Neighborhood marketing: Success is what you measure

By Pam Bailey, NeighborWorks America blogger

This is the third and final post in a series exploring neighborhood marketing as a strategy for helping communities brand and generate attention for their unique strengths. Read the first and second installments. Neighborhood marketing is not an initiative for those who only have the time or commitment for a short-term program. 

“What we’re after is real change – whether it be strengthened connections among residents, rising property values, thriving neighborhood businesses, or a better mix of renters and owners,” explains Paul Singh, senior manager of community stabilization for NeighborWorks America, adding that part of the challenge is defining just what success looks like. “It takes time. That’s why interim measures are so important.”

One of the "hot" restaurants that has popped
up in West Humboldt Park.

John Groene, neighborhood director of the West Humboldt Park office of Neighborhood Housing Services of Chicago, has fully embraced that concept. The marketing plan his organization adopted in 2013 for West Humboldt Park includes 23 phases being rolled out over five years.

However, although he estimates only 10 percent of the plan has been implemented to date, West Humboldt Park already has some successes to celebrate. NHS has recently assisted three families, all long-term renters in the community (two for more than 20 years) buy and rehab long-vacant properties. Even better, the daughter of one of those buyers just signed a purchase contract for a vacant three-unit building just a block away from the home her mother purchased through NHS.

Likewise, in a neighborhood that for a long time had no sit-down restaurants, two establishments  have become city favorites, with a friendly competition to determine who has the best “jive turkey burger.” (A recent study by an urban planner found that restaurants are the leading force behind regenerating coup de grace was its ranking this

year by the Redfin real estate site, which neighborhoods.) But the produces an annual list of the country’s “hottest” neighborhoods. The company ranked 105 urban neighborhoods across 21 major markets that have grown the most in popularity during the four months leading into 2014. Humboldt Park was No. 10.  Although “hot” markets can bring their own challenges (for example, how to preserve affordability for existing residents), the Redfin ranking suggests that West Humboldt Park is increasingly seen as a desirable neighborhood.

NeighborWorks Pocatello (Idaho) is just starting its neighborhood marketing campaign, but Executive Director Mark Dahlquist knows that one of his first interim metrics must be the number of households that invest in beautifying their property, thus enhancing their “curb appeal.”

“We already give lots of home improvement loans, but now we are looking for funding so we can offer a small grant, or maybe a zero-interest loan, specifically for external enhancements,” he says. “Maybe we’ll also offer a workshop to show people all the ways they can make their houses a little less plain, or sponsor a contest.”

Dahlquist also estimates there are about 40 houses in the Old Town of Pocatello currently for sale. His goal is to keep out absentee owners.

“We don’t have a lot of vacant lots, but we do have some empty or unkempt properties that are either bank-owned or have absentee landlords,” he explained, adding that housing values in Old Town are about 30 percent lower than elsewhere in the city. “We’ve invested in our city’s central neighborhoods by building more than 135 new homes in the past 20 years. You can live in a charming house, but if you’re located next to something that is in poor condition, values drop. We need to push them up.”

Whatever a community’s reasons for needing to change perceptions, or how far long they are, the process of adopting a philosophy of neighborhood marketing can, both Dahlquist and Groene agree, offer an entirely new perspective.

 “Neighborhood marketing broadens how you look at revitalization,” says Groene. “It forces you to really think about why people like living in a particular place. It has changed the way I speak to everyone. I talk about the good things going on in the whole neighborhood every time I go to block clubs, etc. It’s not just, hey, want to buy a home, or the most pressing problems of the day.”

NeighborWorks America will continue to document and share best practices that emerge from the Neighborhood Marketing Program. Resources, tools and templates are available that can assist with your own neighborhood marketing efforts.

Neighborhood marketing: Is the time right for an ‘inside’ or ‘outside’ game?

By Pam Bailey, NeighborWorks America blogger

This is the second post in a three-part series exploring neighborhood marketing as a strategy for helping communities brand and generate attention for their unique strengths. Read the first installment.

A critical question that must be asked before embarking on a neighborhood marketing campaign is whether the community is ready for “prime time,” or needs to focus internally first.

