Unrestricted grant of $500,000 will enable NHSSF to address racial inequities in housing and wealth building across African American and Latinx communities
December 14, 2021
City of Miami – Neighborhood Housing Services of South Florida (NHSSF) was selected by the Citi Foundation as a recipient of the Community Progress Makers initiative, which supports visionary organizations across the U.S. that are working to connect low-income communities and communities of color to greater social and economic opportunity. As a Community Progress Maker, NHSSF will receive a multi-year, unrestricted grant of $500,000 and access to technical assistance and a supportive learning community from 2022 – 2023.
Through Citi Foundation’s support, Neighborhood Housing Services of South Florida will expand services that address racial inequities in housing and wealth building, combat gentrification of historically African American and Latinx Neighborhoods, and support communities in ongoing, resident-driven neighborhood revitalization throughout the area with a focus on Black Homeownership, progressive lending, and equitable development. For nonprofits like NHSSF having unrestricted grant support has always been critical and useful to fulfilling our mission. However, there is a sense of urgency for those of us in the public and not-for-profit sectors to address inequities through systemic change. Therefore, Citi Foundation’s investment will help Neighborhood Housing Services of South Florida to be more flexible, nimbler and to maintain the focus on identifying innovative approaches to our service delivery.
NHSSF will undertake the following strategies in the grant period:
- Expansion of the WOW (With Ownership Wealth) initiative, adding Homebuyer Clubs and Peer Learning Platform with a goal to increase our Black homeownership rate by 5% each year over 4 years;
- Ramp up NHSSF Financial Capacity program to work intensively through financial coaching for persons who require 3 or more months of coaching, education, and training; Increase credit scores to 640, increase savings by 15%, and decrease personal debt by 35%;
- Continue growing NHSSF CDFI and deploying recently allocated funds for Down Payment Assistance to families at or below 80% of AMI;
- Offer solar resiliency and energy efficiency loans to LMI homeowners so that families may withstand the property damage and family displacement due to climate change, natural disasters, and extreme weather events. These lending programs will benefit homeowners by allowing them the benefits from cost saving green measures, increased property values and thereby the ability to build home equity.
“Neighborhood Housing Services of South Florida is honored to be among the 50 organizations around the nation in the latest expansion of the Citi Foundation’s Community Progress Makers initiative. With this unrestricted grant, NHSSF continues to work to shorten the distance between low wealth residents and economic opportunity. We have ambitious goals and deliverables for 2022, and the Citi Foundation’s recognition and generosity along with the peer learning exchanges will set the foundation for NHSSF to deliver empowering services to the South Florida communities we serve. On behalf of the NHSSF Board and Staff, we thank and salute the Citi Foundation,“ said Kimberly T. Henderson, President & CEO of Neighborhood Housing Services of South Florida.
The newest cohort of Community Progress Makers includes 50 leading nonprofit organizations selected through a competitive Request for Proposals process, with a strong track record of supporting underserved communities across six U.S. cities: Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami, New York City, San Francisco Bay Area and Washington, D.C. The Citi Foundation will provide a supportive learning community through which grantees can connect to share best practices and strengthen their work as social change agents. Technical assistance will also be provided by the Urban Institute to help measure the cohort’s impact and progress.
“Six years ago, the Citi Foundation launched Community Progress Makers with a vision of empowering community leaders to grow their transformative impact through unrestricted, trust-based funding,” said Brandee McHale, Head of Community Investing and Development and President of the Citi Foundation. “This kind of approach and support is more important than ever as the U.S. continues to address the root causes and impacts of income and wealth inequality. Through the Community Progress Makers initiative, these social innovators and advocates can continue to look for new ways of addressing long-standing societal challenges at scale.”
From 2015 to 2019, the Citi Foundation has provided $40 million in multi-year, unrestricted funding to 72 Community Progress Makers, helping to place over 45,000 people in affordable housing, train over 33,000 people for employment, save over $10 million in energy costs, and expand over 12,000 small businesses.
Miami organizations listed in 2021 Community Progress Makers are:
- aire ventures
- Community Justice Project
- Health Foundation of South Florida
- Miami Workers Center
- Neighborhood Housing Services of South Florida
- Solar and Energy Loan Fund, Inc. (SELF)
- YWCA of Greater Miami Dade
For more information about Community Progress Makers, please visit: www.citifoundation.com/cpm
About NHSSF
Established in 1978, NHSFF is a certified Community Development Finance Institution (CDFI) and an accredited community development nonprofit serving South Florida residents for over 40 years. NHSSF is committed to advance prosperity for all South Floridians through Lending, Real Estate Sales, Housing Development, Home Buyer Education & Counseling, and Community Transformation. NHSSF is also a chartered member of the NeighborWorks® America. In this capacity, we are part of a nationwide network of over 240 chartered community development organizations and one of the twenty that serve Florida residents. NHSSF provides its full spectrum of homeownership services in English, Creole, and Spanish to assist potential homebuyers in reaching their homeownership goals. For more information, visit www.nhssf.org.
About the Citi Foundation
The Citi Foundation works to promote economic progress and improve the lives of people in low-income communities around the world. We invest in efforts that increase financial inclusion, catalyze job opportunities for youth, and reimagine approaches to building economically vibrant communities. The Citi Foundation’s “More than Philanthropy” approach leverages the enormous expertise of Citi and its people to fulfill our mission and drive thought leadership and innovation. For more information, visit www.citifoundation.com.
Contact
Juan C. Gordillo | (786) 237-2122 | juang@nhssf.org
