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Ohio
Community Development
News
June 2015
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Volume 6, Issue 6 | June 30, 2015
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Below is an update with a collection of news items that are relevant to Community Development in Ohio and the Ohio CDC Association.
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| Thank You for Supporting the Ohio Housing Trust Fund Throughout the course of any year, we're sure that you're inundated with a variety of different alerts and calls to action. Because the affordable housing and community development movement responded in force to our requests and from multiple stakeholders lead by the Coalition for Homelessness and Housing in Ohio (COHHIO) to oppose the destructive Ohio Housing Trust Fund (OHTF) Senate amendment, it was defeated in conference committee in the early hours of June 25. Your powerful outpouring of opposition and advocacy to the General Assembly mattered and was felt throughout state government. It is important to name individuals and agencies that carried and reacted to your voice. In particular Representatives Ryan Smith, Kirk Schuring, and Denise Driehaus, who were backed by Republican House leadership and other Representatives, and who pushed Senate leadership to ultimately agree to drop the proposed change. Senators Michael Skindell, Charleta Tavares and the Democrat Caucus provided support. And to the Kasich administration, including the Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services, the Ohio Development Services Agency, the Ohio Housing Finance Agency, especially the Office of Budget and Management, and the Office of the Governor for understanding the important role the OHTF plays in both protecting vulnerable populations and creating economic impact. We encourage you all to thank your State Representatives and Senators for their support. This fast-moving exercise was instructive - that together we can impact policy and that we still have a lot of work to do. Given term limits we learned there is a high level of misunderstanding and lack of knowledge at the Statehouse about the OHTF. A continued lack of understanding will keep the OHTF and other programs vulnerable to future attacks so educating our elected officials has to be a priority. While it's fresh in their minds, we urge you to connect with your state legislators during summer recess and demonstrate to them the value of the OHTF in your community. Nearly 550 organizations across the state signed on to the preemptive veto letter to the Governor. Let's use the momentum and strength we've created together to elevate the importance of our state's greatest housing resource. Thank you for making your voice heard! |
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Share your Thoughts at a Membership Meeting
Join the Ohio CDC Association for industry updates and networking. Membership meetings follow a facilitated discussion format that encourages members to share their experiences with us so that we can better understand the successes, challenges, and ideas that are unique to our membership and the community development industry in the region.
| Central Ohio - Thursday, July 16, 2015 6th Floor Meeting Room 100 East Broad Street, Columbus, OH 42315
10:30 am - 12:30 pm
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| Southeast Ohio - Thursday, August 27, 2015 1 Pinchot Lane Athens, OH 45701
10:30 am - 12:30 pm
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Who should attend? Community development corporations, community development professionals, local governments, and public officials. Register here. 2015 Membership Meetings proudly sponsored by:
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Webinars on Commercial Vacant Property Redevelopment and Revitalization
Ohio CDC Association, in partnership with Greater Ohio Policy Center (GOPC), presents four free webinars that will explain how to accomplish various aspects of commercial vacant property redevelopment and commercial district revitalization. The webinars are designed as "How To" guides for local community development practitioners, identifying strategies and tools that leverage the link between available commercial properties and economic re-growth strategies in legacy cities. The content of the webinars, described below, will match the overall process of commercial property redevelopment and reuse.
| Tools & Strategies for Commercial Real Estate Redevelopment July 29, 2015 2 PM - 3:15 PM Webinar
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| Tools & Strategies for Business Development and District Management August 26, 2015 2 PM - 3:15 PM Webinar
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| Tools for Overcoming Financial Gaps September 16, 2015 2 PM - 3:15 PM Webinar
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The target audience of the webinars are community development organizations, including CDCs, Main Street program and commercial district managers, business improvement districts, county land banks, municipal planning and economic development officials, private individuals and developers, chambers of commerce, and other local champions and practitioners leading commercial revitalization efforts. These webinars proudly sponsored by:
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Fall Webinars: Delving into the Future of Community and Housing Development
This fall, join OCDCA in partnership with Arch City Development, for our new free webinar series: Delving into the Future of Community and Housing Development
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What's Next for the Community Development Industry? A Look Into a Future of Diminished Resources
November 12, 2015
2 PM - 3:30 PM
Webinar
Click here to register!
