Feature
The Ripple Effect
To create neighborhoods of choice and opportunity, many American cities today struggle with using limited resources for maximum results. With a targeted strategy premised on process, political will, and partnerships, Richmond, Virg. has been able to transform some of its most disinvested neighborhoods. Only five years after the Neighborhoods in Bloom program was initiated, a Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond study reports some of the economic impacts of the policy, including increased home values. By targeting public and foundation resources to specific distressed neighborhoods, Richmond was able to attract the much-needed market capital. The study methodology and findings are summarized in a new Richmond LISC report: "The Ripple Effect: Economic Impacts of Targeted Community Investments." To download the "The Ripple Effect," please visit the LISC Online Resource Library . To view the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond study, visit their website.
Experts Online Webcasts
Urban Parks and Green Space: Neighborhood Windows to Beauty and Health is the Aug. 16 session of the Smart Metropolitan Neighborhoods Series at 2:00 p.m. ET. Join Larry Kaplan and Peter Harnik of the Trust for Public Land and Project for Public Spaces' Andy Wiley-Schwartz in a discussion about creating and supporting neighborhood parks. To learn more, visit the LISC Online Resource Library.
Where You Lead . . . Others Will Follow: Championing Financial Leadership is the Sept. 9 Experts Online session at 2:00 p.m. ET. Join Organizational Development Initiative's Maria Gutierrez and Jeanne Bell Peters, COO and senior consultant with CompassPoint Nonprofit Services in San Francisco, for practical tools and wisdom to build and sustain financial leadership throughout your organization. Ms. Bell Peters is the author of the highly praised book, "Financial Leadership for Nonprofit Executives: Guiding Your Organization to Long-Term Success." To learn more about this session, visit the LISC Online Resource Library.
Commercial Corridors: Linking Housing, Retail, and Jobs is the Sept. 13 session of the Smart Metropolitan Neighborhood Series at 2:00 p.m. ET. Revival of commercial corridors can be more effective through a mixed-use strategy that includes housing and other non-residential uses. The discussion will focus on how commercial corridors have capitalized on their ethnic and cultural diversity, proximity to transportation, and availability of affordable housing to create destinations that attract businesses, residents, and visitors. More information is available on the LISC Online Resource Library.
The Green Development Series
Starting in September and continuing through the fall, Experts Online will feature three new sessions on various aspects of green community development, organized by LISC's Green Development Advisory Group. Financing Green Development - More Sensible and Feasible than You Think, on September 22 at 2:00 p.m. ET will be the first session of the series, moderated by Greg Maher, LISC Deputy General Counsel. Presenters include Mat Thall, Senior Program Director of Boston LISC and Clare Bressani Tanko, Program Officer of Bay Area LISC. The Green Development Series is supported by a grant from The Home Depot Foundation. To learn more about the series, visit the LISC Online Resource Library.
KnowledgePlex Chats
Manufactured Homes: State and Local Policy Innovations is the topic of the Aug. 23 chat at 2:00 p.m. ET. Join Kathryn Goulding of CFED, Paul Bradley of the New Hampshire Community Loan Fund, and Skipper StipeMaas of the Georgia Legal Services Program for a discussion of emerging state and local policy solutions, CFED's Innovations in Manufactured Homes (I'M HOME) Initiative, use of conventional financing for manufactured homes, and efforts to establish a community land trust model.
Data Segmentation: Communities' Friend or Foe? on Aug. 24, 2:00 p.m. ET will feature Alyssa Lee and Robert Haslach of the Urban Markets Initiative. This discussion will cover the history, structure, and possible applications of data segmentation systems for community and economic development. For more information about both chats, visit the KnowledgePlex website.
LISC will begin sending a separate monthly listing of LISC's Experts Online webcasts. LISC will provide only summary information on the webcast list in future eNewsletters.
Conferences and Events
Neighborhood Funders Group Conference will be Sept. 11-13 in Phoenix. The Conference will focus on the major demographic shifts that have transformed neighborhoods nationwide and created tensions over jobs, housing, and public funding for low- and moderate-income communities. For more information or to register, go to the Neighborhood Funders Group website.
