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OCDCA's Office is Searching for a VISTA and VISTA Leader
OCDCA is currently recruiting an AmeriCorps VISTA to lend support to the Microbusiness Program.
View the position here.
We are also searching for a 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 early sponsors! If you are interested in sponsoring or exhibiting at the conference, please contact Lisa Much at
[email protected].
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Microbusiness Summit: Best Practices
The 2016 Microbusiness Summit: Best Practices will allow participants to share ideas and strategies to bolster the effectiveness of their microbusiness program. It will feature ample networking opportunities and panel discussions about microbusiness best practices on underwriting and collections; and ensuring and measuring success of your microbusiness clients.
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Event and Date
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Location |
Registration |
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Microbusiness Summit: Best Practices
April 13, 2016
9:30 AM - 3:00 PM
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100 E. Broad Street
6th Floor
Columbus, OH 43215
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Free to attend.
Lunch will be provided.
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Introduction to Neighborhood Stabilization Initiative (NSI)
As a partner in the NSI program, local community organizations are given the opportunity to review and purchase foreclosed properties owned by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac prior to these properties being made publicly available for purchase. Sales prices will vary from market to market but are discounted from the estimate of fair market value.
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Event and Date
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Location |
Registration |
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Introduction to NSI
April 28, 2016
10:00 AM - 11:15 AM
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Webinar
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Welcome New Member!
Live Healthy Appalachia in Athens joins OCDCA as our newest 2016 member. Welcome! |
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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. Some samples from the past two months:
Lakewood Has a Way to Prevent Elder Fraud, regarding financial empowerment training for senior citizens through ESOP.
Cleveland Neighborhood Votes on Creative Community Development, a Next City article about the Ballot Box Project by Northeast Shores Development Corporation. |
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National Community Reinvestment Coalition and Key Bank Announce Landmark Community Benefits Plan
On Friday, March 18, the
National Community Reinvestment Coalition (NCRC) and
Key Bank signed an unprecedented $16.5 billion community development plan. The impetus for the plan came from Key Bank's purchase of First Niagara Bank in New York for $4.1 billion. To read
The Plain Dealer article click
here and to access the full community benefits plan
here. Similar deliberations are currently being led by NCRC with Columbus-based Huntington Bank regarding their proposed
acquisition of Akron-based First Merit Bank.
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DODD New Community Housing Manager
Ted Jones recently joined the Ohio Department of Developmental Disabilities in the newly created position of Community Housing Manager. Ted's work will support and enhance DODD's mission of continuous improvement of the quality of life for Ohio's citizens with developmental disabilities and their families with an eye towards providing more opportunities for the integration of persons with developmental disabilities into the greater community through life and work experiences. Ted's focus will be to explore and expand efforts in the development of integrated community housing to address the current shortage of housing designed for, and available to, the developmentally disabled.
Ted has been involved in affordable housing for over thirty years with the better part of that time focused on non-profit housing development. Prior to joining the Department he spent seven years with the Corporation for Supportive Housing helping agencies to create permanent supportive housing in Ohio's urban and rural communities. As DODD's Housing Development Manager, Ted will work with existing federal and state housing programs to leverage DODD funding and expand opportunities for those with developmental disabilities in the affordable housing market, advancing progress toward a vision of inclusive housing for those with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities. Ted will be reaching out to our membership to build partnerships for the creation of community based housing for some of Ohio's most vulnerable citizens.
Ted can be reached at 614.466.4179 or [email protected]. Please call or email him with any questions.
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Housing Ohio 2016
Registration for COHHIO's annual conference, Housing Ohio 2016, is now open! The conference is April 11-13. Check out the conference brochure. You can register by check or by credit card. This year's annual Housing Ohio conference features 30 timely and engaging workshops on a variety of topics dealing with homelessness and affordable housing. This year's keynote speakers are two nationally acclaimed authors who have explored the intersection of poverty and homelessness. Come hear what Matthew Desmond -- author of Evicted -- and Luke Shaefer -- author of $2.00 A Day -- have to teach us about confronting the systems that keep people trapped in poverty.
