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OCDCA's Office is Searching for a VISTA Leader
OCDCA is currently recruiting an AmeriCorps
VISTA Leader to provide support to our 30+ VISTAs throughout the state. VISTA Leaders must have served as a VISTA for at least one year.
View the position here.
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OCDCA Awarded $159,463 from USDA for Rural Community Development
We are very excited to announce that we were awarded $159,463 through the US Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Rural Community Development Initiative (RCDI). We will use these funds to provide technical assistance to 37 rural nonprofit community-based housing and development organizations statewide. We are very excited for this opportunity to focus time and resources to help build the capacity of our rural members.
Read more here.
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Federal Home Loan Bank of Cincinnati Housing Program Overview Webinar
The Federal Home Loan Bank of Cincinnati (FHLB) provides competitive and non-competitive grants and discounted loans for affordable housing development. As private capital, FHLB funding is usually combined with other funding sources like tax credits, CDBG, and HOME. This webinar will provide an overview of all FHLB housing programs.
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Location |
Registration |
FHLB Housing Program Overview
June 22, 2016
10:00 - 11:00 AM |
Webinar |
Register Here! |
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OCDCA's Members Outperform Typical Wells Foundation Participants in Testing
OCDCA is committed to fostering the best training and TA to our members. For this reason, we have offered scholarships to the
Social Impact Investing Executive Education Program by the
Tony Wells Foundation. The Wells Foundation recently compiled an early participant and organizational outcomes report for OCDCA members who attended the training. The results indicate that our members outperform typical participants in test scores. Additionally, there are many positive indicators of success from various members.
Read the report here.
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Passion for Progress!
Save the Date! #cdcohio16 is in Athens October 13-14!
In 32 years, we've never held the conference in Athens, but with a growing number of members, innovative strategies in local and healthy foods, impressive impact towards bolstering low-to-moderate income entrepreneurs, and focus on zero waste, it is clearly time to showcase the revitalization occurring throughout the region. Read more
here. Follow the excitement on Twitter with
#cdcohio16.
Thank you to our sponsors! If you are interested in sponsoring or exhibiting at the conference, please contact Lisa Much at
[email protected].
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Sponsors to Date:
Ohio Capital Corporation for Housing
PNC Bank
Chase Bank
Fifth Third Bank
Citizens Bank
Ohio Housing Finance Agency
Third Federal Savings & Loan
WesBanco Inc.
Enterprise Community Partners
Federal Home Loan Bank Cincinnati
Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland
Integrated Community Enterprises
Ohio Savings Bank, a Division of New York Community Bank
Safeguard Properties
Boenning & Scattergood
Corporation for Ohio Appalachian Development
Hocking, Athens, Perry Community Action
LISC Greater Cincinnati & Northern Kentucky |
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Northeast Shores Honored by Finance Fund
At the Finance Fund's Champions for Ohio 2016 Annual Gala Northeast Shores Development Corporation was honored for bringing tens of millions of dollars in investment to Cleveland's North Shore Community to make physical improvements, help dozens of independent merchants purchase their own storefront spaces, and move hundreds of low- and moderate-income households into quality housing.
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Cincinnati Strengthens CDC Power Amid Dwindling Money
Next City recently ran a feature on the CDC Association of Greater Cincinnati and their back office program. Read it here. |
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Cleveland Neighborhood Progress Celebrates Vibrant City Award Winners
In early May, Cleveland's thriving community development industry and Cleveland Neighborhood Progress celebrated the creation of a Hispanic-themed open air market, a new nighttime market in AsiaTown, tax preparation assistance for city residents, creative neighborhood marketing efforts and tireless, transformative efforts by local developers, corporate partners, and civic champions. It all happened at the sold-out, second annual Vibrant City Awards Lunch. Six hundred guests gathered at the Cleveland Masonic Auditorium to honor the 21 award finalists, and others.
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Share Your Stories
We love hearing about the awesome work you do throughout Ohio. If your organization is mentioned in the news, please share it with us. We love photos too! If you send it to Lisa Much at
[email protected]
, we can put it on our blog and in this newsletter.
