LISC Virginia to lead Wells Fargo’s Wealth Opportunity Restored Through Homeownership (WORTH) Initiative to create 5,000 homeowners of color by 2025
Richmond (Oct. 14, 2022) - Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney, Henrico County Manager John Vithoulkas, local and State elected officials joined LISC Virginia and the RVA WORTH Homeownership Collaborative to announce the launch of a new initiative to expand homeownership opportunities for Black, Hispanic, and other underserved individuals and families. Funded with a $7.5 million grant from the Wells Fargo Foundation, the initiative kicked off today with a panel discussion featuring prominent leaders from the collaborative discussing solutions to racial homeownership gaps across the region.
The donation to Local Initiatives Support Corporation, or LISC, Virginia comes from Wells Fargo’s Wealth Opportunity Restored Through Homeownership, or WORTH, initiative, a $60 million national effort to address systemic barriers to homeownership for people of color. Richmond is one of eight markets across the U.S. to receive a WORTH grant, which aims to help create 5,000 new homeowners of color in Central Virginia by the end of 2025.
“People of color have historically faced housing discrimination through unjust practices such as redlining, resulting in a wide racial gap of home ownership in our community,” said Richmond Mayor Levar M. Stoney.
“More than just having an affordable and desirable place to call home, it has severely impacted the economic mobility of our black and brown residents, impeding the opportunity to build generational wealth, and by extension, stable and healthy families. Both the public and the private sector have an obligation to use all resources at their disposal to close this gap, and I’m grateful for the partnership of Wells Fargo with LISC and our housing advocates to create more equitable access to home ownership.”
“Our region enjoys a thriving economy and a great quality of life, but the dream of homeownership continues to be just beyond the reach for many of our residents, particularly individuals and families of color,” Henrico County Manager John A. Vithoulkas said. “As a county, we are committed to building and maintaining vibrant, healthy neighborhoods. Homeownership is an integral part of that and a path forward to build generational wealth. We appreciate Wells Fargo’s support and look forward to working closely with LISC to expand and sustain homeownership across the region.”
“As a company, we’re committed to creating opportunities for more people of color to buy their own homes,” said Otis Rolley, Wells Fargo’s head of Social Impact and president of the Wells Fargo Foundation. “We know that without very deliberate interventions from the public and private sector, the racial homeownership gap will continue to grow. Today’s donation in Richmond is about identifying specific housing challenges in the region and accelerating actions that will build homeownership, which in turn, grows generational wealth.”
According the RVA WORTH proposal there is no region in the United States where the WORTH Initiative is more apt. This ambitious plan will redress the extensive wrongs of racial discrimination in Richmond, Virginia, make the WORTH funds more valuable and reparative. This Plan envisions reconciliation and healing through equitable homeownership, wealth building, and economic opportunity.
Working together over the next four years, the collaborative plans to tap the grant to implement a variety of strategies to expand housing inventory and support BIPOC homebuyers, including:
The launch of LISC Virginia’s RVA WORTH Plan builds on significant local efforts by partners to address housing challenges. It is also a critical part of LISC’s national efforts to narrow gaps in health, wealth, and opportunity, particularly through Project 10X, a $1 billion commitment to reducing racial disparities.
“The WORTH Plan represents a call to action for our region to commit to a common value of equitable economic mobility and create a level playing field for people of color who aspire to achieving wealth building through homeownership.” said Jane Ferrara, Executive Director of LISC Virginia.
About LISC Virginia
As a local office of the largest Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) in the United States, our reach is national, and our impact is local. Since 1990, LISC Virginia has raised $30 million locally, leveraging investments of $575 million for Virginia neighborhoods. By leveraging private and public resources, we have supported the development of more than 3,800 affordable homes, 300,000 square feet of retail and community facilities, 45,000 square feet of library space, two childcare centers, six football fields, 35 small businesses on neighborhood commercial corridors, and one community health center. LISC Virginia has also provided more than 10,000 hours of management assistance and training to our community development partners.
About the RVAWORTH Collaborative
The Collaborative consists of multiple members under the leadership of LISC Virginia. Since 2021, this group has met bi-monthly and engaged directly with BIPOC homebuyers and the larger stakeholder community via a series of focus groups and meetings. This research formed the basis of the interventions established for this plan. Core members include Better Housing Coalition, Chamber RVA, Crater Planning Commission, HDAdvisors, HOME, Partnership for Housing Affordability, PlanRVA, project:HOMES, Richmond Metropolitan Habitat for Humanity, Richmond Redevelopment and Housing Authority, Southside Community Development and Housing Corporation, Virginia Dept. of Housing and Community Development, and Virginia Housing.