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AmeriCorps VISTAs, New and Old in the OCDCA Office
After one year of solid dedication, OCDCA AmeriCorps VISTA Leader, Maura Harris and VISTA Sam Bolam finished their service on Friday, June 26. This fall, Maura will begin working towards her Masters in City/Urban, Community and Regional Planning at the University of Virginia. Likewise, Sam will begin studying law at Georgetown University.
Joining our office are Tim Adams as the 2015 VISTA Leader and Sarah Royal as the 2015 AmeriCorps VISTA. Tim just finished his VISTA year of service at Homes on the Hill in Columbus, where he developed a program that transforms vacant lots into green space. Sarah just received her BA in English from Wittenberg University and is joining OCDCA as a VISTA who will expand the Ohio Microenterprise Network and develop new programs to build capacity for Ohio CDCs. Welcome Tim and Sarah!
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Is Your Organization Ready to Start a Social Enterprise?
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Save the Date - Igniting Collaborative Innovation in the Greater Akron Area!
Ohio CDC Association's 31st Annual Conference in the Greater Akron area Igniting Collaborative Innovation October 1 & 2 Kent State University Hotel and Conference Center Keynote Speaker: Connie Schultz
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| OCCD Celebrates its 50th Anniversary
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| New Markets Tax Credit Awards A total of 76 allocatees across the country including a handful in Ohio received tax credit allocations authority under the 2014 round of the New Markets Tax Credit Program. |
| New Micro Program Resources In an increasingly competitive funding environment, it's more important than ever for microenterprise programs to have clear, compelling business models. FIELD's new three-part videocast series provides tools, guidance and tangible examples for developing business models that attract donors and serve as a strong foundation for sustainable success. The series is based on the results of the Asset Building through Credit (ABC) pilot, which offered entrepreneurs a secured credit card with coaching. The videos and companion white paper, Building a Sustainable Business Model, cover important topics to maintain a successful program. |
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Welcome New Member!
Columbus's newest community development corporation, Engage CDC, joins OCDCA as a 2015 member. Welcome!
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Site Visit: The Redevelopment of a Cleveland Corridor Links Art, Education, Healthcare and Communities
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Local Groups Team Up in Athens for Healthy Food
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Planners Seek to Avoid Lining Opportunity Corridor with Payday Lenders
Planners are gearing up to use a new kind of zoning, a new design review district and other tools and techniques to realize the economic and aesthetic potential of the $331 million
Opportunity Corridor boulevard scheduled for completion in 2019.
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In Columbus, a Celebration of $10M Senior Housing Development
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Slavic Village
Revitalization Making Significant Progress
Slavic Village area has been hit hard with foreclosures. But community leaders and new residents are revitalizing and putting the once-proud neighborhood back on homebuyer's maps. Read more
here.
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AmeriCorps VISTA Spotlight
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| OCDCA AmeriCorps VISTAs Finish Year of Service; Make Video to Celebrate #VISTA50 Thank you to all of the OCDCA AmeriCorps VISTA Members on their last day of service, which was Friday, June 26! Your passion and dedication have worked to shape your communities and Ohio as a whole! Celebrating their last day of service, the OCDCA AmeriCorps VISTA members offered insight into their respective projects and things they learned along the way. OCDCA AmeriCorps VISTA Leader, Maura Harris, used the video footage and pictures taken during the OCDCA Annual Spring Day of Service, and compiled an AmeriCorps VISTA video in celebration of 50 years of VISTA.
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New Gas Efficiency Incentives for Small Commercial Construction
On July 9 a the Builders Exchange of Central Ohio, learn about Columbia Gas of Ohio's newest incentive program designed specifically for commercial construction up to 20,000 square feet. This seminar will unveil how to maximize incentives for installation of energy efficient equipment and/or construction measures. Email [email protected] to register.
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OHFA Housing Tax Credit Program Compliance Training
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Ohio Housing Finance Agency offers this course that focuses primarily on the basics of compliance for the Housing Tax Credit program (also known as the HTC program). Because compliance rules and procedures are frequently updated, the course is beneficial for individuals new to the Housing Tax Credit program as well as seasoned veterans. Cost is $89 for a full day training and there are eight different dates and locations from which to choose. Read more
here.