Neighborhood marketing enlists residents in promotion
of their community

“You need some early wins to bring about a mind shift among existing residents and stakeholders before you can market externally,” explains Paul Singh, senior manager for community stabilization at NeighborWorks America. “A neighborhood brand is a statement about who lives and works there and why. In order for the brand to be believable, residents must perceive that they made a good investment and have confidence in the future.”

Marcia Nedland, a neighborhood branding expert who Singh’s team assigns as support to some of its program participants, agrees.

“Usually, there is a gap between what organizations would like the world to think and their ability to deliver, and there is typically a lot of work required to close that gap,” Nedland says.

NeighborWorks Pocatello in Idaho is among the 17 network members accepted into the marketing program this month. The organization’s participation in NeighborWorks America’s new Community Impact Measurement project allowed it to demonstrate that it is indeed ready for the “outside game.”

“The survey that was part of the project surprised even us,” says Mark Dahlquist, executive director. “It showed that 85 percent of residents living in the Old Town area are satisfied with living there.  Elsewhere in the city, Old Town is looked at as a less-desirable place, but now we have the data to tell a different story.”

"Revive at 5" festival in Old Town, Pocatello

Old Town Pocatello has a lot of assets residents love: It’s centrally located, is characterized by architecturally interesting homes with front porches that encourage engagement, and residents regularly connect with each other through a farmers market and “Revive at 5” concerts.

Historically, however, crime was a problem in Old Town, and that reputation has persisted. “We need to reach out to the media and to others and show them Old Town today,” says Dahlquist.

Resident Buy-In and Ownership

Another lesson learned from the first round of participants in the Neighborhood Marketing Program is how critical it is to obtain strong engagement by residents and other stakeholders – before the campaign launch and throughout implementation.

“Residents and businesses must ultimately own the brand; organizations can only be early drivers,” explains Singh. “We recommend that each participant form a branding and marketing team that includes businesses, residents and local institutions. The team can help shape the brand, educate other community members on ways to promote positive messages and assist in implementing specific marketing tactics.”

John Groene, neighborhood director of the West Humboldt Park office of Neighborhood Housing Services of Chicago, says his organization talked to local residents about what the community was like in the 1960s and ‘70s. He heard about the diversity of walkable stores – from bakeries to flower shops – and the friendliness of goods displayed on the sidewalk, inviting conversation. “It helped us create a shared vision of what the neighborhood could be again,” he says.

Dahlquist’s organization in Pocatello faces a special challenge. “The Old Town area is really five different neighborhoods, each with different dynamics,” he explains, adding that Neighborhood Pocatello will likely subdivide it into five sections, with one brand but different grassroots teams. “A cookie-cutter approach won’t work.”

The final post in this series on neighborhood marketing will look at how to measure success.

Neighborhood marketing: ‘spin’ or substance?

By Pam Bailey, NeighborWorks America blogger

“Your brand is what people say about you when you are not around” -- North Star Ideas, neighborhood marketing program consultant

The term “marketing” usually conjures images of prescription drug ads with disclaimers in fine print, or smooth-talking car salesmen. But when informed by customer research and practiced effectively, branding and other marketing tactics can match services and products to the people who most need or want them. Can the same approach be applied to a neighborhood that is struggling to counteract negative perceptions or differentiate itself from others?

NeighborWorks America believes the answer is “yes.” The team with the Stable Communities Initiative at NeighborWorks first began piloting the idea with two network organizations that were working hard to turn around their communities around by acquiring, rehabbing and selling vacant, foreclosed houses. They had run up against a challenge, however: How do you lure new homeowners, or businesses for that matter, when the perception of high foreclosures, blight or crime overshadows the progress?

From that early experience, the Neighborhood Marketing Program was born. It is designed to pioneer and promote new ways of using marketing techniques to stabilize and revitalize communities.

“NeighborWorks America began focusing on community stabilization in 2007, in direct response to the foreclosure crisis,” recalls Ascala Sisk, director of community stabilization. “Our primary focus was on stemming the damage that foreclosures were wreaking on neighborhoods. As a result, much of our work was on helping member organizations gain control of and re-sell foreclosed homes. However, we know that to really stabilize and ultimately revitalize a community, it takes more than housing development. It takes a broader, holistic 'place-based' approach."

