NEW ORLEANS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--As it enters the third year of a 10-year plan to solve New Orleans, Louisiana’s affordable housing crisis, HousingNOLA will have additional funds to help in its effort.
HousingNOLA will use an $8,000 Partnership Grant Program (PGP) award from Home Bank and the Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas (FHLB Dallas) to advance its work. HousingNOLA is a community-led effort launched in December 2015 to address the city’s housing needs over a 10-year period with solutions for safe and accessible housing for all income levels.
Andreanecia Morris, executive director of HousingNOLA, said the partnership’s process includes a wide range of activities including assessing the state of the city’s housing, seeking new resources to create new housing opportunities, leveraging existing resources to preserve affordable housing and benchmarking the strategy’s process to ensure that one day all New Orleans residents will have equitable access to housing that is safe and affordable.
The $8,000 in grant funds was awarded during a check presentation event yesterday at the HousingNOLA headquarters. Dignitaries present during the event included HousingNOLA staff and board members and officials from Home Bank and FHLB Dallas.
“This grant will help fund the first year of our Put Housing First Campaign, whose goal is to educate community members and encourage advocacy around housing issues and housing policy,” Ms. Morris said. “We’ve long believed that addressing New Orleans’ housing crisis is going to require not just public investment, but private partnerships as well.”
Ms. Morris said HousingNOLA has worked with Home Bank in the past and found the process of applying for its first-ever PGP straightforward.
“Home Bank has worked with us in the initial stages of the campaign and they sponsored our legislative crawfish boil earlier this year. When the opportunity presented itself for the PGP, they were very helpful and encouraging,” she said.
Brandon Kelly, vice president and CRA officer at Home Bank, said the bank is committed to serving the needs of the community and supports HousingNOLA’s efforts.
“HousingNOLA is taking the lead in a multiyear strategy to increase the supply and access to safe, affordable and well-built housing for New Orleanians,” Mr. Kelly said. “We’re happy to play a part in that significant effort through the PGP.”
Greg Hettrick, first vice president and director of Community Investment at FHLB Dallas, said Home Bank’s ongoing involvement with HousingNOLA demonstrates its ongoing commitment to affordable housing initiatives.
“We are pleased to see our member banks getting — and staying — involved in the important issues facing their respective communities,” he said. “Home Bank’s use of the PGP will both benefit the community and strengthen their relationship with HousingNOLA.”
FHLB Dallas, via the PGP, matches a member’s contribution to a community-based organization (CBO) of $500 up to $4,000 at a 3:1 ratio for a maximum $12,000 contribution. Awarded annually via a lottery system through FHLB Dallas members, PGP grants may be used for research, organizational capacity-building, grant- and funding-application assistance or contractual services.
For more information, visit fhlb.com/pgp.
About Home Bank
Home Bank, N.A., is one of the nation’s most stable lending and financial institutions with a history that dates back more than 100 years. It is the oldest financial institution chartered in Lafayette Parish, and through the years it has expanded to serve the markets of Baton Rouge, New Orleans, the Northshore of Lake Ponchartrain and Natchez and Vicksburg, Mississippi.
About the Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas
The Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas is one of 11 district banks in the FHLBank System created by Congress in 1932. FHLB Dallas, with total assets of $66.4 billion as of September 30, 2017, is a member-owned cooperative that supports housing and community investment by providing competitively priced loans and other credit products to approximately 840 members and associated institutions in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico and Texas. For more information, visit fhlb.com.