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HOME Investment Partnerships Program Funds in RD and LIHTC Projects
There have been a lot of changes to the HOME regulations with the final ruling. Join the Council for Rural Housing & Development of Ohio to learn about the new requirements that will affect the daily operations and management of properties that use HOME funding at their properties. The training is in Columbus on Tuesday, August 18. Register here.
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| USDA Rural Development Value Added Producer Grants The VAPG program helps agricultural producers enter into value-added activities related to the processing and/or marketing of bio-based, value-added products. Generating new products, creating and expanding marketing opportunities, and increasing producer income are the goals of this program. You may receive priority if you are a beginning farmer or rancher, a socially-disadvantaged farmer or rancher, a small or medium-sized farm or ranch structured as a family farm, a farmer or rancher cooperative, or are proposing a mid-tier value chain. Grants are awarded through a national competition. Each fiscal year, applications are requested through a notice published in the Federal Register. Deadline is July 2.
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| USDA Rural Housing Preservation Grants The HPG program is a grant program which provides qualified public agencies, private nonprofit organizations, and other eligible entities grant funds to assist very low- and low-income homeowners in repairing and rehabilitating their homes in rural areas. In addition, the HPG program assists rental property owners and cooperative housing complexes in repairing and rehabilitating their units if they agree to make such units available to low- and very low-income persons. Deadline is July 6.
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| The Women's Fund of Central Ohio Call for Letters of Intent The Women's Fund of Central Ohio is seeking LOIs that improve economic self-sufficiency for women and girls in Central Ohio. The deadline is July 6. Informational meetings are available.
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Early Head Start University Partnerships: Building the Evidence Base
The Department of Health and Human Services is soliciting applications for Early Head Start University Partnerships: Building the Evidence Base for Infant/Toddler Center-based Programs to support projects that will contribute understanding and knowledge of how Early Head Start and other early care and education programs can promote and improve early child development by supporting parents and teachers. This grant program seeks to stimulate systematic, programmatic, multidisciplinary research to develop and test models of integrated interventions targeted at parents and teachers to promote infant and toddler development across multiple domains including cognitive, language, and social-emotional/behavioral development. It is expected that research studies and programs stimulated by this initiative will contribute scientific data that inform a number of practice and policy issues. Projects must be led by researchers working in partnership with one or more Early Head Start programs. Grantees are expected to participate in a consortium of grantees, meeting annually and communicating regularly to share lessons learned, identify opportunities for collaborative analyses, and to develop collective expertise and resources to be shared with the field at large. Deadline is July 6. |
| Responsible Fatherhood Opportunities for Reentry and Mobility The ReFORM program cooperative agreements will help organizations develop and test a range of responsible fatherhood activities and comprehensive supportive services for fathers transitioning from incarceration to the community and their families. Funds must be used to support and integrate all three authorized activities (i.e., responsible parenting, economic stability, and healthy marriage and relationship education) and economic mobility activities for transitioning fathers. Deadline is July 7.
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| The Dayton Foundation's Discretionary Grants Program
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POWER + Plan for Coal Communities and Appalachia
The POWER Initiative is a new interagency effort to assist communities and workers negatively impacted by changes in the coal industry and power sector. The goal of the POWER Initiative is to align, leverage, and target complementary federal economic and workforce development resources to assist communities and workers negatively impacted by changes in the coal economy. Deadline is July 10.
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| BJ's Charitable Foundation Funding for Vocation BJ's Charitable Foundation supports organizations located where its stores are located. Support will be given to nonprofits that provide academic and vocational opportunities for the disadvantaged. These programs include the purchase of supplies for literacy skills, mentoring, tutoring and career development. The deadline is July 10.
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Southwest Ohio
LISC Greater Cincinnati & Northern Kentucky - currently seeking a
Program Officer.
For current postings Click Here.
