Community Opportunity News — July 2024

NACEDA is now the Community Opportunity Alliance

July 31, 2024
 

Advocacy

Provide Input on the FHLBank Affordable Housing Program by August 19

The Federal Housing Finance Agency has issued a Request for Input on the Federal Home Loan Banks’ (FHLBank) Affordable Housing Program (AHP) competitive application process. It asks stakeholders who have applied for the AHP to answer eight questions about the efficiency and effectiveness of the competitive application process and make suggestions for improvement. The Alliance is working with community development associations across the country to provide input.

Fighting the Criminalization of Homelessness in Indiana

The Supreme Court's recent ruling that an Oregon city can jail and fine people experiencing homelessness opened the door to punitive policies across the country. The ruling also provided a compelling reason for state and local governments to act to guarantee greater protections. To equip advocates to constructively engage policymakers on the benefits of the “housing first” approach to ending homelessness, Prosperity Indiana and the Hoosier Housing Needs Coalition  created a comprehensive toolkit. Take a look at The Criminalization of Homelessness and How We Fight Back. It is an excellent resource for state and local advocates nationwide.
 

National Voice

Shaping the Future of the HOME Program – Detailed Recommendations Submitted

The Community Opportunity Alliance, in collaboration with the People & Places Collaborative, has submitted a detailed comment letter to the Department of Housing and Urban Development on the proposed changes to the HOME Investment Partnership Program. The comments focus on changes to the HOME Program’s set-aside for Community Housing Development Organizations (CHDOs). The letter advocates for more flexibility for CHDOs to demonstrate their capacity to perform HOME-funded projects.

It proposes to expand the roles CHDOs can play in the development of rental properties. And it offers ideas to make CHDO certification attractive to more community-based development organizations, particularly in rural areas – a long sought-after goal of the Community Opportunity Alliance and the People & Places Collaborative. This collaborative effort underscores the Alliance’s commitment to ensuring that the HOME Program better serves low-income, emerging, and rural communities.

White House Announces New Actions to Lower Housing Costs

The Biden-Harris Administration recently announced several new housing and community development-related initiatives in a White House Fact Sheet. Notably, President Biden called on Congress to pass a form of national rent control that would give corporate landlords that manage 50 or more rental units a choice – cap rent increases at no more than 5% per year or forfeit depreciation write-offs on their rental properties. The proposal includes an exemption for new construction and units with substantial renovation and rehabilitation. The Administration also announced $325 million in Choice Neighborhoods grants. In addition, the President called on all federal agencies to assess surplus federal land that can be repurposed to build more affordable housing across the country.
 

Capacity

Register Now for this Free Webinar

Ronald Newman, Senior Advisor for Inflation Reduction Act, will provide expert insights on Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) tax credits that are particularly useful to community development organizations and the communities they serve.

 

Learn actionable strategies for using tax credits for improving the energy efficiency of affordable housing, community buildings, and commercial buildings — and for offering clean energy loans and resources to people in the community. Newman will engage the audience in Q&A, so get your questions ready!

 

Join us for this free webinar on August 6 from 2-3 pm Eastern Time.

Register now. 

Access Resources from Our Professional Development Webinar

The community development field needs to develop professionals who are technically proficient and adept at advocacy and community engagement. During our July 26 webinar, training experts discussed how to gain these in-demand skills.

 

Access the webinar recording and training resources suggested by webinar participants. 
 

Identity

Shelterforce Completes Series on the State of the Community Development Field

The Moving Community Development Forward series consists of 11 articles and opinion pieces, several of which feature the Alliance and our members. Defining Community Development in Order to Fund It explores how some governments have created formal definitions to help target special tax credit funding to the field. It includes insights from community development leaders in South Carolina, Massachusetts, and Philadelphia as well as our executive director Frank Woodruff. Our partners at ThirdSpace Action lab contributed the article, What do Residents Think of Community Development Organizations?, based on our joint Storied Communities, Community Stories research project and webinar. The series also includes Affordable Housing Sector Split on Rent Control, which is particularly timely given the President’s call for rent control.
 

Funding

Placemaking Grants Available for Small Towns & Rural Communities

T-Mobile’s Main Street America focuses on revitalizing community spaces in towns with 50,000 people or less. Project funding of up to $50,000 will be awarded to up to 100 towns per year. Main Street programs are encouraged to apply.
 

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.