Community Building Webinar
Join OCDCA in partnership with Arch City Development, for the final webinar in our fall series: Delving into the Future of Community and Housing Development. The webinar is on December 10th from 2-3:30 PM.
No matter what, there is more to developing a successful community than physical structures. We will look beyond the bricks and mortar to analyze what can be done to raise public awareness, create a better sense of place and define your image. Don't let others define you, you can control the message!
Register here. Sponsored by Citizens Bank.
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OACAA & OCDCA Social Enterprise Training
Ohio Association of Community Action Agencies and Ohio CDC Association have partnered to bring our networks social enterprise training with Center for Social Enterprise Development. If you are an aspiring or even an experienced enterpriser, this training is for you. Two tracks will specialize in meeting your needs for future planning.
December 10, 2015 8 AM - 4:30 PM
The Jewish Community Center of Greater Columbus
1125 College Avenue, Columbus, OH 43209
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2016 AmeriCorps VISTA Sub-Site RFP Released Tomorrow
Tomorrow OCDCA will release the RFP for 2016 AmeriCorps VISTA sub-sites. Keep an eye on your inbox and our website.
Informational webinars are scheduled for January.
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Announcing Microbusiness Funds & Fundraising TA Recipients
OCDCA is excited to announce the thirteen recipients of the 2016 Ohio Microbusiness Development Program funds. We had many great applications and limited funds, so we were unable to fund everyone. Additionally, we are eager to announce the four member recipients of fundraising development TA through Cramer and Associates.
Read more here.
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Finance Fund
The US Treasury's Community Development Financial Institution Fund (CDFI Fund) awarded $3 million to Finance Fund Capital Corporation (FCAP). The award provides $1 million in financial assistance for small business lending and $2 million in funding from the CDFI Healthy Food Financing Initiative (HFFI). The HFFI funding enables FCAP to expand its statewide
healthy food financing activities to help meet the unique needs of healthy food projects in underserved communities. Those who have a small business or healthy food project for consideration should contact Vice President of Lending Tara Campbell at
[email protected].
"Finance Fund showed passion, commitment and leadership," said Kevin Brokaw, director of development and general counsel for the Geis Companies. Finance Fund and Geis Companies were the Ohio Economic Development Association's (OEDA) Best Project Award recipients for The 9, a $170 million mixed-use redevelopment project in downtown Cleveland.
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Ohio Capital Corporation for Housing
The CDFI fund awarded the Ohio Capital Finance Corporation $1.6 million in CDFI funding. The Financial Assistance award will be used to launch a statewide Neighborhood Development Fund which will provide loans to community development projects (non-housing) that will impact adjacent affordable housing.
Learn more about the new fund.
And happy belated 60th birthday to Hal Keller. The OCCH Board Created a Hal Keller Scholarship Program at The Ohio State University to assist graduate students pursuing degrees in housing and community development.
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Welcome New Member!
Downtown Mansfield, Inc. joins OCDCA as our newest 2015 member. Welcome! |
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Price Hill Will Starting Homesteading Program
Price Hill was one of the hardest hit neighborhoods during the foreclosure crisis. One strategy Price Hill Will is using to address vacant homes is a pilot homesteading program, designed for Price Hill residents to become homeowners. Read the full WCPO article.
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Housing Report on the Hilltop
Franklin County member Homes on the Hill CDC partnered with the Kirwan Institute at The Ohio State University and the Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission and have produced a report on strategies to boost housing in Columbus' Hilltop neighborhood as reported by the Columbus Dispatch.
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Changes in housing counseling and Cleveland's ESOP
With some pundits and elected officials declaring the foreclosure crisis "resolved," and stimulus funding gone, how are housing counseling agencies staying open?
Shelterforce recently reported
on changes in the housing counseling industry featuring Cleveland's ESOP.
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AmeriCorps VISTA Spotlight
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Last month, our VISTA Members recruited a total of 166 community volunteers. These efforts include those made by
Beth Combs, a VISTA at Supports to Encourage Low-income Families (SELF) in Hamilton, who recruited 82 volunteers;
Abbey Bott, a VISTA currently serving at Godman Guild in Columbus, who recruited 49 volunteers; and
Stacy Purcell, a VISTA serving at Community Matters in Cincinnati, who recruited 33 volunteers, among others.
