What's Happening in Ohio Community Development? |
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July 2021 | Vol. 12, Issue 7 |
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Quick List: Ways to Get the Most from your Membership
Have you:
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Registration Open for 37th Annual Conference
Registration is now available for our 37th Annual Conference October 6-8, 2021, which will be a hybrid event with full in-person activities at the DeYor Performing Arts Center in Youngstown along with some streamed content for a hybrid experience. Featuring local tours covering comprehensive neighborhood planning and vacant home rehab, kitchen and business incubation, and urban agriculture; workshops topics including policy and advocacy; racial justice; meeting the needs of returning citizens; and commercial corridors post COVID; member awards reception at the Youngstown Flea; and a keynote conversation with Evelyn Burnett, the conference offers connection and honest conversations while strengthening us for another year. Join us to regroup with your colleagues as we explore Youngstown and the Mahoning Valley this fall. Register now!
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OCDCA Hiring Two AmeriCorps VISTA Leaders
The VISTA Leader will assist with the support and coordination of the OCDCA VISTA Project, which places volunteers at community development corporations throughout the state of Ohio in order to make lasting change through capacity building. Apply here.
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Final Session in Fundraising Series
OCDCA's Membership and Development Director, Amanda Crawford, is leading a series of live sessions on the topic of fundraising. The last session, Diving into Grants, is on August 3 at 10 AM. This webinar will include a dissection of actual grant applications submitted by registrants. You can register here.
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Coffee Chat: Financial Empowerment
9.2.21 // 9 - 9:45 AM
Are you interested in networking with fellow community development professionals? Grab a coffee and come discuss all things financial empowerment with your fellow OCDCA members! Topics may include financial education, counseling, and asset building. Come prepared to participate. Register here.
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Leading Beyond Compliance
8.24.21 // 1 - 3 PM
We are excited to once again partner with Think for Good, Inc. and CEDAM in presenting Leading Beyond Compliance. During this webinar, participants will explore their most utilized leadership style, identify how to shift leadership styles based upon situation and context, learn to tap into motivational drivers, and much more. Register here.
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Step Forward Opens New Middleburg Heights Neighborhood Opportunity Center
Step Forward opened a new neighborhood opportunity center (NOC) on Wednesday, July 7 to serve low-income residents in the Middleburg Heights community. “We're happy that this location will give us the ability to serve more Cuyahoga County residents,” said Douglas Bennett, Step Forward Vice President of Community Services and External Affairs. “Bringing services to this neighborhood brings with it skills, support and connections that can transform lives." Read more here.
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Mahoning Land Bank Projects Have $33M in Economic Impact
The Mahoning County Land Bank’s investment in demolishing abandoned homes and cleaning up vacant lots has returned $33.2 million in economic benefits over the past decade. A report by Youngstown State University student Joshua Tye, advised by economics professors Ou Hu and Albert J. Sumell, found that for each dollar the land bank spent, its improvements returned between $1.43 and $1.50 in benefits. Click here for more from The Business Journal.
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OHFA Seeking Input for Revisions to Design and Architectural Standards and Multifamily Underwriting Guidelines
As OHFA prepares to draft the 2022-23 Design and Architectural Standards and the 2022-2023 Multifamily Underwriting Guidelines, OHFA is seeking stakeholder input on these guidelines. OHFA will seek initial stakeholder input through Friday, August 13, and will post the full first draft of these documents at a later date. The current versions of the Design and Architectural Standards and Multifamily Underwriting Guidelines are available on OHFA's website. Comments may be sent to QAP@ohiohome.org. |
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Eliminating Disparities in Infant Mortality Task Force Survey
The Eliminating Disparities in Infant Mortality Task Force (IMTF) has been charged with providing actionable recommendations to Governor Mike DeWine on how to eliminate the racial disparity in Ohio’s infant mortality rate by 2030. We need your help. Recognizing that racism is the root cause of ongoing racial inequities in infant mortality, they are asking our partners to help Ohio develop recommendations for state action to remove barriers for Black communities, black families, mothers and babies. They have developed a survey to get input from organizations who work with and on behalf of Black families and communities we wish to serve.
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Ohio Housing Conference
This year's conference, hosted by the Ohio Housing Finance Agency and the Ohio Capital Corporation for Housing, will take place December 1 and 2 virtually. Registration opens in the fall. In the meantime, share your thoughts on what topics and networking opportunities are important to you. Please respond by Monday, August 2, 2021. Take the survey.
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How Credit Reporting Can Help Your Business
In this webinar presented by ECDI, Chris Roberts of PNC Bank will explain the concept of credit reporting and the impact of credit report on the operation or growth of a small business. The webinar is free and will take place on August 3 from 11AM to 12:30PM. Register here.
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Credit Booklet: Want credit to work for you? Start with these steps
The Consumer Finance Protection Bureau is hosting a series of informational sessions. The CFPB invites organizational leaders, managers, and frontline staff and volunteers to attend and incorporate this resource into their services. This handout features tools such as planning how to establish or build credit. The session will be on August 10th from 3PM to 4PM.
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Home Relief Grant Program Funding Available to Assist Low-income Ohioans
The federal eviction moratorium is anticipated to expire on Sunday, August 1, 2021. To ensure Ohioans can remain in their homes, the Ohio Department of Development continues to have funding available to help low-income residents with their rent, mortgage, and utility bills through the state’s Home Relief Grant Program. To access this funding, grantees should collaborate with their local Community Action Agency. To find your local Community Action Agency and additional information on the Home Relief Grant visit InvestingInOhiosFuture.ohio.gov. |
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The Joyce Foundation Grants
The Joyce Foundation is a nonpartisan private foundation that invests in public policies and strategies to advance racial equity and economic mobility for the next generation in the Great Lakes region. We support policy research, development, and advocacy in five areas: Education & Economic Mobility, Environment, Gun Violence Prevention & Justice Reform, Democracy, and Culture. Deadline is August 4.