In 2012, NeighborWorks America selected the first 16 participants in its Neighborhood Marketing Program, offering each participant consultation with a branding expert, professional assistance with logo creation and other promotional materials, an implementation grant, and opportunities to network and share learnings. The program was extended this month to 17 additional organizations.

The team has learned several lessons in the course of its work with organizations that can help any community-based nonprofit when marketing a particular neighborhood. Paul Singh, senior manager of community stabilization and lead on the Neighborhood Marketing Program, describes four important considerations that organizations should think through before embarking on a such a campaign: 1) What do the trends say? 2) Is the time right for an “inside” or an “outside” game? 3) Do you have resident buy-in and ownership? and 4) What would success look like?

What do the market trends say?

“Any re-positioning of a neighborhood must be grounded in reality,” notes Singh. “There must already be some momentum that can be seen visually. For example, would someone walking down the street feel safe? Are there homes with strong "curb appeal"? Are home prices and vacancies stable? Do residents speak favorably of the neighborhood themselves? There can be some challenges, but the trajectory has to be going in the right direction. Otherwise, you first need to take some other actions to bolster neighborhood strengths and generate positive energy.”

The new logo developed for West Humboldt Park

Neighborhood Housing Services (NHS) of Chicago was one of the first-round participants in the marketing program, with a focus on West Humboldt Park. John Groene, neighborhood director of the organization’s West Humboldt Park office, explains that the community had strong assets: It is close to downtown Chicago, is surrounded on three sides by parks, is served by healthcare institutions with regional reputations and has plenty of affordable homes. Several new public services and businesses were moving in, and NHS had already done a fair amount of work to prevent foreclosures and encourage home rehabs through targeted grants and lending. However, the next step was to build more stability in the neighborhood by increasing the number of owner-occupied homes. The “low-hanging fruit,” NHS decided, was to focus on converting renters to buyers, persuading them to stay in West Humboldt Park instead of moving to the suburbs or other cities. Then the organization could expand its appeal its outwards.

“There had been a lot of bad press and internal conversation about crime in the neighborhood,” explains Groene. “Two years ago, for instance, a local newspaper called The Reader ran a story on Humboldt Park headlined ‘Besieged.’ Yes, crime is still a problem; but most of the blocks in the neighborhood are strong. We just need more residents who buy in and get involved. That’s where neighborhood marketing comes in.”

With the help of a branding and marketing strategy, NHS of Chicago is reaching out to this demographic with the message that West Humboldt Park is “an ideal place for new beginnings.”

The next post in this series will explore two other factors important to neighborhood marketing: whether the time is right for an “inside” or “outside” game, and the degree of resident ownership.

Is your town in the media ‘crosshairs’? Two more tips on taking your story back (Part 2)

By Pam Bailey, NeighborWorks America blogger

The alarm Ludy Biddle from NeighborWorks Western Vermont felt when she awoke one morning to see her town labeled the epicenter of a “heroin epidemic” in The New York Times was not unusual. Many other community developers have faced the challenge of re-branding a neighborhood even while the media highlight the community’s flaws. In Part 1 of this two-part post, Biddle and others recommended anticipating the challenge by agreeing on a collective narrative and refusing to repeat the negative. Read on for two more “tips from the trenches.”

Re-claim your narrative with positive stories

Instead of countering negative portrayals in the media, Biddle and other “crisis veterans” recommend focusing on your assets. That’s exactly what Pablo Korona did for the city of Rockford, IL. In 2011, both Forbes magazine and The Wall Street Journal listed it as one of America’s 10 most dangerous cities; even “The Daily Show” chimed in, calling it an “urban wasteland.”

Around the time that the negative publicity was peaking, the Rockford native was working for an advertising agency where he was doing promotions for various city institutions. Korona felt the work he was doing for the company wasn't fully living up to the town’s slogan (“Real. Original.”) Instead, he struck out on his own, raising nearly $9,000 through the crowdfunding site Kickstarter to launch a website called Our City, Our Story. Its mission: “We tell the stories that if you live in Rockford, it makes you glad that you do. The stories that if you’re from Rockford, they make you proud to be. The stories that if you’ve never been to Rockford, they make you want to come here.”

