Comite de Bien Estar
San Luis honors life, legacy of Cesar Chavez
Yuma Sun
March 28, 2012

SAN LUIS, Ariz. — In communities around the nation where Cesar Chavez led the farm labor movement, his birth and his legacy will be remembered in celebrations this weekend. . . . “We have the obligation and the need to preserve the legacy of Cesar Chavez with greater enthusiasm, and to make sure San Luis is identified as a city where his life and work are honored, and not just as the city where he died,” said Marco Antonio Reyes, executive director of the Comite de Bien Estar, a housing agency helping organize San Luis festivities.  More.

Also see coverage at KSWT News 13.

NeighborWorks Umpqua
National NeighborWorks® Association Presents Excellence Awards to Three Outstanding Practitioners
National NeighborWorks Association
March 27, 2012

Betty Tamm, Executive Director of NeighborWorks Umpqua, Roseburg, OR, received the "Practitioner of the Year" Excellence Award from National NeighborWorks Association (NNA).  From the NNA press release:  "Under Tamm’s leadership, NeighborWorks Umpqua has in the last nine years expanded from a staff of 12, to a current staff of 56 and an operational budget increase from less than a million dollars per year to over $5 million."  Read the rest of the press release here.

Coastal Enterprises
Gelato Fiasco's second location possible through loan
WCSH6
March 24, 2012

PORTLAND, Maine (NEWS CENTER) -- A locally owned gelato chain owes the opening of its second location, in part, to Starbucks.  After creating over 1,000 homemade, original flavors, and operating a successful store in Brunswick, Gelato Fiasco co-founders, Joshua Davis and Bruno Tropeano, wanted to open a store in Portland.  Several local banks denied giving them a loan, so Davis and Tropeano worked with Coastal Enterprises to obtain a $140,000 loan, which was made possible by Create Jobs for USA, a national program that supports the funding of low-interest loans to promising small businesses.  It's the brainchild of Starbucks CEO and founder Howard Schultz.  More.

Community Action Partnership of Northwest Montana
Community Action Partnership Calm First Time Homebuyer's Nerves
NBC Montana.com
March 24, 2012

KALISPELL, Mont. -- Flathead families wishing to purchase a home for the first time were able to learn more about the process at a first time homeowner’s education class. The workshop, sponsored by Community Action Partnership of Northwest Montana aimed to demystify the home buying process. Organizers say the biggest hurdle potential buyers’ face is credit scores and finding a loan company they can trust.  More.

All Systems Go for Four Directions Development Corp.
Indian Country Today Media Network
March 16, 2012

Four Directions Development Corporation has a lot to celebrate. What started 10 years ago as a one-person operation in a corner of a home with a loan budget of around $250,000 is now a thriving Community Development Corporation and Community Development Financial Institution (CDC/CDFI) with tax-exempt status, headquarters in Orono, Maine and a branch office in Bangor, eight full-time employees, six consultants and an annual operating and loan budget of more than $2 million.  More.

Self-Help Enterprises
Sweat equity homebuilder Self-Help gets $5m federal grant
Visalia Times-Delta
March 14, 2012

A $5 million grant awarded last week by the USDA Rural Development agency will keep families in Tulare County and elsewhere on the track to home-ownership.  Tom Collishaw, director of development for Self-Help Enterprises in Visalia, said the grant is for a 2-year period starting Nov. 15, 2012. "It is to help nearly 200 families from around the San Joaquin Valley build their own homes," he said. Self-Help is in the business helping families build, through sweat equity, their own homes and the homes of their neighbors. In fact, working alongside neighbors, is what sets Self-Help apart from other affordable-housing nonprofit builders.  More.

Tamaqua Area Community Partnership
Owl Creek Dam site toured by officials
Times News
March 12, 2012

Local and state officials discussed the future of Owl Creek's Upper Dam recently as they spent a chilly afternoon touring the dam site.  Rehabilitation of the Upper Owl Creek Dam for the Borough of Tamaqua is about half way done and is expected to be completed by late summer.  On hand during the tour of the construction site were state Sen. Dave Argall (R-29), state Rep. Jerry Knowles (R-124) and a few members of the Tamaqua Borough Council.  "This project has been a long standing issue in Tamaqua," said Micah Gursky, borough council president.  More.

Tamaqua Area Community Partnership
New Community Family Arts Center kicks off
Times News
March 2, 2012

The former Salem United Methodist Church (SUMC) in Tamaqua officially reopened its doors yesterday as the area's newest multipurpose center for music, arts, theater and education.  Last night's grand opening kickoff of the new Community Family Arts Center in downtown Tamaqua drew an enthusiastic crowd of visitors who were treated to a wide array of live music and song. . . . Micah Gursky, director of the new center and the Tamaqua Area Community Partnership (TACP), said, "It is very exciting to be able to provide live performances in downtown Tamaqua."  More.