Creating New Suburban Neighborhoods of Lasting Value is the fifth workshop in the Smart Growth is Smart Business series in Buffalo on Sept. 20. The workshop will feature Craig Lewis, Managing Principal of The Lawrence Group Town Planners and Architects, Davidson, NC. For more information, visit the Buffalo LISC website.
It's So Easy Funding Green: The First National Green Building Conference for Funders will be Oct. 24-26 in Cleveland. The Conference will highlight how funders can support green building and neighborhood design through their grantmaking, investment portfolios, and commercial office choices. For more information, visit the Funders' Network for Smart Growth and Livable Communities website.
2005 National Brownfields Conference will be Nov. 2-4 in Denver. The Conference is the official EPA and ICMA co-sponsored event on all aspects of brownfield redevelopment and reuse. To learn more, visit the Brownfields Conference website.
The 5th Annual New Partners for Smart Growth Conference will be Jan. 26-28 in Denver. The program will feature cutting-edge smart growth issues, the latest research, implementation tools and strategies, successful case studies, interactive learning experiences, and new policies. More information is available on the Conference website.
LISC is hosting, presenting at, and/or helping to sponsor all of the events listed above.
Funding Opportunities
The Center for Urban Redevelopment Excellence at the University of Pennsylvania is offering fellowships to young professionals for placement with top redevelopment organizations nationwide. The deadline is Aug. 31. For more information, visit the Center's website.
HUD announces the availability of approximately $5 million in HOPE VI funds to assist small units of local government that have existing Main Street area revitalization projects for development of affordable housing. The application deadline is Sept. 2. The HUD website includes more information about the program.
Youth Service America (YSA) has two funding programs to support service learning among young people across America. First, YSA is recruiting lead agencies for the 18th Annual National Youth Service Day, April 21-23, 2006. In addition to a $2,000 grant, lead agencies receive media exposure, outreach support, planning resources, and year-round service planning assistance. The deadline is Sept. 12. With support from State Farm Companies Foundation, YSA is also offering one hundred $1,000 grants for teachers, youth (ages 5-25), and school-based service-learning coordinators to implement service learning projects for National and Global Youth Service Day. The application deadline is Oct. 17. For more information about both programs, visit the Youth Service America website.
The Terri Lynne Lokoff Child Care Foundation is now accepting applications for child care center enhancements. Grants of up to $4,000 will be awarded to child care programs to implement specific changes that improve the quality of care. The application deadline is Dec. 31. More information is available on the Foundation's website.
For more Funding Opportunities please see the eNewsletter Archive
Information Resources
MetLife Foundation Community-Police Partnership Award Winners are highlighted in a series of case studies by LISC's Community Safety Initiative (CSI). The case studies illustrate the role of community development corporations and law enforcement officials in creating safe neighborhoods, as well as the cost-benefits of integrating safety initiatives in community revitalization efforts. For more information and to download the case studies, or the 2004 Award-Winners Casebook, visit the LISC website.
Recapitalizing Affordable Rental Housing is a new publication of LISC's Affordable Housing Preservation Initiative, offering nonprofit owners of affordable rental housing information about strategies and regulatory issues affecting recapitalization, purchase, and rehabilitation of existing affordable rental housing. To request a copy or to download, visit the LISC website.
Tax Policies to Help Working Families in Cities is a new publication of the Brookings Institution. It examines how existing federal tax rules affect low- and middle-income families, and the potential of certain policies in improving economic prospects for millions of working families in urban areas. Visit the Brookings Institution website for more information.
The Working Papers Series from the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University (JCHS) include three new publications, "The Impact of Minority Growth and Minorities' Rising Household Income on Housing Markets," "The Importance of Wealth and Income in the Transition of Homeownership," and "China's Homeownership-Oriented Housing Policy: An Examination of Two Programs Using Survey Data from Beijing." To download, visit the JCHS website.
How Cities Use Parks series from APA's City Parks Forum has published three new issues. The new papers address tourism, smart growth, and the connection between parks and arts and culture. Visit the APA website for more information.