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New GOPC Report Assesses Credit Gaps Landscape and the Role of CDFIs in Ohio's Opportunity Neighborhoods
The Greater Ohio Policy Center announced their new report, "Meeting the Financing Needs of Opportunity Neighborhoods in Ohio: The Credit Gaps Landscape and the Role of Community Development Financial Institutions," which outlines credit gaps and redevelopment needs in "opportunity neighborhoods" in cities throughout Ohio.
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Exploring Health Care Savings in Affordable Housing
A new report, Health in Housing: Exploring the Intersection between Housing and Health Care, jointly published by Enterprise and Center for Outcomes Research, shows that pairing affordable housing with health care services significantly increases access to primary care and reduces emergency department visits while lowering Medicaid costs. The research team analyzed Medicaid claims data from January 2011 to June 2015 for more than 1,600 residents in 145 affordable housing properties in Portland, Ore. They found that residents' Medicaid costs were $48 lower per resident per month, or $936,000 annually across the study group, after moving to affordable housing.
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Wells Foundation Social Impact Investing Training
This cutting-edge three day course enables nonprofit, foundation and social enterprise leaders to leverage the power of social enterprise and social impact investing together to increase impact, improve stability, and grow the sustainability of their organizations. An OCDCA member recently stated, "I attended the Social Impact Investing Executive Education Program held in Columbus (February 16-18, 2016). Little did I know that the experience would be one of the best I have had in my career." This intense training is definitely worth it. Read more.
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AmeriCorps VISTA Spotlight
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As we enter the second half of the service year, our AmeriCorps VISTA Members have continued their efforts to support their organizations and build their capacity for fighting poverty. In February, our VISTA Members recruited 45 new volunteers to assist with their programs.
Stacy Purcell, currently serving at Community Matters in Cincinnati, helped secure over $37,000 in grant funding for a collaborative project with the organization Price Hill Will, which will redevelop the Eight Street corridor in the Lower Price Hill neighborhood.
Kevin Tucker, a second-year VISTA Member at St. Mary Development Corporation in Dayton, helped secure $10,000 in grant funding from the CareSource Foundation to support affordable housing and resident services programs.
We are excited to see the great work that our VISTA Members will continue to accomplish as we move into the final months of the service year. |
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New Tools for Engaging Residents and Operations Staff in Sustainability
Join Enterprise on April 14 for the second webinar of the year where Enterprise Green Communities releases new tools associated with the 2015 Green Communities Criteria.
Register here.
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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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FHLB Cincinnati AFP Training
Join the Federal Home Loan Bank of Cincinnati as they discuss their affordable housing program. They will be in Columbus on April 27 a the Quest Conference Center.
Register 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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Finance Fund Small Business Loan Fund - Serves Many Purposes!
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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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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Abandoned Gas Station Cleanup Grant
Ohio Development Services Agency (ODSA), in partnership with Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Department of Commerce, Bureau of Underground Storage Tank Regulations (BUSTR), announced a resource to help clean up abandoned gas and service stations throughout Ohio. The Abandoned Gas Station Cleanup Grant will provide funding to assess and clean up BUSTR Class C sites (underground storage tanks with documented petroleum releases). Local government entities who own the eligible property or who have an agreement with the landowner such as non-profits may apply. Eligible activities include up to $100,000 for assessment and up to $500,000 for cleanup. Priority will be given to vacant gas or service station projects where cleanup provides the greatest environmental, community and economic impact. Applications due April 1.
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2016 FinLab: Weathering Financial Shocks
To encourage more technology, talent and innovation to address this challenge, the 2016 Financial Solutions Lab is dedicated to supporting entrepreneurs and nonprofit innovators who are helping Americans weather the financial shocks that all of us experience in life. From affordable, transparent insurance products, to new approaches to savings, to quality credit options, the Financial Solutions Lab is seeking innovative solutions that will help Americans weather financial shocks. Deadline is April 7.
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Community Innovation Labs
EmcArts is pleased to announce that, with support from the Kresge Foundation, they will be launching Community Innovation Labs in two new communities across the United States in 2016-2017. These Labs will offer the opportunity for local stakeholders in two communities to take on an urgent and specific social challenge by using artistic practices to explore local systems and advance innovative responses. LOIs are due on April 11.
