Federal News

Government Shutdown Prevented by Short-Term Spending Bill

President Obama signed a short-term spending bill into law on Thursday, funding federal agencies until December 9. A week-long Congressional impasse over the bill broke when lawmakers agreed to provide federal assistance for residents of Flint, Michigan, in separate legislation this year. The short-term spending bill includes emergency funding for flood-ravaged areas in Louisiana, Maryland and West Virginia. Congress is not expected to pass a comprehensive budget deal for fiscal year 2017 until after the November elections.

Clinton Op-Ed Addresses Housing and Community Development

In a The New York Times Op-Ed, My Plan for Helping America's Poor, Clinton says we need "a national commitment to create more affordable housing" and proposes increasing the Low Income Housing Tax Credit in high-cost areas. To address high-poverty areas, Clinton writes: "Tim Kaine and I will model our anti-poverty strategy on Congressman Jim Clyburn’s 10-20-30 plan, directing 10 percent of federal investments to communities where 20 percent of the population has been living below the poverty line for 30 years. And we’ll put special emphasis on minority communities that have been held back for too long by barriers of systemic racism." 

Middle-Income Housing Tax Credit Bill Introduced in Senate

Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) introduced legislation to create a Middle-Income Housing Tax Credit to create rental homes for families with incomes between 60% and 100% of the area median gross income (AMGI). The Low Income Housing Tax Credit Program caps incomes at 60%. The National Low-Income Housing Coalition opposes the bill, citing their recent report finding that just 2% of middle-income renters nationwide are severely cost burdened, compared with 75% of the poorest renters who pay more than half their income towards their rent. 

CFPB Seeks Comment On Proposed Rule for Payday and Car Title Loans

The proposed rule by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) would identify it as an abusive and unfair practice for a lender to make a covered loan without reasonably determining that the consumer has the ability to repay the loan. However, the proposal contains loopholes. Read the Center for Responsible Lending analysis and comment by October 7.

CFPB Updates Mortgage Servicing Rules for Struggling Borrowers

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) released a final rule updating the way servicers are required to communicate with borrowers who have applied for loss mitigation, thereby expanding borrowers' foreclosure protections. The CFPB blog provides details.

FHFA Announces Refinancing For High Loan-To-Value Ratio Borrowers, Extends HARP 

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) announced that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will implement a new refinance offering in October 2017 for borrowers who are current on their mortgage but unable to refinance through traditional programs because their loan-to-value ratio exceeds the maximum limit. FHFA will extend the Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP) until September 30, 2017. 

NACEDA News

MA, OH and Philly Picked for National Creative Placemaking Initiative

NACEDA and Americans for the Arts announced that three partnerships three were selected to engage in an intensive, one-year program to build knowledge and advance creative placemaking in their state or region: Massachusetts Association of Community Development Corporations and MASSCreative; Ohio CDC Association and Ohio Citizens for the Arts Foundation; and Philadelphia Association of Community Development Corporations and Just Act.

Creative placemaking is a strategy to revitalize communities and local economies by intentionally leveraging the power of arts, culture and creativity. NACEDA'S Creative Placemaking Immersion Program is funded in part by a $100,000 Our Town grant from the National Endowment for the Arts. Americans for the Arts is the lead partner.

Save the Date for the People & Place Conference: May 31-June 2 in Arlington, VA

Plan to attend this peer-learning conference for community development practitioners –- hosted by the the National Alliance of Community Economic Development Associations (NACEDA), National Association for Latino Community Asset Builders (NALCAB), National Coalition for Asian Pacific American Community Development (National CAPACD), and the National Urban League.

Access NACEDA Summit 2016 Presentations & Resources

Co-hosted by the Ohio CDC Association, NACEDA Summit was held August 29-31 in Cleveland, Ohio. The event featured a one-day symposium on Community Development & the Social Determinants of Health sponsored by New Venture Fund with support from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. PowerPoint presentations and recommended reading are now available on the NACEDA website.