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Huntington Bank and NCRC Announce $16.1B Community Development Plan
The National Community Reinvestment Coalition (NCRC) and many OCDCA members worked to create a
community benefits agreement with Huntington National Bank as part of their purchase of First Merit Bank.
The agreement commits the bank to producing $16.1 billion in lending and investments over five years targeted to low- and moderate-income communities, and communities of color. The agreement contains significant increases in lending, investments and services, and devotes roughly 22% of their deposits to CRA activity over the next five years. Some other highlights include: opening
10 new branches in low- and moderate-income communities and communities of color;
hiring 18 Community Mortgage Loan Officers to increase their commitment to
beat their peers in 75 percent of their markets in lending to borrowers of color, women, low and moderate income people, and other underserved populations. The announcement was also picked up in newspapers across the country, and some top headlines are listed here:
HousingWire,
Crain's Detroit Business,
Crain's Cleveland Business,
The Plain Dealer,
Toledo Blade,
Columbus Dispatch,
Canton Repository,
Akron Beacon Journal, and
Pittsburgh Business Times.
OCDCA would like to commend Huntington Bank for their commitment to community development. The agreement with Huntington
follows NCRC's agreement with Key Bank in March
, which committed the institution to $16.5 billion over five years.
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COHHIO - Out of Reach Report and Ohio Housing Trust Fund Video
The Coalition on Homelessness and Housing (
COHHIO) called for an expansion of the Ohio Housing Trust Fund program after the release of a report indicating that Ohioans must earn at least $14.45 an hour to afford rent for a basic, two-bedroom apartment. The report was released by the National Low Income Housing Coalition and COHHIO. "Ohioans' earnings have stagnated for years, but housing costs continue to rise. A single parent earning minimum wage would have to work 71 hours a week all year round to afford a two-bedroom apartment. And many low-wage jobs are part-time with schedules that vary from week-to-week, so it's not even possible to work that much," COHHIO Executive Director Bill Faith said. The
report calculated the housing wage by estimating the full-time hourly wage a household has to earn to afford an apartment at fair market rent without spending more than 30% on rent.
COHHIO has also produced a video to explain the benefits of the
Ohio Housing Trust Fund. Click
here to watch this segment of their video focusing on affordable housing development.
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Save the Date: Life. Liberty. Home.
Save the Date for the 2016 Ohio Housing Conference, November 8 - 10, 2016. Hosted by the Ohio Housing Finance Agency and Ohio Capital Corporation for Housing, the event will be held at the Greater Columbus Convention Center with hotel accommodations provided by Hyatt Regency. Registration opens in August. Sponsorship information may be obtained
here.
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AmeriCorps VISTA Spotlight
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This month, our AmeriCorps VISTA Members converged in Columbus for a Spring Day of Service at Franklinton Gardens, a non-profit urban farm that produces healthy and organic foods in the city's impoverished West Side. The Day of Service began with a tour of the farm with Franklinton Gardens' Executive Director Nick Stanich and their AmeriCorps VISTA Leader, Joan Rowe. Following the tour, they helped clear space for Franklinton Gardens to begin additional planting by removing bricks, debris, and excess soil from the yard of one of their ten properties. After working all morning, they concluded with lunch and networking at the West Side location of Columbus' iconic hot dog restaurant: Dirty Franks. As the last Ohio CDC Association AmeriCorps VISTA event of the service year, the Spring Day of Service was an excellent opportunity for our VISTA Members to connect and make a difference in the community. We greatly appreciate the hard work of all of our AmeriCorps VISTA Members and Franklinton Gardens for hosting our Day of Service.
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Reducing Lead, Mold, Asthma Triggers and Poor Indoor Air Quality in Ohio's Housing
Please join the Ohio Healthy Homes Network for the Spring Healthy Homes Forum on
Thursday, June 9 at The Mayerson Academy in Cincinnati from 9 am to 4 pm. The Forum will feature the latest work of researchers at the University of Cincinnati and Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center as well as presenters from the Ohio Department of Health and Cincinnati Legal Aid Society.