Champlain Housing Trust
CHT Lands Social Innovation Fund Award
Champlain Housing Trust
February 28, 2012

The Champlain Housing Trust has been selected to receive a $130,000 grant from the Social Innovation Fund of the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS). NCB Capital Impact, a Social Innovation Fund intermediary, chose CHT as a subgrantee for their “outstanding work in their field.”  “We believe Champlain Housing Trust is a high-impact nonprofit that uses innovation and evidence to tackle social challenges,” CNCS Acting Chief Executive Officer Robert Velasco, II explained in his letter announcing the award to Vermont’s Congressional delegation.  More.

Mercy Housing and Human Development
Green houses:  O.S. community earns highest honors for environmentally friendly design
Sun Herald
February 23, 2012

OCEAN SPRINGS -- Sen. Roger Wicker on Thursday presented the Platinum Level Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Certificate to the development team of The Cottages at Oak Park. . . . The development has 29 rental homes on more than 2 acres within walking and biking distance of downtown services and retail. . . . The Cottages is administered by Mercy Housing and Human Development . . . More.

Pathfinder Services
New plan announced to improve 46807: Includes initiatives to attract new residents
The News-Sentinel
February 20, 2012

The “end of the beginning” for the 46807 Quality of Life Plan steering committee was marked by a meeting Sunday afternoon to outline its plan to members of the community. The plan is the result of one year's worth of meetings, focus groups and conversations.  The plan is a three- to five-year vision to improve life in the 46807 ZIP code . . . . More.

NeighborWorks Umpqua
Housing woes hit affordability project
Mail Tribune
February 9, 2012

An organization that provided affordable housing in the Rogue Valley for 20 years has closed down, shuttered by troubles with an Ashland project and a real estate crash that left a glut of cheap homes on the market. . . . Although GroundWorks has folded, the Roseburg-based nonprofit NeighborWorks Umpqua has taken over GroundWorks' three completed affordable housing projects in Ashland and will continue to operate them as affordable housing, Wheeler said.  "They are a wonderful organization doing more and more work in Southern Oregon," he said. "They understand mutual self-help projects. They are a stable organization. It will be safe for the families and they will keep the affordable housing functioning as we envisioned." More.

PathStone
ER to host free energy audit workshop Feb. 22
Fairport-East Rochester Post
February 8, 2012

East Rochester, N.Y. — The Town/Village of East Rochester will be holding a free energy workshop to educate homeowners about programs to help reduce energy use and annual energy costs.  Mayor Fred Ricci will host the event as energy professionals from PathStone, a not-for-profit community development and human service organization working with New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) will be available to discuss the energy-efficient “whole house” approach to home heating.  More.

RUPCO
Kingston Pike Plan presented with state check
Mid-Hudson News Network
February 8, 2012

KINGSTON – With recent renovations to the Kingston Pike Plan completed the Rural Ulster Preservation Company (RUPCO) was able to present the City of Kingston with a check for $200,000 to help cover the cost of the project during Tuesday evening’s meeting of the Common Council.  The grant was secured through the New York State Main Street Program to help fund the project and now that the renovations have been completed, the city can be reimbursed.  While speaking to the Council, RUPCO Executive Director Kevin O’Connor noted that they have also recently secured a $350,000 Home Award from the state to assist first time homebuyers purchase homes in the City of Kingston.  More. 

Self-Help Enterprises
FHCN Opens Model Facility
The Foothills Sun-Gazette
February 1, 2012

Robert Martin woke up on Friday expecting to wait in the rain at the bus stop for a ride to Family Health Care Network in Visalia for treatment. Instead, he just walked down the street to the medical group’s newest location in Farmersville. . . . George Lurie, director of communications for FHCN, said the Farmersville clinic will serve as the template for at least three more FHCN clinics currently under construction in Woodlake, Visalia and Goshen. . . . The Goshen building site was purchased from Self Help Enterprises, which operates a housing complex adjacent to the new health center location. Terms of the purchase agreement call for FHCN to maintain a community park to be built between the new health center and Self Help’s housing complex.  More.


Midwest Minnesota CDC
Benefits of CT class go beyond student learning
Crookston Times
February 1, 2012

Crookston, Minn. — This isn't your father's construction trades class.  That's probably the best way to sum up the expanded impact and enhanced learning in the local high school class that has students building a home every year that is then sold, a class that's an annual tradition among high school industrial arts/technology students with roots that go back decades.  More.

Tamaqua Area Community Partnership
New weapons to fight blight
Times News
January 31, 2012

A number of municipal, county and state officials from Schuylkill, Carbon, Berks, Lehigh and Monroe counties took part in a blight seminar hosted by Sen. Dave Argall and state Rep. Doyle Heffley last night at the Morgan Campus of the Lehigh Carbon Community College in Tamaqua.

