NeighborWorks Accepting Applications for Achieving Excellence Program

NeighborWorks America, the nation’s leading trainer of community development professionals, is now accepting applications for the 2010-2011 class of its renowned NeighborWorks Achieving Excellence in Community Development program.

Achieving Excellence is a comprehensive organizational development program that results in senior managers at local nonprofit organizations that are better equipped to address the critical challenges faced by their organizations, produce real results in their communities, enhance fundraising capacity even in tough economic climates, and foster collaboration and innovation inside the nonprofit sector.

Participants in the past four classes – 180 leaders from every region in the U.S. who participated in Achieving Excellence classes since the program began in 2002 – report significant improvement in their businesses and improved service to even more people.

For example, leaders who finished the third class in February 2008 reported a 146 percent increase in people served, or more than 53,000 community members across America, specifically because of their participation in the program.

Moreover, the participating organizations attribute a 32 percent increase in the number of affordable housing units developed, or more than 1,100 new affordable homes, to the skills learned and the strategic plans developed while in the Achieving Excellence program.

The application deadline for the Achieving Excellence program is March 15, 2010. Applications, as well as additional program information, are available online at www.nw.org/ae.

Volunteer in New Orleans and Enhance your NeighborWorks Training Institute Experience!

As part of the NeighborWorks Training Institute in New Orleans, Louisiana, we’re offering participants a unique and meaningful opportunity to play a role in the continuing restoration of neighborhoods devastated by Hurricane Katrina.

The institute takes place March 1-5, and around that time we are encouraging participants to volunteer on days on which they may not otherwise be attending classes. Opportunities are available on Sunday, February 28, before the Institute, as well as on Wednesday, March 3 and Thursday, March 4.

On those days, volunteers will be divided into teams to work on houses in various forms of completion. Volunteers do not need to be skilled in construction to participate — there will be jobs for everyone, from landscaping and hardscaping to painting and other rehab work, both inside and out.

Registration to volunteer is separate from registration to attend the NTI. Find out more here. We hope you will consider participating in this exciting and rewarding opportunity!

Learn more about the NeighborWorks Training Institute in New Orleans.

Sign up for the Symposium, Investing for Change: Leveraging Community Assets in Rural and Small Cities.

What’s Your Resolution for Your Community in 2010?

2009 was unquestionably a tough year for our economy and our nation’s communities. Foreclosure rates surged and vacant properties have littered our neighborhoods. Through it all, we have seen communities band together to meet these seemingly insurmountable challenges. As 2010 begins, many of the problems – and solutions – of 2009 are still with us, and we are resolving to work harder, smarter and more collaboratively to help rebuild, renew and sustain America's communities. If you were to make a new year’s resolution for your communities, what would it be? Please share your thoughts by commenting below or posting to our wall on Facebook, where others are sharing their new year’s resolutions for their communities.

NeighborWorks CEO Ken Wade Emphasizes Importance of Homeownership Counseling on the Tavis Smiley Show

On December 18, NeighborWorks America CEO Ken Wade was interviewed on the Tavis Smiley show, where he emphasized that homeownership is still a good opportunity for many people, including in areas impacted by foreclosure. According to Wade, it appears that those interested in buying are seeking upfront counseling.

"The groups that we work with are seeing record numbers of people coming in to get homebuyer education," Wade said. He added, "We think working with a local community-based organization, a housing counselor, will best position someone to be able to improve their credit if that's an issue, find the right mortgage product for them and put them on the path to successful homeownership."

Check out the interview.

FY 2010 Appropriations Bill for NeighborWorks America Signed

We are pleased to announce that on December 16, 2009, President Obama signed into law H.R. 3288, which provides FY 2010 appropriations for the Departments of Commerce, Defense, Education, Health and Human Services, Housing and Urban Development, Justice, Labor, State, Transportation, the Treasury, and Veterans Affairs, and other agencies – including NeighborWorks America.

NeighborWorks America’s FY 2010 appropriation totals $233 million, and includes:

• A base budget of $133 million


• An additional $65 million to continue the National Foreclosure Mitigation Counseling Program, and


• An additional $35 million for capital grants to rehabilitate or finance the rehabilitation of affordable housing units.

This compares favorably to the FY 2009 appropriation which provided:

• A base budget of 131 million; and


• An Additional $50 million for the National Foreclosure Mitigation Counseling program

Particularly in the midst of the current economic/budgetary environment, the corporation’s FY 2010 appropriation is a real testament to the hard work of NeighborWorks America staff and the staff and boards of local NeighborWorks organizations across the country, making a difference in the lives of the families and communities they serve.