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National Endowment for the Arts Challenge America Grants
Grants of $10,000 are available for professional arts programming and for projects that emphasize the potential of the arts in community development. Deadline is April 14.
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Ben & Jerry's Grassroots Organizing for Social Change
The Grassroots Organizing for Social Change Program offers general or project support to non-profit organizations throughout the United States and is their most competitive grant program. They make one-year grants for up to $25,000, to organizations with budgets under $500,000. Only organizations with 501(c)3 status, or who have a fiscal agent with this status are eligible to apply. Deadline is April 15.
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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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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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Council for Development Finance Agencies, Columbus, is hiring a
Vice President
.
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. The funds will be issued competitively among the eligible states with Ohio's maximum allocation at nearly $348 million. On March 11, the Ohio Housing Finance Agency (OHFA) made an
application to the U.S. Department of Treasury for the full allocation asking for nearly $313 million in demolition, $25 million in homeowner assistance, and the remainder for administration. A decision from the Treasury is anticipated in April.
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Housing Development Gap Financing
The OHFA Office of Planning, Preservation and Development recently released a
first draft of the consolidated program guidelines
for the Bond Gap Financing (BGF) program, the Housing Development Gap Financing (HDGF) program and the Capital Investments Program (CIP).
Key Changes Proposed in the Draft Guidelines:
- Restructured the Housing Development Gap Financing and Capital Investment programs creating a single program directing funds to small developments involving rehabilitation of existing housing or the construction of new housing for households with low-incomes and/or special needs.
- A new application process intended to minimize the amount of cost and documentation required to initially apply for Housing Development Gap Financing, and provide greater funding flexibility. These changes will help the Office of Planning, Preservation and Development realize time and administrative cost savings without compromising the objectives under which the program was established.
- Strengthened partnerships in the Housing Development Gap Financing program with other state agencies, expanding the ability of OHFA to leverage capital funds and rental or operating subsidies administered by the Ohio Department of Developmental Disabilities, the Ohio Department of Medicaid and Ohio Mental Health and Addiction Services.
OHFA is interested in learning about your experience in using the HDAP programs and your impressions of the proposed guidelines. Comments can be directed to [email protected].
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More than 2,000 Organizations Urge Increased Funding for THUD Programs
The Campaign for Housing and Community Development Funding (CHCDF) sent a
letter signed by more than 2,000 national, state and local organizations to Senate and House Appropriations Committee Chairs and Ranking Members urging them to increase the 302b funding allocation for the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies (THUD) Subcommittee for FY17. The total amount that the two Appropriations Committees are permitted to spend each year is called the 302a allocation. The committees then decide how to divide the total among the 12 subcommittees. The amount for each subcommittee is called its 302b allocation. CHCDF is a coalition of 70 national organizations working together toward the highest possible funding for housing, homeless, and community development programs. Thank you to the numerous Ohio organizations that signed on in support.
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Record High Number in Congress Sign On in Support of HOME
Thanks to the work of HOME's Congressional champions--Rep. Fudge (D-OH), Sen. Leahy (D-VT), and Sen. Coons (D-DE)--and thousands of HOME supporters across the nation, record-high numbers of Senators and Representatives signed onto the HOME Dear Colleague Letters in support of restoring HOME funding in FY 2017:
- 117 Representatives--including both Democrats and Republicans--signed on. This is more than in any previous year and 10 more Representatives than last year.
- 37 Senators--an all-time record and 7 more Senators than last year.
Thank you for your advocacy!
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New Fact Sheets Show Impact of Housing Credit in Every Congressional District
The
ACTION Campaign has released an updated set of fact sheets
showing the impact of the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (Housing Credit) in every congressional district, including the number of affordable apartments created or preserved, the jobs that Housing Credit development supports and other benefits to local economies. For the first time, the fact sheets also include data on the number of renter households in the state paying more than half their income in rent. The district fact sheets use the latest data from the HUD Low-Income Housing Tax Credit database and the National Council of State's Housing Agencies' 2013 Factbook, as well as economic impact multipliers from the National Association of Home Builders. The ACTION Campaign previously released a set of fact sheets showing the impact of the Housing Credit in every state.
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