Today, the site features a series of 19 video “episodes,” such as one that introduces the people who work at Forest City Gear, a local company that manufactured parts for the motorized vehicle used by NASA to explore the surface of Mars. The video has proven so popular that it alone has attracted more than 500,000 views. More are in the works.

“Sure, Rockford has problems, but we are so much more,” says Korona. “I wanted to share those stories – not with slick slogans, but in real voices. Authenticity trumps ‘polish’ every time.”

Of course, Korona also happens to be the kind of skillful video producer who can shoot in a “covert” style, in which it’s as if the camera isn’t even there. With the help of Korona’s equally savvy use of Facebook and Twitter, the website has generated rave reviews from The Washington Post and Fast Company, along with independent funding to keep it going. However, what is most exciting to Korona is the organic growth of “Our City. Our Story” beyond the website. For example, the local housing authority has hired Korona to teach residents themselves the art of authentic storytelling through moving pictures.

“I keep getting calls from people saying ‘you have to do a story about this and you have to do a story about that,’” Korona says. The intensive training program will teach residents how to tell those stories themselves. (If you want to learn more about the lessons Korona’s project offers for your town, register for the Louisville NeighborWorks Training Institute, where he will be a featured speaker at the May 21 symposium, “Telling a Purposeful and Powerful Story: Communicating for Maximum Impact.”)

Our City, Our Story is not designed to get media attention, although it certainly has. But if that is what you’re after, consultant Andy Goodman says to remember that “it’s not enough to have a good story.” In addition having a genuine news angle, the coverage that attracts an in-depth treatment and a large volume of “shares” taps into a broader theme.

“Certain stories really take hold in the public consciousness because they piggyback on a larger narrative,” explains the founder of The Goodman Center, whose mission is to help good causes reach more people with more impact. “If you want to replace one story with another, you must shift the frame of reference, from one resonant narrative to another.”

So, for example, the broader narrative behind the media coverage of Rockford and Rutland is that towns with high unemployment, foreclosures and related problems are like mini failed states. The job of Biddle and Kobana is to usurp that underlying theme with stories that demonstrate the amazing resilience that keeps those towns – and the vaunted American “spirit” -- alive.

Don’t get distracted! 

Two girls from the Northwest neighborhood of Rutland
contribute their "community gift" by offering their
ideas for the town via a questionnaire and agreeing
to volunteer.

Negative publicity is often unfair and incomplete, and very frustrating for staff members who are toiling in the trenches. However, Biddle and her team are not allowing the continuing fallout to distract them from their work in the neighborhood to create a better future. Whereas others on a “Project VISION” team created by the city to focus on the neighborhood are working on safety, health and employment, NeighborWorks of Western Vermont’s role is to encourage and re-enable homeownership in the troubled Northwest neighborhood.

The organization had sent eight members of the Project VISION team to the NeighborWorks America Community Leadership Institute in Sacramento last October, and this month, the “seed money” received by the participants was put to work: Thirty-five community volunteers spread out over the neighborhood to map its historical, personal, professional and physical assets, such as its Victorian-style architecture. Later, when the mapping project is done, the volunteers will continue on as a community association to plan activities to preserve, expand and celebrate those strengths.

Meanwhile, to reverse the blight and increasing density in the neighborhood, NeighborWorks of Western Vermont is submitting a request to the state for a community development block grant to take over 10 of the houses in the Northwest neighborhood; some will be demolished and rebuilt and others will be rehabilitated. To build excitement, the organization has partnered with the local Green Mountain Power company to transform one of the homes into a model of energy efficiency. In the planning stages is an announcement ceremony at the model house with Sen. Bernie Sanders.

“The home is owned by a local teacher and her husband – the type of people everyone would like to have as neighbors, and totally opposite to the portrait painted by The New York Times,” says Biddle. “We think it will serve as an example others will want to emulate. Check back with us over the next four years; this neighborhood is just beginning to re-discover its strengths!”

Is your town in the media ‘crosshairs’? Four ‘tips from the trenches’ for re-claiming your story

By Pam Bailey, NeighborWorks America blogger

It’s every community developer’s PR nightmare. You’ve targeted a neighborhood for improvement and are making headway, when suddenly you wake up one morning to see the community described on the front page of The New York Times as “fighting a heroin epidemic so entrenched that it has confounded all efforts to combat it.”