Inventing Civic Solutions is a publication of the Pew Partnership for Civic Change, highlighting eight of the community projects it has been documenting since 1999. This guide explores project solutions to some of the most pressing community problems, including rural leadership development, school-based health programs, accessible transportation, and job and life skills for young adults. To view the guide, visit the Pew Partnership website.
Private Neighborhoods and the Transformation of Local Government is a new Urban Institute book that explores the history, reasons, and political and economic consequences of the boom in homeowners' associations, condominiums and cooperatives, and other private communities. For more information or to order a copy, visit the Urban Institute's website.
For more Information Resources please see the eNewsletter Archive
Affordable Housing Design Update
Success is in the Details: How the Smallest Design Decisions Support Your Whole Development
Some of the most important design decisions are the details, particularly the trim details. Details are about how different planes, materials, and building elements come together. Well-conceived and well-crafted details support your development goals. Carefully designing these small design moves not only helps control construction and maintenance costs, but also help make your project visually clear. For more information, visit the Design Advisor website.
For more Design Updates please see the Design Advisor website
Policy News
Federal
FY 2006 Appropriations. The Senate Appropriations Committee recently approved its FY 2006 funding bill for HUD and other agencies, pending the full Senate approval. Highlights include an 8% reduction from FY 2005 levels for Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) formula grants to states and localities; a total of $1.791 billion, close to FY '05 levels for HOME formula grants; and Section 8 vouchers at virtually the same level as the House and about $870 million above FY '05 levels. The bill rejects the Administration's proposal to dismantle CDBG and replace it with a much smaller, new Commerce Department program. The bill also provides $30 million for LISC and the Enterprise Foundation to administer the Section 4 Capacity Building for Community Development and Affordable Housing program, which provides seed capital for nonprofit community development corporations (CDCs) at the same level as FY '05. The President's budget proposed eliminating Section 4. To see the Senate Appropriations Committee's press release, visit the Senate website.
New Nonprofit TA Funds Proposed. The Senate Appropriations Committee bill proposes a new Affordable Housing and Economic Development Technical Assistance Board to help local nonprofits access and manage HUD program funds. Members of the Board include LISC, The Enterprise Foundation, and the Centre for Management and Technology, with an advisory group consisting of several advocacy organizations. Other details are still emerging.
Senate Committee Approves Bill To Regulate Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac. The Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee has approved a bill to strengthen regulation of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which is much tougher than the version approved earlier by the House Financial Services Committee. Unlike the House version, the Senate bill does not include an Affordable Housing Fund.
Regulators Finalize New CRA Rules. The Federal Reserve Board, Comptroller of the Currency, and FDIC have finalized new CRA rules for "intermediate small" banks with assets of $250 million to $1 billion. A substantial improvement over an earlier FDIC proposal, the new rules, in general restore a measure of stability to CRA policy. The final rule creates a new test for community development to account for 50% of the CRA, including CD loans, investments, and services (including branch locations).
In addition, unlike the earlier FDIC proposal, the final rule would count revitalization activities in rural areas only with high poverty and unemployment rates or population loss; small, thinly populated, and distant from urban areas; or those with federal disaster designations.
State
Minnesota - The recently approved 2006-2007 budget includes funding for the Minnesota Housing Finance Agency with only a small funding cut, thanks to HousingMinnesota, a coalition of housing advocates, faith-based organizations, and the business community. The Housing Challenge Fund, providing significant resources for the production of affordable workforce remains at its current level of $19.2 million. The 50% increase in funding for the Minnesota Housing Trust Fund and the $12 million in bonding authority will help meet the Governor's plan to end long-term homelessness. HousingMinnesota also led the efforts to achieve a reduction in the property tax rate for affordable housing units, which will reduce property taxes for rent-restricted properties by 40%.
North Carolina - North Carolina community development advocates ensured a $5 million increase in the State Housing Trust Fund. The now $8 million Fund is a major state resource for housing. In addition, they saved the foreclosure prevention funding which will be available in more North Carolina counties in the future.
For more Policy News please see the eNewsletter Archive