OCDCA VISTAs also developed over $7,250 in cash and in-kind donations for their organizations.
Megan Conkle, a VISTA at Rural Action in Athens, successfully obtained developed $2,250 to build the capacity of her site to address food insecurity in their communities.
Kevin Tucker, a VISTA at St. Mary Development Corporation in Dayton, developed $5,000 to support the affordable housing survey and development efforts of his site.
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2015 Ohio Housing Conference - Tomorrow
Don't miss the 2015 Ohio Housing Conference, hosted by the Ohio Housing Finance Agency and the Ohio Capital Corporation for Housing. The Ohio Housing Conference is being held Tuesday, December 1 through Thursday, December 3 this year. Register here.
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Humans Insights Research: Lessons from the Field
Are you looking for ways to gain deeper insights into the behaviors, preferences and and needs of the people you serve to improve your programs and service delivery?
Join the Assets & Opportunity Network on December 17
from 2-3 pm EST to learn about tools, lessons and resources you can use.
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Cities Building Systems to Promote Financial Inclusion
The goal of this initiative is to support and promote municipal efforts that increase financial inclusion of residents at the local level. The project will directly engage mayors and senior city staff to facilitate financial inclusion innovation and system-building efforts that help low- and moderate-income families improve their financial health.
Deadline is December 4.
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Environmental Solutions for Communities - Cleveland
Wells Fargo and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) seek to promote sustainable communities through Environmental Solutions for Communities by supporting highly-visible projects that link economic development and community well-being to the stewardship and health of the environment. Geographic focus for Ohio is Cleveland with grants ranging from $25,000-$50,000. Deadline is December 10.
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Food Security Nutrition Incentive Grant Program
To support projects to increase the purchase of fruits and vegetables among low-income consumers participating in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) by providing incentives at the point of purchase. The program will test strategies that could contribute to our understanding of how best to increase the purchase of fruits and vegetables by SNAP participants that would inform future efforts, and develop effective and efficient benefit redemption technologies. Deadline is December 16.
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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 open in January 2016. If you have questions about the grant, please contact Erin Hazelton at (614) 728-1258 or [email protected].
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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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Member Benefits: "Funding Opps" & GrantStation Discount
Members of OCDCA receive the Funding Opps newsletter, which disseminates numerous funding opportunities applicable to CDCs in Ohio. Funding Opps is sent, at minimum, once per month. If you are an OCDCA member and are not currently receiving Funding Opps, please contact Lisa Much at
[email protected]
.
Also, members receive a highly discounted membership to GrantStation, an online system of funding-related resources. With OCDCA membership, the yearly fee is $75 rather than $699. Register an account at this rate.
If you are not a member and are interested in these benefits, please contact Melissa Miller at
[email protected]
.
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Accountant,
Affordable Housing Trust for Columbus and Franklin County
Community Organizer, Stockyard, Clark-Fulton & Brooklyn Centre Community Development Office
Organizations with employment opportunities in community development may send their notices for free posting to Lisa Much at
[email protected].
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Expedited Foreclosure for Vacant Properties Passes House
A bill that would reduce foreclosure timelines and therefore shorten the amount of time that residential properties remain vacant and abandoned in Ohio passed by an 88-0 vote in the House of Representatives earlier this month.
House Bill (HB) 134
is the second attempt at passing a "fast track foreclosure" bill in Ohio in order to expedite the residential foreclosure process after a similar bill failed last year in the Ohio Senate. The bill focuses only on residential vacant and abandoned properties and now moves on to the Ohio Senate but has some strong backing that may give the bill the lift it needs in order to pass the Senate and become law or as part of broader foreclosure reform effort being worked on by the Ohio State Bar Association. The idea for the bill was first proposed by Columbus City Attorney Rick Pfeiffer, and was introduced by Rep. Cheryl Grossman (R - Grove City) and Rep. Michael Curtin (D - Marble Cliff).