That’s exactly what happened on Feb. 28 to Ludy Biddle, executive director of NeighborWorks of Western Vermont, and her team. The Northwest neighborhood of Rutland, a rural town of 16,000, had long been plagued by a high concentration of unemployment and poverty, and the resulting blight. Many of the community’s once-beautiful Victorian homes had been acquired by absentee owners and carved into dense, virtually single-resident-occupancy apartments. Among the negative consequences of the town’s challenges was drug abuse, fed by typically out-of-state dealers. The problem had become so serious that it was a major theme of Gov. Peter Shumlin’s “State of the State” address.

However, Biddle’s organization and others have been working hard to reverse those trends; in fact, when it surveyed more than 200 randomly selected residents in the neighborhood door to door last summer, it found that 58 percent were somewhat to very satisfied to be living there, and 85 percent were willing to invest time as volunteers to improve the neighborhood and its image.

Rutland volunteers Jenifer Dufresne and Sheila Nicholes
canvas the Northwest neighborhood for the
community survey.

“If we had not participated in NeighborWorks’ Community Impact Measurement project by conducting the survey, we would not have had any data to show that the neighborhood has strengths as well,” says Biddle, adding that the research, which uses tools designed by the Success Measures initiative at NeighborWorks America, will be repeated in three years to track progress in the neighborhood over time. “Our experience has really proven the value of taking the time to assess community-level attitudes. The timing turned out to be ideal.”

But how do you capitalize on the good work you’re doing when the media are telling a different story? The New York Times article was widely shared on Facebook, with the mayor’s son even hearing about it while skiing in Colorado. Soon, reporters from media ranging from Fox News, to Rolling Stone, to Al Jazeera were calling. In addition, state-level officials are further highlighting the issues faced by the city; on March 17, Sen. Patrick Leahy held an unusual “field hearing” in Rutland focused on “Breaking the Cycle of Heroin and Opioid Addiction.”

Biddle and her colleagues are not alone. Many other organizations working in distressed neighborhoods have faced similar challenges. Here are some “lessons learned” from Biddle and her Rutland colleagues, as well as other community-development professionals who have survived to thrive after PR crises:

Shape your story in advance – with collective buy-in

 “The first instinct of people who are doing good work, such as the police department, is to talk about it. It’s human nature,” says Marcia Nedland from Fall Creek Consultants, who was retained in 2013 as part of a team charged with advising the city’s re-development agency on strategies for revitalization. “But it’s important to distinguish between your plan to fight crime and the image you want your community to have among potential homebuyers, for example. Stories in the media about your heroic efforts to catch drug dealers may make you feel good, but they will scare away people who are contemplating moving there.”

Paul Singh, senior manager with NeighborWorks America’s Stable Communities Initiative, agrees, saying his team advises organizations to separate “internal stories” from external ones. “Internally, you need to address deficiencies directly and celebrate the work that you are doing. But that is not necessarily what you talk about ‘outside the family.’ Externally, it’s important to promote your assets.”

To help nonprofits create strong brands for their communities and re-build market demand, the initiative launched a Neighborhood Marketing Program in 2012. Through the program, NeighborWorks America is helping 16 organizations across the country implement marketing strategies designed to bolster neighborhood strengths and counter negative perceptions. Seven to 10 more communities will be chosen in 2014.

Don’t repeat the negative

If adverse publicity does occur, you don’t always need to respond! “For many people, the first inclination after a story like the one in The New York Times is to respond just as publicly that ‘most Rutland residents don’t use heroin.’ But what people will remember is the reference to heroin – so you’ve just reminded them of what you want them to forget,” says Biddle. Her organization and the other members of the city's neighborhood-revitalization team (called Project VISION) agreed to turn down the requests flowing in for further interviews on the subject.

Of course, saying “no” to media interviews doesn’t mean not responding at all. Mark Dohan, executive director of the Twin Cities Community Development Corporation (TCCDC) in Fitchburg, MA, recalls when a sensational murder occurred last summer in his town’s Elm Street neighborhood.