Statewide Business Funding Available
Ohio Governor Mike DeWine and Lt. Governor Jon Husted recently announced the launch of four grant programs to help small and medium-sized businesses recover from the impact of the coronavirus pandemic. The programs will be administered by the Ohio Department of Development. Program guidelines, terms and conditions, and required documentation for all four programs are available at BusinessHelp.Ohio.Gov. Applications opened Tuesday, June 29, 2021. Funding is limited and interested parties should apply ASAP. For more information about each grant opportunity, click here.
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There are two AmeriCorps VISTA Leader positions in our office which still need to be filled. VISTA Leaders are essential to the function of the OCDCA VISTA program. Learn more.
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Discriminatory Property Restrictions Can Now Be Removed from Ohio Deeds |
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From the Columbus Dispatch...As part of the state budget bill that recently became law, licensed real estate attorneys now have legal backing to remove discriminatory passages from deeds whenever a property is sold or transferred. Prior to July, there merely existed a gray area when it came to whether a lawyer could independently remove a discriminatory covenant in a deed of property transfer. The Ohio Realtors Association requested this change. While this measure is not a concrete action towards housing equality, its symbolism is important. The legislation marks a step forward, according to advocates. Read more of the article here. |
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Report Reveals How "Out of Reach" Housing is for Minimum Wage Workers |
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From the National Low Income Housing Coalition (NLIHC) …A new report titled "Out of Reach: The High Cost of Housing" contains shocking revelations about just how unattainable housing in the United States has become for some. In Ohio, the Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom apartment is $865. According to the report, in order to afford this level of rent and utilities — without paying more than 30% of income on housing — a household must earn $2,884 monthly or $34,608 annually. This is above the statewide minimum wage. Working at the current minimum wage of $8.80/hour, an individual would have to work 60 hours a week to afford a modest, 1-bedroom rental home. See more Ohio statistics or view the national report here. |
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OCC to Rescind Harmful CRA Rule Changes |
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The 2020 CRA rules set by the OCC were a mess, a regulatory failure, and a transparent attempt to weaken the law and make it less effective by easing up on requirements for banks to meet the credit needs of all the communities where they do business. We sued the OCC to cancel the rules, and yesterday the agency announced it would do just that.
The move to start over and work jointly with the Federal Reserve and FDIC on new rules is a huge victory for NCRC and all our members and allies who challenged the 2020 rules, submitted comments and helped spread the word in the middle of a historic pandemic.
CRA compliance rules are technical, complex and off the radar for most people, but they influence trillions of dollars in local lending for mortgages and small businesses.
Our #TreasureCRA campaign is far from over. Now we've got to rally again to ensure new rules truly modernize and strengthen CRA enforcement so lenders focus on the financial needs of borrowers and communities where they do business and take deposits. Rooting out discrimination in lending and expanding access to credit is also critical for families and communities of color who were disproportionately impacted by the pandemic and who now face a longer road to financial recovery.
OCDCA would like to thank the many members that have engaged with this important issue! Your advocacy to Congress and regulators, the time you spent crafting public comment letters, and efforts making the voice of your community heard has made a difference. Read some history of the rule change. Thank you for your advocacy!
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Eviction Crisis Looms as Moratorium is Set to End Sunday |
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From NLIHC…The Biden administration announced on June 24 an extension of the federal eviction moratorium issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) through July 31, 2021, and that it would implement a whole-of-government approach to prevent an historic wave of evictions this summer. The moratorium was set to expire on June 30.
These actions from the White House extended an essential lifeline to millions of renters who remain behind on rent and would be at heightened risk of eviction when the moratorium expires. Extending the moratorium through July gave state and local governments more time to distribute more than $46 billion in emergency rental assistance (ERA) to those most in need. The administration’s whole-of-government effort to stem evictions and help ensure ERA is provided efficiently, effectively, and equitably can keep families safely housed and bolster the administration’s efforts to contain COVID-19. While in many areas in the U.S. vaccinations rates are up and COVID-19 caseloads are down, communities with lower vaccination rates and more COVID-19 cases tend to be the same communities that have large numbers of renters at heightened risk of eviction.
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House Appropriations Committee Releases THUD Funding Bill |
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From Enterprise Community Partners…On July 11, the House Appropriations Committee released their Fiscal Year (FY) 2022 Spending bill for Transportation and Housing and Urban Development. The bill seeks $84.1 billion in funds, which represents an $8.7 billion increase above FY 2021 levels. Within the bill, HUD would receive a $6.8 billion increase in funds, totaling $56.5 billion. The bill includes several of the President’s housing priorities, including an expansion of the housing choice voucher program by 125,000 vouchers, $205 million in funding for improving energy and water efficiency in public housing, as well as other resiliency efforts. Additional components of the bill include $1.85 billion for the HOME Investment Partnership program, $3.7 billion for the Community Development Block Grant, $950 million for Native American Programs, and $185 million for NeighborWorks. Since its release, the bill has been under review by the THUD Subcommittee. Once marked up and approved by the full committee, it will be sent to the House floor for final approval.
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OHIO CDC ASSOCIATION | www.ohiocdc.org |
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