Citi Foundation Awards $250,000 to NeighborWorks America
Press Release, June 10, 2008
Today, Citi and the Citi Foundation announced a $250,000 grant to NeighborWorks America to support the NeighborWorks Center for Homeownership Education and Counseling (NCHEC).
"Citi and NeighborWorks America will work together to create new opportunities and build an infrastructure for residents to preserve, improve and revitalize communities," said Natalie Abatemarco, Director of Office of Homeownership Preservation, Community Relations, Citi. "Homeownership is a way that Americans build wealth. We believe the Center for Homeownership Education and Counseling (NCHEC) will help many families preserve and maintain the American Dream of homeownership."
NeighborWorks America intends to use the grant funds to increase the number of trained and certified homeownership counselors nationwide, and develop tools and best practices to maximize program efficiencies. Housing counselors will be trained at local and regional training events around the U.S. Importantly; a portion of the funds from the grant will enable a number of scholarships for persons employed by non-profit organizations who could not finance attendance to the NCHEC training events.
"The benefits from the Citi Foundation grant will be felt in communities all across the country," said Jayna Bower, director of the NeighborWorks Center for Homeownership Education and Counseling. "By supporting local training and the availability of counseling tools and services, Citi is strengthening the capacity of non-profit organizations large and small to improve their neighborhoods and is encouraging the adoption of national industry standards for quality, effective housing counseling."
NeighborWorks America believes that homeownership education and counseling is vitally important to the sustainability of neighborhoods. Research shows that homeowners who receive quality pre- and post-purchase homeownership counseling are less likely to default than similar homeowners who don't receive counseling. Moreover, foreclosure intervention counseling is at the heart of the nationwide effort to slow the existing pace of home foreclosures.
In May, more than 1,950 certificates of completion will be issued to non-profit staff who took at least one homeownership and community lending course from NCHEC. By the end of 2008, it's expected that more than 10,000 training certificates will have been issued to counseling professionals will have taken at least one homeownership counseling course from NCHEC to build skills and enhance learning.