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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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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
Fifth Third Bank
Citizens Bank
Ohio Housing Finance Agency
Third Federal Savings & Loan
Enterprise Community Partners
Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland
Integrated Community Enterprises
Ohio Savings Bank
Corporation for Ohio Appalachian Development |
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Welcome New Member!
Heritage Ohio joins OCDCA as our newest 2016 member. Welcome! |
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Cincinnati CDC Funding
On April 24, the Cincinnati Enquirer covered the successes of CDCs in Cincinnati and the importance of proper levels of funding and investment needed in an article entitled Push for cash reflects neighborhoods' momentum. Patricia Garry of the CDC Association of Greater Cincinnati and several other members were quoted in the story.
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Democracy Collaborative Highlights Dayton
Dayton and several members were highlighted as a Democracy Collaborative Community-Wealth City.
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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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One Ohio Now Releases the State of Ohio 2016
One Ohio Now, an organization advocating for appropriate levels of state investment and revenue, released The State of Ohio 2016 demonstrating the condition of many struggling Ohioans and communities.
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OACAA Releases 2015 Poverty Report
The Ohio Association of Community Action Agencies (OACAA) recently released the 2015 State of Poverty in Ohio Report. There are nearly 1.8 million people in Ohio that fall below the Federal Poverty Level (FPL) according to the latest report written in cooperation with Community Research Partners (CRP).
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AmeriCorps VISTA Spotlight
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Last month, our AmeriCorps VISTA Members continued their impressive efforts to increase the capacity of their organizations to provide direct service and fight poverty.
Allison Hall, currently serving at Community Food Initiatives in Athens, helped secure over $5,300 in grant funding to support CFI's efforts to increase the accessibility of healthy foods. Sidney Jasper, our VISTA Member at Working in Neighborhoods in Cincinnati, obtained $3,500 in donations to support local community gardening projects. In total, our VISTA Members raised nearly $9,000 in grant funding and donations last month.
Our VISTA Members also recruited over 100 volunteers, who served a total of 785 hours. These efforts include those of Beth Combs, a second-year VISTA Member at Supports to Encourage Low-Income Families in Hamilton; Megan Conkle, a second-year VISTA Member at Rural Action in The Plains; and Vashti Blackmon, a VISTA Member at People Working Cooperatively in Cincinnati.
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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.
More information here.
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Midwest Rural Housing Conference
Join the Council for Rural Housing and Development of Ohio for their annual housing conference, May 2-4.
More information here.
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Ohio Nonprofit Conference and Excellence Awards on May 3
This conference through OANO is the place to network, engage around the latest issues facing the nonprofit sector, find resources to benefit your organization, and learn from first-rate speakers about hot topics. More details about the conference are here.
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PCRG 6th Annual Community Development Summit
Registration for the Sixth Annual PCRG Community Development Summit is open and discounted rates are available for nonprofit and government organizations, and to everyone who registers before April 15th. The Summit will take place on May 17th and 18th at the Omni William Penn Hotel in beautiful downtown Pittsburgh. They invite you to come explore how to empower people with the skills, resources, and capacity to transition places into equitable, healthy, and desirable communities.
Visit their conference website for more information!
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SBA and Rural Development Programs
If you are interested in more information on USDA Rural Development loan programs and Small Business Administration programs, please come join them for either of these free events.
All events open 10:00 to 11:30 am.
May 23, 2016: Highland Co. Chamber of Commerce 338 W. Main Street, Hillsboro, OH 45133
August 22, 2016: Clinton Co. Municipal Building, 69 N. South Street, Wilmington, OH 45177
If you would like more information on the free events that are offered, please contact Nicole at 513-684-2814 ext. 207 or she can be reached by email at [email protected].
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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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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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Presbyterian Mission Agency "Causes of Hunger" Funding
Organizations demonstrating that a significant part of their work, or the specific project for which funds are being sought, attempts to address the root and systemic causes of hunger, will be eligible for grants from $500 to $20,000. Deadline is April 30.