The new logo for the Elm Street
neighborhood in Fitchburg, MA.

“The area had been plagued by crime and foreclosures, but we were making good progress in building and selling new houses to reverse the blight in the neighborhood,” says Dohan, whose organization participates in the Neighborhood Marketing Program. “Then came this front-page news. We had to respond; after all, any death is a tragedy. But we decided to deal with facts on the ground, not in the media.”

To acknowledge the loss of human life and help the neighborhood heal, the TCCDC helped to organized a vigil that allowed residents to come together and restore a sense of connectedness. And in the fall, the TCCDC held its first neighborhood-wide open house, attracting an influx of real-estate agents and potential homebuyers. The new logo for the marketing program: “Elm Street: We’re Building a Neighborhood.”

“We went back to the media that covered the neighborhood in the wake of the murder, but after a little time had passed, and with new stories about what’s happening in our community,” says Dohan. “We are re-claiming what defines us.”

In the next blog post: two more lessons from the trenches of PR crises – taking back your story, and preventing disruptions from distracting your team from its work.

Idaho group demonstrates ability to change blight to bright

When you need political support and funding to continue your mission to revitalize deteriorating neighborhoods, but the people you need to influence don’t tend to visit “that side of the tracks,” how do you motivate them to care? By taking them on a “Blight to Bright Tour”!

That’s the innovative tactic employed by Pocatello Neighborhood Housing Services (PNHS).

The founding mission of the nonprofit, which is celebrating the 20th anniversary of both its creation and its membership in NeighborWorks America, is to revitalize six neighborhoods of Pocatello, located in southeastern Idaho. The homes were built primarily before 1978; not only are they simply “wearing out” with age, but they also were constructed before lead standards were set, making many unsafe both environmentally and health-wise.

Although PNHS offers rehab loans, homebuyer education and financial fitness coaching throughout the city and surrounding areas, it focuses its new construction on “infill housing” for these core neighborhoods, helping them revive and thrive. PNHS works with the city government, banks and other partners to acquire vacant lots or dilapidated houses -- often after they have been foreclosed or burnt down, and usually from absentee owners. The organization then replaces them with affordable housing that is designed to add to the community’s overall marketability, through special touches such as front porches that invite interaction with neighbors.(Read this MSN article for a discussion on when to rehab vs. demolish, in which Dahlquist is quoted.)

A vacant lot acquired by PNHS in
one of its target neighborhoods.

With the addition of a new home, the vacant
lot is transformed from blight to bright.

“The before-and-after pictures, and the stories, are dramatic,” says Mark Dahlquist, executive director. “We’ve featured them in a brochure, but there’s no better way to convert people into ‘believers’ than by bringing them there. We call it our ‘Blight to Bright’ tour.”

Dahlquist and his team have conducted two such tours so far and are planning a third, although he often gives VIPs such as legislative staff a one-on-one version. On each tour, about 35 participants, including the mayor, city councilmen and local bankers, hop in a bus and take a tour of the neighborhoods. They’re given the “before” photos, and stop to see the “afters” in person, while chatting with the families.

“The universal reaction is surprise at the vibrancy they see now,” says Dahlquist. “We don’t have to tell them we make a positive impact; they can see for themselves what their continuing funding and other support allow us to do.”

Two mobile tool libraries help
volunteers brighten up Harrison Street

To date, PNHS has constructed and sold 140 affordable homes. Their success has meant that the degree of “blight” that needs brightening is so reduced that Dahlquist sees a shift to a greater focus on rehabs. His organization already has distributed 350 rehab loans across the city and surrounding areas, which has nurtured the growing popularity of another program of which Dahlquist is particularly proud: a tool library.  The original idea for the library, he says, was born when a team from PNHS attended a NeighborWorks America Community Leadership Institute. However, it wasn’t until about five years ago that it really took off.

Today, about 200 community residents a year check out the library’s lawn mowers, weed whackers and other tools for a minimal $1 or $2 a day. Then there’s the library’s two mobile units, which allow the full collection to travel to the site of major community-improvement projects. For example, in an event called Re-Ignite the Pride, several service groups accessed the mobile units to spruce up eight blocks along Harrison Street, a major community artery that had fallen into poor condition along the railroad tracks.

