Policy Update
Congress and President pass $1.3T spending bill for FY18, includes increases for housing and community development
As part of the bill signed into law last week, overall HUD funding increased $4.6 billion over FY17, more than $12 billion above the president's FY18 request. The approximately 10% increase is in line with the 10% overall increase the bill provides to non-defense discretionary programs. HOME funding increased ($412 million) as part of the agreement, as did the Community Development Block Grant Program ($305 million). USDA housing and rural development programs also saw increases.
The bill included an increase of 12.5% in low income housing tax credits for four years. The National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities were increased collectively to $152.8m, a $3m increase.
The National Low Income Housing Coalition shows a breakdown of the funding for affordable housing and community development programs in its updated budget chart.
The bill does not include a repeal of the Johnson Amendment, which nonprofit advocates feared would be included as a rider. It also includes an increase in funding of $1.3 billion for the 2020 census, double what the president requested. The National Council of Nonprofits details other areas in the budget that affect nonprofits in their latest issue of Nonprofit Advocacy Matters.
Thriving Networks
Washington State Passes Seven Laws to Address Housing and Homelessness  
Thanks to the advocacy of NACEDA member Washington Low Income Housing Alliance, the Washington State Legislature passed seven bills focusing on housing and homelessness before its session ended March 8. They were aided in their advocacy by NACEDA members Housing Consortium of Everett & Snohomish County, Spokane Low Income Housing Consortium, and the Housing Development Consortium of Seattle/King County.
Highlights of these bills include the provision of 107 million dollar investment in Washington’s Housing Trust Fund, allowing people with permanent disabilities to retain their housing assistance while they apply for federal disability benefits, and an increase in asset limits for people on public assistance. WLIHA also helped to pass a bill banning source of income discrimination in home rental that had previously failed to pass the legislature for ten years.
Michele Thomas, Director of Policy and Advocacy at WLIHA, credits these successes to the Alliance’s commitment to making sure that legislators feel pressure throughout the year, not only during session. When asked about the keys to accomplishing these wins, Thomas said, “Persistence and a willingness to address issues in innovative ways is key. Bringing many stakeholders to the table helped us to pass a series of bills that are deeply bipartisan without compromises.”
Housing Action Illinois Report Calls for Sealing Eviction Filings
NACEDA member Housing Action Illinois, in partnership with the Lawyer's Committee for Better Housing, released a report detailing barriers that renters face when fighting eviction cases and the impacts that eviction filings have. They find that unsealed eviction filings prevent people who were never evicted from finding homes in the future. In light of the report's findings, Housing Action Illinois calls for legislation to seal eviction filings until cases have ended as well as policies that will give renters a fair chance in court. Housing Action Illinois is supporting HB 4760 in the Illinois State House which would seal eviction records at the point of filing until after a court has decided on a case.
Jessica Love Named Executive Director of Prosperity Indiana
Jessica has served as Associate Executive Director at Prosperity Indiana since 2013. She was previously Program Manager for Community & Economic Development with the South Central Alabama Development Commission and Managing editor for The Selma Times-Journal in Selma, Alabama.
Job Creation and Entrepreneurship in the Community-Based Food Industry
The California Community Economic Development Association (CCEDA) joins leading practitioners for daylong workshops on community economic development (CED) strategies that create jobs and foster entrepreneurship, including small business incubators, training programs, and more. Financial institutions and other organizations are supporting the workshops. Case studies will focus on fresh food-based initiatives, but strategies and tactics apply to a wide range of CED projects. Late April workshops will take place in Los Angeles and Oakland. For more information, please visit www.cceda.com/events.
Healthy Places
NACEDA Hosts Webinar On Initiating Community Benefit Partnerships
Presented by Kate Hill-Johnson, Administrative Director of Community Health Improvement at Franciscan Health, the webinar explains how community developers can engage with hospitals to improve community health. Kate is responsible for the oversight and direction of the Community Benefit Program for all hospitals in the Franciscan Health System in Indiana and Illinois. The Initiating Community Benefit Partnerships webinar provides an overview of IRS Community Benefit regulation, Community Health Needs Assessments, and Community Health Improvement Plans. Learn what online tools you can use to access information about hospital community benefit staff, priorities, and spending.
Aetna Foundation Grant Opportunity: Cultivating Healthy Communities
The Aetna Foundation will award up to $2 million in grants to organizations that increase opportunities for low-income, minority communities to make healthy choices in the places they live, work, learn, and play. Grant requests can range between $50,000 and $100,000 for projects that span 18 to 24 months. The Foundation seek partners whose work addresses pressing issues in the following domains: Built Environment, Community Safety, Environmental Exposures, Healthy Behaviors, and Social/Economic Factors. View the RFP. The application is due on April 18.
Creative Places
Americans for the Arts Host Arts Advocacy Day
NACEDA creative placemaking partner Americans for the Arts hosted Arts Advocacy Day on March 12 and 13. Eight-five organizations, including NACEDA, co-sponsored the day, which saw over 650 arts advocates converge on the Capitol. NACEDA congratulates Americans for the Arts on their tireless advocacy that helped secure the $3 million boost to the National Endowment for the Arts.
NEA Releases New Data on Economic Impact
The National Endowment for the Arts and the US Bureau of Economic Analysis released new data detailing the economic impact of the arts via the Arts and Cultural Production Satellite Account (ACPSA). The ACPSA represents the data nationally as well as state-by-state. The National Association of State Arts Agencies uses the information to create their own state-by-state guide.
Placemakers may find this information useful for aligning with arts advocates in their states and in making the economic argument for partnering with the arts in community-based economic development projects.
Resources
Citi and Springboard CDFI Expand Nonprofit Mortgage Platform
Citi Community Development and Springboard CDFI announced the expansion of Springboard's nonprofit mortgage loan platform to 13 states in 2018. The loan origination platform and consumer tools will be available to a national coalition of nonprofit housing counseling agencies and CDFIs, building their capacity to deliver responsible mortgage credit access for low- to moderate-income, minority, rural, and other underserved first-time homebuyers. More than 100 CDFIs and housing counseling agencies will be on-boarded to the platform with the objective of closing over $220 million in home loans by the end of 2019. Citi Community Development’s support will cover the legal, administrative, and on-boarding costs.
Funding Opportunities
Go to our website for current grant opportunities. They're updated throughout the month.
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