During the seminar, visitors learned about a new blight law that goes after absentee landlords and makes multiple code violations a criminal offense. They also heard from guest speakers Ed Pawlowski, Allentown's mayor, and Micah Gursky, Tamaqua Borough Council president and director of the Tamaqua Area Community Partnership, talk about how they've successfully dealt with blight, as well as understanding, dealing with and staying ahead of it.  More.

Tierra del Sol
Farmworkers Install Solar Photovoltaic Systems
Domestic Fuel.com
January 30, 2012

New Mexico farmworkers are receiving green job training installing solar panels, according to the Association of Farm Worker Opportunity Programs.  HELP-New Mexico, a statewide community-based organization headquartered in Albuquerque, helped prepare a group of farmworkers to obtain certifications that will provide them with the skills, knowledge, and ability to work together with journeyman electricians to design and install solar panel systems.  More.

Highland Community Builders
Public meeting to discuss old First Ward School
The Inter-Mountain
January 30, 2012

Partners working to preserve and rehabilitate the old First Ward School will be holding a public meeting for all interested parties at the Jennings Randolph School on South Gate Road in south Elkins. . . . Representatives from Citizens for Historical Opportunity, Preservation and Education in Randolph County; A.U. Associates; Highland Community Builders; and the Randolph County Housing Authority will present the plans for the property and answer questions.  The adaptive reuse of the First Ward School will involve transforming the school into 16 affordable senior housing apartments for those 55 and older.    More.

Kentucky Highlands
Ribbon Cutting Marks Completion of First University of Kentucky HBEER Home
KYForward
January 30, 2012

A ribbon cutting was held today for the first prototype from the University of Kentucky’s Houseboat to Energy Efficient Residences (HBEER) initiative in an established residential area near downtown Monticello, Ky.  HBEER is a partnership between the UK College of Design, the Center for Applied Energy Research at UK, the Kentucky Highlands Investment Corporation (KHIC) and the Kentucky Housing Corporation (KHC).  More.  

Also see 1/27 Fox News article: "Houseboat industry eyes new venture for comeback"

See Kentucky Highlands' press release.

WSOS Community Action Commission
Sandusky County awards transit-facility contract
Toledo Blade
January 28, 2012

FREMONT — Sandusky County Commissioners have awarded contracts for construction of a home for the county’s public transportation service.  Telamon Construction of Sandusky was awarded the general trades contract for $1,409,000 for the 17,000-square-foot facility that will provide space for vehicle storage and offices for the Sandusky County TRIPS Transportation Service, operated by WSOS Community Action Commission.  More.

NECAC
Seniors able to get their homes weatherized for free
Connect TriStates.com
January 26, 2012

HANNIBAL, MO. -- The Northeast Community Action Corporation says although it weatherized about 700 homes in 2011, it's not going to be able to match that number in 2012.  Crews usually spend a day or two installing storm windows, storm doors, insulation and weather striping.  But because of budget cuts at the federal level, NECAC won't be able to get to as many houses as it would like.  More.

MACE
MACE Youthbuild Praised by National Official
WXVT TV
January 23, 2012

The Mississippi Action for Community Education Youthbuild program received high praise Monday.  Suzanne Fitzgerald, executive director of Youthbuild in McClain County, Ill., says the Greenville-based program is among the best she has seen in the country.  More.

Hawaiian Community Assets
Task force recommends legislature amend its sweeping foreclosure legislation of 2011
Mortgage foreclosure law revisions advised
Newser
January 19, 2012

Foreclosures in Hawaii have plummeted 53 percent since the Legislature passed sweeping mortgage legislation last year, officials said Thursday.  Hawaii had the nation's 11th highest foreclosure rate in 2010, prompting lawmakers to establish a Mortgage Foreclosure Task Force to look into all aspects of judicial and nonjudicial foreclosures in the state. . . . To put a human dimension on the issue, Sen. Brickwood Galuteria asked Gilbreath, who represents the mortgage counseling organization Hawaiian Community Assets, about the counseling process:  "Can you give a sense of what it's like for the families, the diminished quality of life that happens when you might be losing your home?" asked Galuteria, D-Downtown-Waikiki.  Gilbreath said he couldn't quantify the how many people are currently seeking counseling services, but noted, "It's definitely down."  More.

Midwest Minnesota CDC and PathStone (NY) awarded HUD funding
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development

See notice in the January 19 Federal Register.

MACED
Report: Power diversity could pay off big for Kentucky
The Richmond Register
January 18, 2012

BEREA — More jobs, greater economic activity and utility-bill savings for customers are all byproducts of investing in clean energy in Kentucky over the next decade. That’s according to a new study that examines the effects of the Clean Energy Opportunity Act — House Bill 167, introduced in the Kentucky House — if it becomes law.  Those effects could be substantial, according to Kristin Tracz, who represents the Mountain Association for Community Economic Development (MACED) of Berea, the group that released the report.  More.

