|
2005 Grants for New England Partnerships.
Since its inception in 1984, the Federal Home Loan Bank of Boston's
(the Bank) Grants for New England Partnership (GNP) program has
awarded thousands of
dollars to member banks for distribution to hundreds of nonprofit
organizations throughout New England. In many cases, member institutions
that sponsor these grants contribute an additional grant or match
the GNP grant.
This year, the GNP program is providing funding specifically designed
to help New England non-profits improve their organizational skills.
With funding sources scarce, many community-based organizations
need help with business management and structure. In 2005, the Bank
will make GNP grants of up to $3,000 to 10 nonprofit community-development
organizations to help fund a business analysis conducted by the
Nonprofit Finance Fund (NFF). As in the past, a member bank must
sponsor the participating nonprofit organization.
The NFF analysis - which usually costs from $5,000 to $8,000 - will
help community organizations better balance financial-management
requirements with program priorities and future planning. As part
of the analysis, the NFF will review audited financial statements,
fiscal-year budgets, annual statistics, strategic or business plans,
and the organization's overall financial health.
The Bank will continue to accept proposals for GNP funding from
member banks until the available 2005 funding has been distributed.
GNP funding will be distributed on a first-come first-served basis.
For more information, contact Holly Frades, the Bank's housing and
community investment assistant, at 617-292-9713 or holly.frades@fhlbboston.com.
Business of the Year in New Hampshire.
The Laconia Area Community Land Trust, which develops
and manages affordable housing in Laconia, New Hampshire, was the
recipient of one of Business New Hampshire magazine's Business
of the Year Awards for 2005. The Land Trust has been the recipient
of several grants from the Bank's Affordable Housing Program to
fund housing initiatives in the Avery Hill and South End sections
of Laconia. Linda Harvey, the organization's executive director,
is a former member of the Bank's Advisory Council.
"Evidence of the Land Trust's impact on the city is clearly
visible in areas such as Avery Hill and the South End, where it
has made major improvements to deteriorated duplexes and other multifamily
buildings," noted a recent editorial in Laconia's The Citizen
newspaper.
AHP Trainings and Webinars.
Affordable Housing Program (AHP) training sessions will be held
on August 23 in Boston; August 24 in Farmington, Connecticut; August
25 in Montpelier, Vermont; August 26 in Manchester,
New Hampshire; August 30 in Providence, Rhode Island; August 30
in Augusta, Maine; and September 8 in Boston. The Bank will also
offer an AHP webinar on September 9. The Bank's online seminars
allow developers and members to participate in training sessions
without leaving the office. For more information and to register
for upcoming training sessions and webinars, see the Events section
of the Bank's web site at www.fhlbboston.com/events.
New Markets Tax Credits Forum.
A Bank-sponsored forum on New Markets Tax Credits will be held September
30 from 8:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. at the Sheraton Hotel in Portsmouth,
New Hampshire. To register, see the Events section of the Bank's
web site at www.fhlbboston.com/events.
Online Applications Only. Applications
for all Bank housing programs must now be submitted on the Bank's
web site. Applications for the Affordable Housing Program, Equity
Builder Program, Community
Development advance program, and New England Fund must be submitted
at www.fhlbboston.com/communitydevelopment/formsandapplications/index.jsp.
Printed
applications are no longer available. For more information contact
Paulette Vass at 617-292-9792.
Disaster-Relief Community Development Advances.
Many regions of New England are suffer-
ing from economic disasters resulting from the harmful red-tide
algae bloom, the difficulty of military reservists leaving their
jobs to enter active duty, and a number of other weather-related
disasters.
The Bank is able to provide lower-cost wholesale Community Development
advances for disaster relief.
To learn more about how we can work with you to help your communities
recover, please call or
e-mail your relationship manager, senior community investment manager,
or Paulette Vass, the Bank's Community Development advances manager
(617-292-9792 or paulette.vass@fhlbboston.com).
Articles and Reports of Interest. In
the Spring 2005 issue of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston's Communities
and Banking magazine, William Ray of the New Hampshire Housing
Finance Authority
analyzes the connection between housing development and accelerating
public school spending in the Granite State. Read the article at
www.bos.frb.org/commdev/c&b/.
MIT's Center for Real Estate has examined several rental developments
built in the mid-1980s in greater Boston to determine whether the
value of single-family homes near the developments had declined.
In each case, the price appreciation of single-family houses in
the area was virtually the same as house-price gains communitywide.
Read the report at web.mit.edu/cre/.
|