“Neighborhood revitalization is our core mission,” says Dahlquist, “and we’ll change with the community’s needs to keep it vibrant.”

Rochester, NY, group works to keep city from going the way of Detroit

When the news first broke that the city of Detroit had filed for bankruptcy, Kim Brumber, CEO of NeighborWorks Rochester, shuddered. Rochester, NY, may not be Detroit, but there are some parallels that hit very close to home.

“Like Detroit, a core of industrial giants fueled Rochester’s early growth,” recalls Brumber, a longtime resident of the area. “For Detroit, it was the Big Three automakers. For Rochester, it was Xerox, Kodak and (just in August) Bausch & Lomb.  And just as the declining competitiveness of the auto industry was a trigger of Detroit’s economic downfall, Rochester experienced its own spiral when one by one, our big employers downsized or left the scene.”

Brumber believes the days of “mega-employers” are over, and that smaller-scale entrepreneurship is what will eventually revitalize Rochester as well as other cities like Detroit. That takes, time, however, and NeighborWorks Rochester is focused on doing its part to prevent the population flight witnessed by its larger counterpart. A key element in that struggle is making sure that residents are able to stay in or access safe, quality, affordable housing.

The family who lives in this house was unable
to pay to keep their home in good repair.

With the help of NeighborWorks
Rochester, the home is now transformed.

“People just don’t have the equity in their homes anymore to spend what it takes to keep them in good condition,” explains Brumber. “Our approach is to make it financially feasible for residents to maintain their houses, and recently, we began offering help with energy-efficiency improvements that reduce their energy costs as well. Much of the housing stock here is very old, so the energy costs are high. We can often save them $100 a month – that’s $1,200 a year, which is significant for the people who live here.”

Over the years, NeighborWorks Rochester has adjusted its philosophy and services to match the changing nature of the city’s needs. The nonprofit was one of the original NeighborWorks organizations, focusing on rehab loans at a time when redlining in the largely African-American communities resulted in disinvestment. Gradually, the organization expanded its scope and services -- including a new focus on neighborhood stabilization and marketing.

“The traditional model for neighborhood re-investment is to demolish drug houses, etc. in the most blighted neighborhoods, thinking that change would follow. But this strategy doesn't work in cities that have a soft real estate market," says Brumber. "We've learned that turning neighborhoods around requires a market-based approach that draws in private investment of time and resources -- ideally before they start to rapidly decline, the typical time to intervene.” 

Through its Healthy Blocks initiative, NeighborWorks Rochester

targets neighborhoods that are showing signs of social and economic disinvestment, but where residents are still trying to tread water. Through a combination of neighborhood “branding,” social gatherings and community-wide improvement activities, residents are encouraged and supported in their efforts to maintain the value of their property and nurture a sense of “belonging” that attracts and retains homeowners. For example, NeighborWorks Rochester partnered with the Realtors Charitable Foundation (an arm of the Greater Rochester Association of Realtors), the city’s police department, local businesses and others to energize the neighborhood called The Pocket. Monthly resident meetings are held in an area recreation center, and spring/fall clean-ups, ice cream socials and leadership workshops are among the results. An overgrown, vacant lot was transformed into the Emmighausen Garden, which produces an array of flowers and vegetables. Since 2008, sales prices in the neighborhood have increased 20 percent per square foot. What’s up next? A new logo soon will appear on street banners and crosswalks will feature “BoulevArt.”

In 2012, NeighborWorks Rochester reported re-investing $4 million into the city’s neighborhoods. The organization trained 365 individuals in how to be smart homeowners, helped 64 families become new homebuyers,  conducted 97 tests for lead in older homes and distributed 82 home-improvement loans and grants, totaling $1.2 million.

In a recent article in the Rochester City newspaper, a member of the editorial team wrote, “What the Greater Rochester community does will determine whether we’ll survive the impact of the changes in our own major industries, our suburban sprawl, our racial isolation. Rochester hasn’t reached Detroit’s depths yet. Maybe we never will. But the warning signs are there.”

NeighborWorks Rochester is among the mainstay organizations working to make sure the city never will.