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ServeOhio AmeriCorps State Notice of Funding
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HUD Resident Opportunity and Self-Sufficiency Program
The purpose of the Resident Opportunity & Self Sufficiency (ROSS) Service Coordinator (SC) program is to assist residents of public and Indian housing in making progress towards economic and housing self-sufficiency. To accomplish this goal, ROSS provides grant funding to eligible applicants to hire Service Coordinators to assess the needs of public and Indian housing residents and link them to supportive services that enable participants to increase earned income, reduce or eliminate the need for welfare assistance, and make progress toward achieving economic independence and housing self-sufficiency.
Deadline is May 16.
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JPMorgan Chase Grants
The JPMorgan Chase Foundation is soliciting proposals from CDFI Collaboratives organized around a shared community development objective to address a documented challenge within their service area or areas. Successful applicants will be eligible for a three-year grant of up to $5 million.
Deadline is May 16.
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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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Organizations with employment opportunities in community development may send their notices for free posting to Lisa Much at
[email protected]
.
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Hardest Hit Fund
In the federal FY 2016 budget an additional $2 billion was authorized to the
Hardest Hit Fund. The fund is available to 18 states including Ohio for foreclosure mitigation/homeowner assistance and demolition activities. In March, Ohio made
application to the U.S. Department of Treasury for the full eligible allocation asking for nearly $313 million in demolition, $25 million in homeowner assistance, and the remainder for administration. The awards were announced on April 20th with Ohio receiving nearly $192 million out of the maximum award of nearly $348 million. Numerous media have reported on this issue:
Columbus Dispatch,
Plain Dealer,
Akron Beacon Journal,
WKYC Cleveland, and
Newsnet 5 Cleveland.
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Foreclosure Reform
House Bill 463 is a comprehensive foreclosure reform bill introduced by State Representative Jonathan Dever (R - Madeira). The bill is multifaceted that includes an expedited foreclosure process for vacant or abandoned residential properties, private seller options, and an online bidding process and system. HB 463 passed unanimously in the House Financial Institutions, Housing and Urban Development Committee on April 27 and will now move to the chamber for a vote.
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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. The proposed final guidelines will be posted for additional comment through Monday, May 1 and then brought to the OHFA Multifamily Committee and Board for final approval in May 2016. Comments may be directed to
[email protected].
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Housing Development Assistance Program
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced that approximately $174 million will be made available to states through allocations from the National Housing Trust Fund (NHTF). HUD expects to make individual allocations to states later this spring and anticipates these funds can be drawn upon as early as this summer. NHTF will allocate an estimated $3,790,000 to Ohio to build, preserve, and rehabilitate rental homes that are affordable for extremely and very low income households. 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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Senate Appropriations Committee Approves FY17 THUD and USDA Spending Bills
The Senate Committee on Appropriations passed its FY17 Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies (THUD) funding bill on April 21 by unanimous consent, 30 to 0. The Appropriations THUD Subcommittee had approved the bill on April 19. The THUD allocation is $1.4 billion more than in FY16. Given the tight constraints on federal spending, the HUD allocations in the bill are better than expected. HUD will receive $39.2 billion, an increase of nearly $891 million from FY16. There are no major cuts, and a few programs received funding increases. The House Committee on Appropriations approved by a voice vote its FY17 spending bill for the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) on April 19. The bill would increase funding for USDA's Rural Housing programs by $31 million over FY16 levels. To view the budget chart click
here.
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Concentrated Poverty Increased Dramatically After Great Recession
A report published by The Brookings Institution titled
U.S. Concentrated Poverty in the Wake of the Great Recession shows a significant increase in the number of people living in concentrated poverty across the United States, particularly among blacks and Hispanics. Concentrated poverty has also grown more rapidly in the suburbs than in the urban cores of the largest 100 metropolitan areas.
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