Projections for FY 1995

In FY 1995, Neighborhood Reinvestment proposes to:

1. Create or affiliate with six additional local

organizations.

2.

affordable rental unit.

Through local NeighborWorks® organizations, assist 7,200 families retain or secure home ownership or an Moreover, the impact of the requested appropriation, in subsequent years, would assist an additional 2,700 families.

3.

Provide 3,100 individuals with intensive training.

4.

Support NHSA's ability to purchase at least $20 million in NeighborWorks® loans.

5.

Monitor the NeighborWorks® network to ensure that programmatic and financial standards of performance are achieved.

During FY 1995, Neighborhood Reinvestment will concentrate its efforts in three broad areas: increased self-sufficiency of NeighborWorks® organizations, their communities and the families served; leverage investment of the private resources to the fullest extent possible; and strengthen NeighborWorks®

Self-Sufficiency

There are currently 177 local organizations that comprise the NeighborWorks® network. They are found in cities, towns, and rural areas of all sizes, real-estate markets and stages of distress. In FY 1995, the Corporation expects to affiliate with five additional, existing organizations and to develop one new organization. In working with all of these organizations, Neighborhood Reinvestment's central goals include strengthening local organization's capacity to better develop resources, upgrade financial systems, strengthen community leadership, recruit diverse and qualified staff and expand programmatic service areas.

Neighborhood Reinvestment will continue to foster comprehensive approaches to community revitalization among its network affiliates. Securing stable, decent, affordable housing

specifically through home ownership is viewed as especially effective in promoting self sufficiency and pride among families being serviced by the NeighborWorks® organizations. However, Neighborhood Reinvestment has never believed that fixing houses alone is enough to turn a community around. Families need social services, pre- and post-purchase counseling, job training, lifeskills training, and a host of other resources if they are to become productive, contributing members of the community. working in collaboration with other agencies, NeighborWorks® organizations are becoming more adept at effecting positive change that benefits entire communities.

By

The philosophy of a comprehensive approach to community renewal has also been recognized by some leading foundations, like the Surdna Foundation and the Pew Partnership for Civic Change, both of which have committed funding to our NeighborWorks® organizations in Utica, New York; Dimmit County, Texas; Beloit, Wisconsin and South Bend, Indiana to support these strategies.

The security of every equity investment relies on the presence of organizational building blocks that are less tangible but just as important. Assistance with board development, financial

management, conflict resolution, computer systems' upgrades and training, affordable housing auctions, and lender negotiations are just some of the activities that support effective use of equity capital.

With an increase in the amount of funding for capacity-building grants, Neighborhood Reinvestment field staff will be able to identify and target specific frailties in an organization and counteract them aggressively, making the organization stronger and more self-reliant. Such capacity-building efforts will do much to insure that the equity investments being made through these organizations are sound.

In addition to these capacity-building activities, the Corporation will continue to strengthen the executive director recruitment and retention effort begun in 1992 with its Community Development Leadership Project (CDLP). The pension plan,

development groups, is exceeding initial marketing priorities. The Corporation will also provide assistance to the newly created Rural Alliance of the NeighborWorks® network.

Last year, Congress allocated $500,000 to Neighborhood Reinvestment to develop a fully integrated service delivery program for NeighborWorks® communities, modeled on the criteria of the HOPE 6 Program. Project LINC (Learning In Neighborhood Collaboration) will strengthen individuals' abilities to be productive members of society.

Four demonstration sites will be

chosen from within the NeighborWorks® network to implement the program.

CommunityCorps is a National and Community Service Demonstration project developed with a $500,000 allocation in FY 1994. CommunityCorps will offer young adults, primarily from minority groups and lower income communities, an opportunity to work in their communities, providing them with job opportunities and skills training while enabling them to have a positive physical and social impact in their communities. In the process, participants will be exposed to career opportunities in community economic development. Seven-to 10 sites will be selected for the

demonstration, with funds used to pay the stipend and education

allowance and benefits for participants, as well as provide individual and group training and counseling.

Leveraging Investment

A typical NeighborWorks® organization utilizes resources from a number of sources, including banks, thrifts, corporations, insurance companies, government agencies, foundations and utility companies, and increasingly, from internally generated fees and returns on project investment. Often resources are packaged together to achieve specific ends and to leverage additional Neighborhood Reinvestment actively encourages its

resources.

network members to seek out and then leverage all available resources and programs and apply them to community revitalization activities.

Among the most important resources are those from the federal government, especially those made available through the Department of Housing and Urban Development and its HOME, HOPE, Community Development Block Grant and other programs.

Funds

As of November 1993, 78 NeighborWorks® organizations had applied for or intended to apply for $27.6 million in HOME funds. are being used to create rental housing, promote home ownership, and assist existing homeowners with rehab opportunities. An analysis of 46 projects using $14.9 million in HOME funds shows that $44.5 million was then leveraged from other sources.

Federal funding also influences programmatic thrust. In the case of mutual housing association development, for example, HUD's HOPE 2 program has enabled Neighborhood Reinvestment to