Organizations with employment opportunities in the housing and community development field, please send your employment notices to Lisa Much at [email protected]. |
| Non-Profit Developer Fee Bonus
Due to the dismantling of the CHDO operating grant program caused by the HUD HOME rules, OCDCA has advocated for changes to developer fees in OHFA's Multifamily Underwriting Guidelines in an attempt to make up for lost resources. On page 11 of this
redline version
is language calling for an additional $75,000 in the maximum overall developer fee to go to the "community based non-profit developer". This is intended to be above and beyond the negotiated developer fee split in the event of a joint venture and when a community based non-profit is the 100% owner. The OHFA board will vote on the guidelines on July 15th. If you have any questions please contact Nate Coffman at
[email protected]
or (614) 461-6392 x 207.
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| Ohio Health Food Financing Initiative In April, at the request of the Finance Fund, the Ohio House of Representatives established and framed a public private partnership called the Ohio Healthy Food Financing Initiative (HFFI) in its substitute budget bill, HB 64. The Bill allocated seed capital to be administered through a statewide community development financial institution in conjunction with the Ohio Department of Jobs and Family Services. The conference report recommends funding the initiative at $1 million in both SFY 2015 beginning July 1 and SFY 2016. State grant funding is essential to the success of the initiative since most healthy food projects will require 30 percent grant funding to overcome barriers associated with locating in low-income urban and rural areas. The budget is in front of Governor Kasich with signature anticipated this evening. |
| 2015 Housing Tax Credit Awards The Ohio Housing Finance Agency (OHFA) announced the 2015 Housing Tax Credit program awards. More than $30 million in annual credits were awarded to 40 developments supporting the financing of more than 2,500 units of affordable housing across the state of Ohio. The 2015 recipients were chosen from more than 100 applicants seeking nearly $77 million in credits. The recipient list is now available on the OHFA website. |
| Spending Caps Cause Havoc to HOME and Other Programs On June 25, the Senate Committee on Appropriations passed a Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies (THUD) FY16 spending bill that does not raid the National Housing Trust Fund (NHTF), as would the House counterpart, H.R. 2577, but would cut the HOME Investments Partnership Program (HOME) by 93% in order to have enough funds to maintain the rest of HUD's programs. The House bill would use all NHTF funds in 2016 to fund a $133 million cut it would make to HOME. The Senate cuts to HOME, and the House raid of the NHTF are the direct result of the 2011 Budget Control Act's sequester spending caps, which do not allow for sufficient resources for domestic discretionary programs for FY16. To view the House/Senate/Administration budget comparisons click here. Enterprise reported that "Timing for consideration on the Senate floor is unclear, as is the fate of appropriations legislation generally. Democratic leadership is committed to blocking all spending bills, and President Obama has threatened to veto any spending legislation that adheres to the budget caps, in an effort to pressure Republicans to negotiate increased spending caps." Many observers do not expect the spending caps to hold up through the appropriations process but it is important for all of Congress to understand the negative impacts caused by arbitrary limitations. |
| Supreme Court Rules to Uphold Disparate Impact The Supreme Court handed down a 5-4 ruling in the case of Inclusive Communities (ICP) vs. Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs (TDHCA) on June 25, upholding that the concept of "disparate impact" can be used to fight housing discrimination under the Fair Housing Act. Read more about the ruling and its implications. |
| Hard Time in Slavic Village Read this interesting series from the Plain Dealer about a fraudulent real estate flipper sentenced to intensive community service in Cleveland's Slavic Village neighborhood. |
| Federal Reserve Report on Economic Well-Being The Federal Reserve Board of Governors this week published a Report on the Economic Well-Being of U.S. Households in 2014. The report is based on survey data collected last October. To view the report and video click here. |
| 2015 Housing Matters Survey Finds Americans Still Anxious About Housing The 2015 How Housing Matters Survey, commissioned by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, finds that many people think that the country has not moved past the housing crisis and that housing affordability is a serious problem.
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| New HUD Website Offers Free Online Housing Counselor Training HUD launched hudhousingcounselors.com, a new website with free online training for HUD-approved housing counseling agencies. Read the HUD announcement. |
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Thanks for subscribing and reading! Please feel free to email us with any comments or suggestions!
Sincerely,
Lisa Much
Program and Development Manager
Ohio CDC Association
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Copyright ? 2013. All Rights Reserved.
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