Member News

Seattle Adopts Mandatory Inclusionary Housing

The Seattle City Council unanimously approved a bill requiring affordable housing to be included in all new residential developments. The Mandatory Housing Affordability Policy requires residential developers to set aside at least 5-7% of new units for households earning at or below 60% of the area median income.  According to Mayor Ed Murray, the program will create about 6,000 new affordable units over the next 10 years. The requirements take effect when the city council implements new zoning regulations providing a height bonus for developers who build or fund additional affordable housing.

The new policy is the result of more than a decade of advocacy for an inclusionary housing policy to capture Seattle's increasing land values for public benefit. The Housing Development Consortium of Seattle/King County and Puget Sound Sage co-founded the Growing Together Coalition of more than 70 organizations representing labor, faith, community organizations, and environmentalists. The coalition worked with the mayor and city council on a Housing Affordability and Livability Agenda with 65 recommendations. Last month, voters passed the recommendation to double the Seattle Housing Levy.

New Toolkit Helps Hospitals Establish Local, Inclusive Hiring Strategy

The Democracy Collaborative just released the first of three toolkits designed to provide hospital and health system leadership and department managers with the steps to begin to harness their everyday business practices to drive community health and well-being. Workforce, the first of three toolkits in their Hospitals Aligned for Healthy Communities series is now available. Watch for toolkits on hospital purchasing and investment in November and December.

Online Data Map Pinpoints Tenant Displacement in New York City 

The Association for Neighborhood and Housing Development created a building-by-building interactive map to steer officials and tenant organizations to neighborhoods in New York City where affordable apartments might be threatened. The Displacement Alert Project Map mined several public databases to include more than 96,400 residential properties with more than three apartments that met at least one of three conditions: the building was sold in 2015, had obtained a work (construction) permit from the city’s Department of Buildings since 2013, or contained at least one rent-regulated unit since 2007. 

Housing Action Illinois Releases Guide to Client Management Systems

Housing Action Illinois developed HUD-Approved Client Management Systems, the first guide of its kind to to help housing counseling agencies figure out which system is the best fit for them. Developed in partnership with Neighborhood Housing Services of Chicago, the guide provides side-by-side profiles of the 17 publicly-available systems for managing and documenting work with clients and tracking outcomes.The guide was funded by the Illinois Attorney General National Foreclosure Settlement Program.

Partner News

Join the Make Room Campaign to Make Housing an Election Issue

NACEDA has joined the Make Room Campaign. We urge you to join too! The online platform makes it easy for organizations and individuals to directly engage Members of Congress, demand action, and see what Senators and Representatives are doing in response. You can quickly send a tweet, make a phone call, or email your Members of Congress. Organizations can also sign onto a national letter to Congress and use Make Room’s advocacy toolkit to raise awareness locally. Individuals can share their story, see how others in the community are wrestling with this problem, and find national and local organizations working toward solutions.  Join this campaign to give voice to struggling renters and elevate rental housing on the agendas of our nation’s leaders.  

NLIHC Releases 2016 Advocacy Guide & Voterization Plan

The National Low Income Housing Coalition (NLIHC) 2016 Advocacy Guide educates advocates on how to advance federal programs that promote stable, affordable homes for low-income people. The 2016 guide focuses on increasing federal spending on key housing programs; expanding and improving the Low Income Housing Tax Credit; and ensuring that housing needs are addressed in criminal justice reform. The Voterization Plan is a guide for nonprofits to legally and effectively engaging voters for the 2016 election.

KaBoom! Announces Play Everywhere Challenge Winners

KaBOOM! held a nationwide search for the best ideas that make play easy, available, and fun for kids. Checkout the gallery of submissions and the 50 winners.

Job Postings

Executive Director
CDC Association of Greater Cincinnati
Cincinnati, OH

Chief Executive Officer
Housing Families
Malden, MA 

Community Engagement Associate Housing Network of Rhode Island
Housing Network of Rhode Island
Pawtucket, RI

To post a job opportunity, contact Suzanne Gunther. A $25 donation is suggested.

Funding Opportunities

Go to our website for current grant opportunities. The're updated throughout the month.