For our 25th Anniversary Video, we are asking our members for help in showing the world the many faces of HAND. We invite you and your team to show your HAND spirit by submitting a “We Are HAND!” video clip for possible inclusion in our Annual Meeting video.

The process is simple:

• Shoot the video (on a phone, tablet or camera)
• Say your name, organization and “We are HAND!”
• Email us your video

Click here for our submission process. Have questions? Email us at Communicaions@HANDHousing.org or call TeAnne Chennault on 213.399.6467.

NIMC Team and Residents of Rivertowne Mixed-Income Development (Toronto, Canada)

For most of the past year, the National Initiative on Mixed-Income Communities (NIMC) has been consulting on Washington, D.C.’s New Communities Initiative, a mixed-income transformation initiative for four severely distressed housing communities – Barry Farm, Lincoln Heights/Richardson Dwellings, Northwest One and Park Morton.  Along with colleagues at Trusted Space Partners, NIMC has been able to provide strategic consultation to the New Communities Initiative team in the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development and its partners – District of Columbia Housing Authority, development teams, resident leaders and other local organizations.

Based at the Case Western Reserve University’s Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences in Cleveland, Ohio, NIMC aims to help reduce urban poverty and promote successful mixed-income communities by conducting high-quality research and making information and evidence easily available to policymakers and practitioners. Along with several research and evaluation studies, the group conducts “state of the field” scans, provides technical assistance and strategic consultation, maintains a mixed-income network among practitioners, policy makers and researchers and manages an online mixed-income development database and library. NIMC has evaluated and consulted with with mixed-income redevelopment in several cities including Chicago, San Francisco, Akron, Boston, Seattle and New Orleans. The recent book, Integrating the Inner City: The Promise and Perils of Mixed-Income Public Housing Transformation, co-authored by Robert Chaskin and NIMC founding director Mark Joseph presents findings and policy implications from three mixed-income case studies in Chicago.

In D.C., NIMC has been able to draw on its research and evaluation findings, broad experiences in several cities and its extensive network of mixed-income practitioners and policymakers to help the District and the Housing Authority. To help promote the local government’s renewed commitment to a successful and inclusive transformation of the public housing developments, NIMC is focused on strategic design, shifting the operating culture and building strong community engagement.

Brand new to HAND, the group is looking forward to sharing its work and learning from the association’s members. By being part of HAND, NIMC also hopes to accelerate its learning curve about the work, experience and insights of the membership.

“We are excited to be plugged into this network and hope to find ways to share and disseminate all that we have learned and continue to learn about promoting successful mixed-income development!” – NIMC

HAND is pleased to spotlight the National Initiative on Mixed-Income Communities as a member who certainly contributes to our organization’s COLLABORATION, INNOVATION and TRANSFORMATION within the metropolitan area!

The Catalogue for Philanthropy is now accepting applications for nonprofits to join the its network. Being part of the Catalogue network means you will be recognized as “one of the best” high-impact, community-based nonprofits in the region – something that means so much to supporters, both existing and new. The Catalogue’s track record shows that when nonprofits engage in a committed partnership with CFP, they receive both financial and other returns. (The Catalogue has helped raise over $30 million since 2003 for its network of over 300 charities.)

ABOUT THE CATALOGUE FOR PHILANTHROPY
The mission of the Catalogue for Philanthropy: Greater Washington is to create strong and vibrant communities by connecting caring citizens with worthy community causes. For donors‚ this means we take the guesswork out of giving by identifying the best community-based charities in Washington D.C. and nearby Maryland and Virginia counties. For nonprofits‚ it means we raise visibility through the distribution of our annual print Catalogue‚ events‚ and campaigns‚ and we create resources and run educational workshops throughout the year to help elevate their capacity to do good.

Applications are due by 11:59pm on Sunday, February 28th.

Click here to learn more and to apply.

Recently, the President submitted to Congress his fiscal year (FY) 2017 budget request–the final budget request of his presidency.

Overall, the budget request provides a $2.1 billion increase in funding for affordable housing and community development programs. The budget proposes additional resources for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to expand the number of Housing Choice Vouchers for homeless families with children, to increase funding for Homeless Assistance Grants, as well as to help revitalize distressed communities throughout the country. Moreover, the budget fully funds the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) rural rental housing assistance program.

The budget request contains a number of proposals related to tax policy and other federal agencies that directly impact housing and economic opportunities for low-income families. For more details, see Enterprise’s comprehensive overview of the President’s FY 2017 budget and our updated FY 2017 budget chart.  For a version of this Action Alert that you can share on social media, see Enterprise’s blog post.

