Nehemiah Community Reinvestment Fund Announces $2 Million Line of Credit from Fannie Mae
Fannie Mae Funds to Provide Capital for Short-Term, Low-Interest Loans to Finance Affordable Workforce and Transitional Housing
Sacramento, CA - November 24, 2004-Nehemiah Community Reinvestment Fund (NCRF), the nonprofit community development lending affiliate of
Nehemiah Corporation of America, today announced that Fannie Mae (FNM/NYSE), the nation's largest source of financing for
home mortgages, will provide a $2 million line of credit to NCRF. The funds provided by Fannie Mae will be used to make loans
to create or preserve affordable and workforce housing, including special needs and transitional housing nationwide.
Over the next three years, NCRF expects to leverage Fannie Mae's funds to make loans totaling nearly $13 million for community
development projects worth more than $40 million.
"Nehemiah created NCRF to help community and faith-based groups alleviate the scarcity of affordable housing in their
communities. By providing these organizations with short-term, below-market rate loans, NCRF works to stimulate the creation and preservation
of safe, decent affordable housing neighborhood by neighborhood across the nation. Fannie Mae's loan is not simply and investment in NCRF;
it is and investment in the future of America," said Scott Syphax, president and chief executive officer of Nehemiah Corporation of America.
"Nehemiah Community Reinvestment Fund promotes community revitalization through comprehensive,
regionally-focused affordable housing and community development programs. Partners like Fannie Mae, share our vision of widening the scope
of housing opportunities and availability for lower income families."
Nehemiah Corporation of America, the nation's leading privately-funded nonprofit provider of down payment gift assistance,
founded NCRF in 1999 to make loans and equity investments in community development projects in California. In 2003, NCRF's mission expanded
nationally, targeting community- and faith-based nonprofit organizations developing affordable, workforce and special needs
housing as well as community facilities and economic development in economically distressed and underserved communities.
Fannie Mae's $2 million line of credit has a 5-year term and has been designated specifically for housing developments nationwide.
Fannie Mae's participation with NCRF is part of the new goals under the company's national American Dream Commitment to increase the supply
of housing where its needed most, specifically through workforce housing efforts, and a pledge to help end chronic homelessness by increasing
investment for transitional housing developments.
"The Nehemiah Corporation is a leader in helping those families most in need obtain safe, decent, affordable
housing, and this new community development fund will go a long way towards helping many families across the country," said Julie Gould,
vice president of community lending for Fannie Mae. "The funds, provided by Fannie Mae's Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Initiative,
will increase the supply of affordable housing for low- and moderate-income families, seniors, special needs individuals, and formerly
homeless people who are working hard to improve their quality of life. Fannie Mae is excited to be part of this effort."
Using the Fannie Mae funds, NCRF will finance all phases of housing development from land purchase and entitlement
to construction financing. A wide variety of projects are eligible including rental housing, senior residences, single room occupancy
units, housing for people with special needs and the formerly homeless as well as ownership housing.
These funds will initially be used in Sacramento, Reno, Chicago and other cities where Nehemiah has developed local partnerships.
About Nehemiah Community Reinvestment Fund
Nehemiah Community Reinvestment Fund (NCRF) (www.ncrfund.org) is a nonprofit community development
financial institution dedicated to providing capital and resources to revitalize low income and underserved communities.
NCRF accomplishes this by leveraging investments in its revolving fund with its own capital to make below-market
rate loans to community- and faith-based nonprofit organizations. These loans produce affordable and special needs
housing, community facilities such as childcare and senior centers, and nonprofit offices, and economic development
projects, which create jobs and help revitalize economically stressed neighborhoods. Additionally, NCRF acts as a bridge
to provide investors with a vehicle to drive community revitalization by facilitating the creation of equity funds to make
real estate investments in low-income and underserved communities. These double bottom line funds provide capital for
community revitalization while at the same time yielding market-rate returns to investors.
About Nehemiah Corporation of America
Founded in 1994, Nehemiah Corporation of America, http://www.nehemiahcorp.org, is a Sacramento-based
nonprofit organization committed to empowering lives and enriching communities nationwide. Nehemiah transforms lives by increasing
homeownership opportunities for diverse populations, while maintaining its commitment to successful, responsible homeownership.
Nehemiah transforms communities by expanding its faith-based, charitable and community development initiatives
into underserved neighborhoods across America. In 1997, Nehemiah launched its flagship program, The Nehemiah Program,
to provide down payment assistance to homebuyers. To date, Nehemiah has provided over $700 million in down payment assistance gifts,
resulting in $23 billion in real estate transactions and has helped over 180,000 families and individuals achieve
their dream of homeownership. Committed to comprehensive community reinvestment, Nehemiah has fostered partnerships with
Habitat for Humanity, HomeAid America, the US Conference of Mayors and the National Association of Counties. In addition to providing
downpayment gift assistance, Nehemiah has created other programs that work to revitalize communities including: Nehemiah
Community Reinvestment Fund, Nehemiah Community Foundation and Nehemiah Urban Ministry Initiatives (NUMI).
About Fannie Mae
Fannie Mae is a New York Stock Exchange company and the largest non-bank financial services company in the world.
It operates pursuant to a federal charter and is the nation's largest source of financing for home mortgages. Fannie Mae has pledge
through its "American Dream Commitment" to expand access to homeownership for millions of first-time home buyers; help raise
the minority homeownership rate to 55 percent; make homeownership and rental housing a success for millions of families at risk of losing
their homes; and expand the supply of affordable housing where it is needed most. Since 1968, Fannie Mae has provided $6.3
trillion of mortgage financing for 63 million families. More information about Fannie Mae can be found on the Internet at http://www.fanniemae.com.
The American Dream Commitment is a registered mark of Fannie Mae. Unauthorized use of this mark is prohibited.
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