Two of the nation’s top Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) will be recognized with the 2009 Wachovia NEXT Awards for Opportunity Finance.
New Hampshire-based Community Loan Fund and Kentucky-based Federation of Appalachian Housing Enterprises (FAHE) will receive $8.25 million in grants and low-cost loans.
The program recognizes excellence within the CDFI field and is designed to propel the organizations to the next level of growth and success. Since 2007, the awards program has been run and funded through the Opportunity Finance Network with support from the Wachovia Foundation and the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.
The Community Loan Fund will receive $5.5 million—a $5 million low-cost loan and a $500,000 unrestricted grant.
The organization was selected for its expansion of an innovative financing program for manufactured housing mortgage loans, which has the potential to change mortgage financing in the manufactured home sector across the country, said officials.
Since 1984, it has enabled 93 manufactured housing communities through New Hampshire, or 20 percent of the market in the state, to convert to resident ownership.
FAHE will receive $2.75 million—a $2.5 million low-cost loan and a $250,000 unrestricted grant.
The organization was selected for its innovation in eliminating substandard housing conditions prevalent in the Central Appalachian region. FAHE is the largest provider of community investment capital in the regional. It has provided $41 million in direct financing, and its members have produced 3,800 housing units.
CDFIs are private-sector institutions working to meet the financial needs of disadvantaged and hard-to-serve markets nationwide. They include banks, credit unions, loan funds, and venture capital funds. There are more than 700 CDFIs.