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2016 Findings of Giving USA Report
Each year Giving USA reports in depth on the very latest trends in giving. The report covers whether giving is up or down over the past year; and what types of donations (corporate, foundation, individual, bequest) have increased or decreased. It digs down to show the amounts of money going to each major nonprofit field receiving the contributions and looks at the trends. Each year we have plenty of questions - what does that new data mean for different types and sizes of nonprofits? This year you get to help ask the questions at the first ever NPQ webinar scheduled just two days after the report is released on
Thursday, June 16 from 2 - 3:15 pm.
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Exploring Financial Capability & Access for Entrepreneurs Webinar Series
You're invited to join CFED's first ever Listening & Learning Series, a five-part virtual series on Exploring Financial Capability & Access for Entrepreneurs. Five webinars from April through July cover a broad range of topics. The next webinar is June 21.
More information here.
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OANO Standards of Excellence Clinic Series
Registration for the Standards for Excellence Clinic Series with Allison Black Cornelius is now open for Dayton and Columbus! There are two sessions in
Dayton on June 21 and June 28. There are two sessions in
Columbus on June 22 and 29.
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NACEDA's 9th Annual Summit: Cleveland 2016
We are proud to co-host the National Alliance of Community Economic Development Association's 9th Annual Summit August 29-31 in Cleveland. It features a one-day symposium − Community Development & the Social Determinants of Health − sponsored by New Venture Fund with support from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The event brings together community development association professionals and their partners from around the country. This year, they're inviting healthcare professionals to join us for an important conversation on how treating the neighborhood and not just the patient can lead to better health outcomes − often at lower cost. Read more here.
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Healthy Food for Ohio Funds
Finance Fund Capital Corporation developed Healthy Food for Ohio (HFFO) to increase access to affordable, fresh food in underserved areas, improve the diets and health of Ohio residents, and spur economic development and revitalization. Grants and loans are available to fund costs associated with land acquisition, predevelopment, construction, equipment, infrastructure, and related expenses for new and existing facilities. Eligible applicants include grocery chains, individual grocery stores, neighborhood food stores, co-ops, and nontraditional food projects such as farmers markets and food hubs. Projects must operate in limited supermarket access areas in Ohio. Applications are accepted on a rolling basis.
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Efficiency Crafted Homes Incentives
Efficiency Crafted Homes provides financial incentives for new home construction or gut rehabs in Columbia Gas of Ohio or AEP Ohio territory. For more information about becoming an Efficiency Crafted builder, contact 1-877-771-5506 or [email protected].
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ServeOhio AmeriCorps State Notice of Funding
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Rural Business Cooperative Service
The purpose of this program is to provide financial assistance to improve the economic condition of rural areas through cooperative development.
Deadline is June 20.
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Food and Farm Communications Fund LOI
Grants of up to $100,000 will be awarded to projects that advance a targeted innovative media/communications effort, assist in removing the "roadblocks" to better communications efforts aimed at affecting consumers and public opinion, and/or which focus on a media and communications campaign that addresses a specific public policy issue.
LOIs are due June 15.
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ODSA to Host Informational Webinar on Abandoned Gas Station Cleanup Grant
On Wednesday June 22, 2016, the Ohio Development Services Agency will host a free webinar to educate interested potential recipients about the new Ohio Abandoned Gas Station and Cleanup Grant. The Grant will provide funding to assess and clean up BUSTR Class C sites. Successful applicants may be awarded up to $100,000 for assessment and up to $500,000 for cleanup activities. For more information on the free Webinar, and to sign up, go
here. For more information on the Abandoned Gas Station Cleanup Grant, go
here.
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Finance Fund Small Business Loan Fund
Loans of $200,000-400,000 are available to for-profit businesses and community based nonprofit organizations operating in underserved markets in the areas of healthy food, health care, job skills training, affordable housing, manufacturing, education, and child care. More information here.
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FHLBank of Cincinnati Community Investment Cash Advances
The Federal Home Loan Bank of Cincinnati provides discounted advances through two programs to support housing and economic development. Under the Community Investment Program (CIP), discounted loans are available to finance the purchase, construction, and/or rehabilitation of housing and economic development projects. The Economic Development Program (EDP) provides discounted advances to promote economic development and/or job creation/retention. Available year-round.
