Community Opportunity News — June 2024

NACEDA is now the Community Opportunity Alliance

June 25, 2024

Advocacy

Take Action — Comment on the FHLBank Role in Affordable Housing

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) issued a Request for Input on the mission of the Federal Home Loan Bank (FHLBank) System, which consists of 11 regional banks. These banks provide affordable loans to member banks, credit unions, and insurance companies to support housing and community development. Despite significant government subsidies, concerns exist about the FHLBanks' public benefits. A Congressional Budget Office report noted that the FHLBanks received $7.3 billion in government subsidies in 2023 and paid out $3.4 billion in dividends to their members, but only contributed $355 million to their Affordable Housing Program.

Submit comments by July 15. When responding to the Request for Input, please emphasize the importance of the FHLBank System’s role in serving the housing and economic needs of low- and moderate-income communities and the value of the Affordable Housing Program. Use this comment form. Please send an email to [email protected] to let us know if you have submitted comments. 

National Voice

Escalating Property Insurance Costs Threaten Affordable Housing

The Community Opportunity Alliance has been advocating with Congress and federal agencies to rein in escalating insurance costs that are making affordable housing development and management unsustainable in some areas of the country. The trend toward rising costs is concerning nationwide. We will be participating in July meetings hosted by the Department of Housing & Urban Development to explore solutions and advocate on behalf of community developers. To learn more about this critical issue, read The New York Times’ article, 'Not Sustainable’: High Insurance Costs Threaten Affordable Housing and the Shelterforce articles, Reining in Property Insurance Rates and Soaring Property Insurance Rates Threaten Affordable Housing Development. 

Capacity

Announcing Our Free Peer-Learning Networks

We invite you to join one or both of our Peer-Learning Networks:

  • Environmental Justice
  • Community Economic Development

Over the coming year, we will host several virtual meetings for each network, bringing together community developers from across the country to share ideas, successes, and challenges on these critical topics. The meetings will include facilitated networking opportunities.

Participation is limited. To promote personal engagement, we are limiting the number of participants for each meeting. If you want to receive information about Peer-Learning Network meetings, sign up for the mailing lists. The first Environmental Justice Peer-Learning Network meeting will be held on July 31 from 1-2:30 pm Eastern Time. Those who sign up for information will receive an email with an agenda and registration form later this week.  

Explore Holistic Approaches to Professional Development

The community development field needs professionals who are strong leaders, technically proficient, and adept at advocacy. We’re bringing together leaders to discuss how to address training gaps in the field. Register for our July 26 webinar from 12-1 pm (Eastern Time).

 

Shape the direction of the webinar by responding to two questions on our Conversation Catalyst. 1) What training resources or workshops have been particularly useful for your community development work? 2) What types of training or skill development opportunities do you feel are missing in the community development field? This webinar is part of our Grounding Values in Research webinar series.

Identity

Meet HAND Executive Director Courtney Battle

Courtney Battle is the new executive director of the Housing Association of Nonprofit Developers (HAND), which serves communities from Baltimore, Maryland to Washington, DC to Richmond, Virginia. HAND’s membership includes more than 1,000 community development and real estate professionals who share the mission of creating more equitable outcomes through affordable housing. Battle joined the organization in 2016 and has held numerous positions, leading projects that expanded HAND’s reach and ability to build members’ capacity. “I believe that relationships are one of life’s cornerstones, and cultivating a strong network of changemakers who are transforming communities is vital to addressing the inequities that create barriers to opportunity,” she stated.

Battle has served as the Board President of Women of Color in Community Development. She also completed Prosperity Now’s Building High Impact Nonprofits of Color initiative and the Illuminate Your Leadership Nonprofit Coaching Program. She graduated from Howard University with a major in Journalism and a minor in Afro-American Studies. 

Research

Defining Community Development In Order to Fund It

The Shelterforce article, Defining Community Development in Order to Fund It, examines the history of the community development field and provides numerous definitions of the term “community development corporation.” The article explores how government-recognized definitions in South Carolina, Massachusetts, and Philadelphia are being used to establish parameters around who can apply for grants and tax credits that are targeted to support community development. Rick Sauer, executive director of the Philadelphia Association of Community Development Corporations, explained the purpose: “You do want to make sure that organizations that the funding was being targeted for . . . are legit organizations [and that] they’re meeting a certain base level threshold of criteria.” He noted that the Massachusetts definition is a model for how to define community development in a way that gets them better access to funding while encouraging community representation. The article also includes perspectives from association professionals in Massachusetts, South Carolina, and New Jersey as well as our executive director Frank Woodruff. 

Job Opportunities


View current job postings.

To post a job opportunity on our website, contact Kadasha Hershey at [email protected].
We request a $25 donation from non-members.