Now that the President’s budget has been released, it is time for affordable housing and community development organizations to take action.

Here are 3 things you can do TODAY to help protect affordable housing and community development programs:

1. Sign the national letter urging Congress to make funding for affordable housing and community development a top priority. Enterprise and other leaders of the Campaign for Housing and Community Development Funding launched this letter to bring together housing, community development, and transportation organizations to ensure that the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development (THUD) Appropriations Subcommittee gets the highest allocation possible. With this investment, communities across the nation can access the federal resources they need to thrive and meet the needs of their most vulnerable residents. The deadline to sign on is February 19.

2. Sign the national letter to protect and fully fund Section 4 in FY 2017. Section 4 strengthens communities across the nation by providing critical support to local nonprofit organizations that develop affordable housing, finance small businesses, revitalize commercial corridors, and help address local healthcare, childcare, education and safety needs. Despite this successful track record, the Obama Administration proposes to essentially eliminate Section 4 in his FY 2017 budget request. In response, Enterprise, LISC, and Habitat for Humanity are leading an effort to fully fund Section 4 at no less than $35 million in FY 2017. The deadline for organizations to sign on is February 18.

3. Sign the national HOME letter to restore funding to at least $1.2 billion in FY 2017. For over 20 years, HOME has proven to be one of the most effective, locally driven tools to help states and communities address their most pressing housing needs. In recent years, HOME funding has been cut in half, making it more difficult for low-income seniors, people with disabilities, veterans, families with children, and homeless populations to access the housing they need. That’s why Enterprise and other members of the HOME Coalition are urging Congress to restore HOME funding to at least $1.2 billion.The deadline for organizations to sign on is March 1. For more information, see Enterprise’s recent blog post and their #SaveHOME  campaign site.

If you have any questions about the President’s budget request–or how you can help protect funding for affordable housing programs–please contact Diane Yentel (dyentel@enterprisecommunity.org) or Sarah Mickelson (smickelson@enterprisecommunity.org).

EZ Retrofit – A Free, Simple Way to Save Energy!

Washington, D.C. – Monday, February 1, 2016 – Almost two years after the initial launch, Stewards of Affordable Housing for the Future (SAHF) is pleased to announce the release of EZ Retrofit 3.0!

EZ Retrofit is a free, do-it-yourself, excel-based audit tool that addresses cost and complexity concerns typically associated with traditional third party audits. It was developed by SAHF in collaboration with ICF International and Bright Power, Inc.

Rebecca Schaaf, the Senior Vice President of Energy at SAHF stated that “Opportunities exist for nearly every building to save energy and water, but it’s not always worth it to pay for an audit. EZ Retrofit gives owners a detailed analysis specific to their building to help them select upgrades and start saving.”

EZ Retrofit provides owners and managers with an easy way to identify cost-effective energy and water efficiency upgrades specific to their building. It enables owners to customize a retrofit scope for their individual property. After running EZ Retrofit, owners can integrate changes that can:

– Reduce energy and water consumption and costs
– Increase property efficiency
– Reduce maintenance and extend equipment life
– Improve indoor air quality and tenant comfort
– Attract and retain tenants

A costs analysis of 32 multifamily was conducted by SAHF using the EZ Retrofit tool. The median projected energy and water cost savings from SAHF’s analysis were $338/unit/year. This is generally comparable with other recent studies of national multifamily programs, including an analysis of 179 multifamily properties which participated in HUD’s Green Retrofit Program (GRP). Results from HUD analysis indicated actual first year savings of $308/unit/year from energy and water upgrades*.

Since the release of EZ Retrofit, property owners and auditors have applied it to more than 4500 affordable housing units across the U.S. Owners of multifamily buildings who apply recommendations produced by EZ Retrofit, stand to reap substantial cost savings.

“EZ Retrofit not only provides valuable recommendations, but also offers fast results at no cost, with little disruption to the property.” stated Dennis Hidalgo, Energy & Sustainability Manager, Volunteers of America. He added, “Plus, it’s a great tool for comparing cost and energy savings quoted by contractors. We’ve already identified other properties where EZ Retrofit will be helpful in identifying opportunities for savings.”

*Reference: “Energy and Water Savings in Multifamily Retrofits,” SAHF/ Bright Power, 2014

Interested in Learning How the EZ Retrofit Can Help You Save Money?
Join SAHF on February 18th for the EZ Retrofit 3.0 Webinar
Register Today!