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Nonprofit Developer Fee Bonus Guidance
Due to the dismantling of the CHDO operating grant program caused by the HUD HOME rules, OCDCA has advocated for changes to developer fees in OHFA's Multifamily Underwriting Guidelines in an attempt to make up for lost resources. On page 7 of the Multifamily Underwriting Guidelines is language approved for an additional $75,000 in the maximum overall developer fee to go to the "community based non-profit developer". This is intended to be above and beyond the negotiated developer fee split in the event of a joint venture and when a community based non-profit is the 100% owner. It is incumbent upon the non-profit developer to utilize this intended bonus when negotiating development agreements. OHFA recently provided additional guidance in their Frequently Asked Questions document on pages 13 and 14. If you have any questions please contact Nate Coffman at [email protected] or (614) 461-6392 x 207.
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State of Ohio Capital Budget Submissions Due December 11th
The State of Ohio's biennial Capital Budget, enacted in each even-numbered year, provides appropriations for the repair, reconstruction and construction of capital assets of state agencies, colleges, universities and school districts. This year, funds may be allocated for community projects of local or regional interest. Funding for most capital projects is supported by long-term debt issued by the state or, in some cases, by various cash funds. The Office of Budget and Management has announced that the deadline for submitting requests for the 2017-2018 Capital Budget is December 11th at 5pm.
Read more
or
contact your regional partners.
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Call Senators Brown and Portman To Oppose Harmful Amendments to HOME
The Senate has begun debating its Fiscal Year (FY) 2016 Transportation, Housing and Urban Development (THUD) Appropriations bill. While this bill has been revised to reflect the
new, higher spending caps
agreed to in the Bipartisan Budget Act, it is not the version that is currently being negotiated with the House. Instead, it serves as the Senate's starting point for further negotiations.
It is now expected that the Senate will vote on amendments after Thanksgiving and before the continuing resolution (CR) expires December 11th.
Please call Senators Portman and Brown as soon as possible and ask them to protect critical affordable housing and community development programs. Specifically, ask your Senators to OPPOSE the following amendment that would decimate the HOME Investment Partnerships (HOME) program:
- Amendment 2838 offered by Sen. Jeff Flake (R - AZ) would cut funding for the HOME program from $900 million in the revised Senate THUD bill to $66 million. Earlier this year, the Senate proposed to cut HOME by 93 percent from $900 million in FY 2015 to just $66 million. Thanks to HOME supporters and the agreement to raise the low spending caps, the revised Senate bill restored HOME funding to $900 million. This amendment would negate these efforts and would essentially eliminate the program altogether.
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Congress Considering Housing Credit and NMTC in Tax Extenders
The House, Senate and White House have begun negotiations on legislation to extend dozens of expired tax provisions, which the goal of passing a tax extenders bill by December 11. One of the main issues they are debating is whether and which tax extenders will be made permanent. The Senate Finance Committee approved a two-year tax extenders bill this summer, which would extend the minimum 9 percent Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (Housing Credit) rate for new construction and substantial rehabilitation, establish a minimum 4 percent Housing Credit rate for the acquisition of affordable housing and extend the New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) on a temporary basis.
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FHFA Announces Expansion of Neighborhood Stabilization Initiative
The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) announced an expansion of the Neighborhood Stabilization Initiative (NSI) to 18 additional metropolitan areas around the country. Effective December 1, local community organizations will be given the opportunity to review and purchase foreclosed properties owned by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac in these 18 additional metropolitan areas prior to these properties being made publicly available for purchase. Sales prices will vary from market to market.
The Ohio metropolitan areas designated for NSI expansion include:
* Akron, OH
* Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN
* Cleveland-Elyria, OH
* Columbus, OH
* Dayton, OH
* Toledo, OH
These markets are Metropolitan Statistical Areas in which Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac each had at least 100 REO properties valued at less than $75,000. An interactive map, available on FHFA.gov, provides more detail about each of these metropolitan areas. For more information about becoming an NCST community buyer, please contact NCST.
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