More information about these and other programs is available here.
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Organizations with employment opportunities in community development may send their notices for free posting to Lisa Much at
[email protected]
.
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Foreclosure Reform Passes
Foreclosure reform passed the Ohio Senate and Ohio House May 25th in the new form of Sub HB 390. The original reform legislation,
House Bill 463, was incorporated into Sub HB 390 and creates a comprehensive foreclosure reform package that was introduced and championed by State Representative Jonathan Dever (R - Madeira). The final bill is multifaceted that includes an expedited foreclosure process for vacant or abandoned residential properties, private seller options, purchaser registration and an online bidding process and system. HB 463 which mirrors the House and Senate passed Sub HB 390 had previously passed unanimously in the Ohio House by a vote of 91 - 1. Sub HB 390 now heads to the Governor's desk for signature. "Each one of us has families and neighborhoods in our district that have been hit hard by the foreclosure crisis in the last several year and we all know it often takes properties a long time to move through the current process," Rep. Dever said. "Because of this, blight has become rampant throughout our state, particularly in the urban cores, which negatively impacts communities that can least afford it." Rep. Kent Smith (D-Euclid) praised the bill, saying it's necessary in Ohio where 539,418 houses - more than twice as many were estimated lost as a result of Hurricane Katrina - went into foreclosure between 2008 - 2015.
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D.O.L.L.A.R. Deed Passes
Another Rep. Dever sponsored-bill, creating the
D.O.L.L.A.R. Deed Program to be established, in part, by the Ohio Housing Finance Agency (OHFA) also passed the House and Senate recently and is awaiting the Governor's signature. The legislation requires a borrower and lender participating in the D.O.L.L.A.R. Deed Program to execute a deed in lieu of foreclosure and a lease with option to purchase agreement relating to the real property that is the subject of the mortgage.
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Housing Development Assistance Program
The
final draft of the Consolidated Housing Development Assistance Program (HDAP) Guidelines have been posted to the
OHFA website that were approved by the OHFA Multifamily Committee and Board in May.
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National Housing Trust Fund (NHTF) Ohio Allocation
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) recently announced that approximately $174 million will be made available to states through allocations from the National Housing Trust Fund (NHTF). Ohio's allocation of NHTF funds will be $3.74 million. For more information, please visit the NHTF webpage on the
OHFA website. Interested parties are welcome to submit comments to
[email protected] at any time.
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House and Senate Pass FY17 THUD, USDA Spending Bill
The Senate passed recently a spending package that included the THUD appropriations bill by a vote of 89 to 9. The package includes no significant funding cuts and will ensure households currently served by HUD programs will continue to receive assistance.
As the Senate considered the bill, housing and civil rights advocates had to spring into action
when Senators Mike Lee (R-UT), Tom Cotton (R-AR), Richard Shelby (R-AL), and David Vitter (R-LA) filed an amendment attacking the Fair Housing Act. Their amendment would prohibit HUD from implementing the Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing (AFFH) rule and its assessment tool, as they claim the rule turns HUD into a national zoning board with the power to overturn or rewrite local zoning laws in communities across America. Senators opposing the amendment eked out the 60 votes needed to set it aside, defeating efforts to have it included in the THUD bill. The final vote was 60 to 37. The Senate Committee on Appropriations approved by a vote of 30-0 its FY17 spending bill for the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) on May 19. The bill would fund the Section 521 Rental Assistance program at $1.405 billion for FY17, the amount requested by President Obama and $15.3 million more than was appropriated for FY16. The proposed bill would increase the Multifamily Preservation and Revitalization (MPR) program, which would receive an additional $3 million for housing vouchers.
The House Committee on Appropriations approved its FY17 HUD spending bill by a voice vote recently. The bill would:
- Provide sufficient funding to renew existing project-based rental assistance contracts;
- Level fund the HOME Investment Partnerships program and the Community Development Block Grant program among other.
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NY CDC Establishes EB-5 for Community Investment
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