Fayette County Community Action Agency
Food drive, concert planned around MLK day
Herald Standard
January 13, 2012

Megan Sheesley, an AmeriCorps VISTA volunteer for the Brownsville Area Revitalization Corp. (BARC), wanted to do something to benefit the community on Jan. 16, the AmeriCorps National Day of Service and Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.  Her thoughts turned to the entire Fayette County community and those who need help through Fayette County Community Action Agency’s Food Bank.  “I just thought it would be really nice if we could do something to benefit Fayette County as a whole,” Sheesley said. “The food bank supplies the Brownsville community, and I thought it would work out well.”  More.

Laconia Area Community Land Trust
Homebuyer Seminar Offered at Northway's Belmont Bank
The Laconia Daily Sun
January 12, 2012

BELMONT — Laconia Area Community Land Trust’s HomeBuyer Resource Center and Northway Bank are teaming up to present a free seminar for first -time homebuyers and for anyone interested in learning about the home-buying process.  More.

Champlain Housing Trust
KeyBank donations top $300,000 in 2011
VermontBiz.com
January 11, 2012

From youth mentoring to job skills programs, transitional housing and homeless prevention programs to adult literacy, KeyBank provided grants and sponsorships totaling $305,000 to more than 125 Vermont organizations in 2011.  Funds from the KeyBank Foundation supported programs helping Vermonters achieve economic self-sufficiency, including financial counseling through the Champlain Housing Trust, a grant to the Intervale Foundation to help farmers grow their businesses and support of Linking Learning to Life's College Connections program.  More.

CHIP
Biz Bits: Conference speakers willing to share secrets, tips
Chico Enterprise-Record
January 8, 2012

If you didn't get a chance to hear DAN BEVERIDGE's presentation on foreclosure a month ago in Oroville, he's going to be giving it in Chico this time. . . .  sharing incredibly valuable information for those teetering or have fallen into house foreclosure.  I reported on his presentation in Oroville and was amazed at the information. He's a certified housing consultant for Community Housing Improvement Program and has dealt with foreclosure issues for a long time.  The program is free and extremely worthwhile.  Full article.

CAP Services receives volunteer help to clean up Waupaca site
Steven's Point Journal
January 8, 2012

. . . CAP has been the beneficiary of the donated time and talent in many in our communities [over] time. Recently, groups of volunteers literally dug dirt, sowed seeds, planted shrubs, replaced old fixtures and cleaned up CAP's Transitional Living Facilities in Waupaca . . .  to make them as comfortable and attractive as possible.  More.

Fayette County Community Action Agency
Food bank receives $10,000 boost
Pittsburgh Tribune-Review / Daily Courier
January 6, 2012

The Fayette County Community Action Agency Food Bank is slowly rebuilding its supply thanks to donations from area organizations and individuals.  The John R. and Margaret S. McCartan Charitable Fund of The Pittsburgh Foundation has donated $10,000 to the food bank to help replace food and equipment destroyed in a recent flood.  More.

Fayette County Community Action Agency
Fayette County Food Bank's 'Souper Bowl' to target hunger
Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
January 6, 2012

The Fayette County Community Action Agency Food Bank is sponsoring its 14th annual 'Souper Bowl of Caring' as a way to tackle hunger.  The food bank is a program in which products are distributed through local volunteer food pantries and provides an emergency supply of food for families.  "Our goal is to have a special collection on Super Bowl Sunday," said Jamie Brink, project manager at the food bank and coordinator of the event.  More.

Northern Initiatives
Small business loan organization receives million dollar grant
Upper Michigan's Source
January 3, 2012

MARQUETTE -- A small business lending organization in Marquette is getting some help from the Kellogg Foundation to keep their efforts moving.  Kellogg is providing the Northern Initiatives with a one million dollar grant to support the launch and growth of family-owned businesses. Northern Initiatives will use the three-year grant toward capital along with training and technical assistance for both new business owners and growing businesses.  More.

Tamaqua Area Community Partnership
Community Health Department Study Looks at Tamaqua Area
St. Luke's Hospital Network Pulse
January, 2012

A study conducted by the Network’s Department of Community Health will help civic leaders in the Tamaqua area to make plans to address health issues in eastern Schuylkill County.  Hollie Gibbons, MPH, RD, manager of disease prevention programs, said that the project was funded by a grant from the Rural
Local Initiatives Support Corporation and the Tamaqua Area Community Partnership. More.

Comite de Bien Estar is featured by U.S. HUD in an informative slide show, profiling Comite's work in the areas of affordable housing, nutrition, child care, and economic development.