Activities & Resources

Photo by Jeff Whetstone


Stand Up Activities

Directory of Community Developers

Publications

Network Reporter

Links

Contact Us

Housing

Fannie Mae
Get information on Fannie Mae’s secondary market role in purchasing single-family home loans from banks and other primary lenders and on its financing programs for multi-family housing and community development. The site’s HomePathsm offers people in the process of purchasing or refinancing a home a useful on-line guide (in eight languages) for making decisions and finding local advisors and lenders.

Fannie Mae Foundation
This site provides information on the program and grants of the foundation launched by Fannie Mae. Some areas include: housing research and policy; homebuyer assistance; literacy, basic education, ESL, and higher education; graduate fellowships; housing and community initiatives; and, a national walkathon to benefit the homeless. Grant applications and housing research reports are available online.

Freddie Mac
Freddie Mac is a stockholder-owned corporation chartered by Congress in 1970 to create a continuous flow of funds to mortgage lenders in support of homeownership and rental housing. Freddie Mac purchases mortgages from lenders and packages them into securities that are sold to investors. This provides homeowners and renters with lower housing costs and better access to home financing. The site provides information on Freddie Mac's products and services for the mortgage industry, investors and homebuyers, including a bilingual consumer home inspection kit and its single-family home sales program.

Freddie Mac Foundation
This site provides information on the program and grants of the foundation launched by Freddie Mac to support nonprofits working with children, youth and families at risk. Eligible groups include national organizations and local groups in cities where Freddie Mac has its national and regional corporate offices.

Federal Housing Finance Board
Learn the standards of community investment or service that member banks of the Federal Home Loan Bank System must meet in order to maintain access to long-term financial advances.

Ginnie Mae
Learn about the secondary mortgage market and Ginnie Mae, an entity of HUD that assures that mortgage funds are available throughout the country, including rural areas where it has traditionally been harder to borrow money to buy a home.

Habitat for Humanity
Locate Habitat program affiliates in your area that you can help out, a directory of special events, and information on this faith-based housing organization’s various programs.

Housing Assistance Council
Find information on HAC’s many services to increase the availability of decent affordable housing in rural areas, including loans, publications, technical assistance, training, and special projects.

Illinois Affordable Assisted Living Initiative
Learn about the Illinois Affordable Assisted Living Initiative which is a program to provide technical assistance; grants and loans to non-profit community development corporations (CDCs) interested in developing affordable assisted living for Illinois seniors.

KnowledgePlex
Register to use a comprehensive and interactive online resource for professionals interested in affordable housing and community development. 

Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC)
LISC helps resident-led, community-based development organizations transform distressed communities and neighborhoods into healthy ones – good places to live, do business, work and raise families. By providing capital, technical expertise, training and information, LISC supports the development of local leadership and the creation of affordable housing, commercial, industrial and community facilities, businesses and jobs. We help neighbors build communities.

National Housing Institute
Learn about this nonprofit organization that examines key issues affecting affordable housing and community development practitioners and their supporters, including jobs, safety, education, poverty and racism. Read its online, bimonthly, subscription-based magazine Shelterforce, a leading source of information for innovative strategies.

National Low Income Housing Coalition
Get a summary of pending legislation relevant to affordable housing; a calendar of national, state and local low-income housing events; links to statewide housing coalitions and members of congressional committees on housing authorizations and appropriations, information on publications and more.

Rural Community Assistance Corporation
Get information on available financial services, housing and environmental issues, as well as publications and events listings.

The Rural Alliance of NeighborWorks®
Read the newsletter from this coalition of organizations that targetslow-income housing and community development in rural areas, learn about upcoming training programs, get links to relevant sites and more.

USDA Rural Housing Service
Get information on RHS’ opportunities for nonprofits, lenders, public agencies, developers, and individuals and families, including notices of funds available, information about the Rural Community Development Initiative, and a list of links to sites covering topics such as accessibility, architecture, community development and water supply and wastewater systems.

U.S. Census Bureau-Housing and Household Services Economic Statistics
This is the "home page" for the Census Bureau's links to data on major topics relating to the housing stock itself, as well as to socioeconomic data about the households which occupy that stock.

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
Get information on notices of funds available, HUD’s programs and best practices, numerous housing topics, and more. Includes to special, one-stop shopping pages for groups involved in housing and community development, including lenders, first-time homebuyers, nonprofits and multifamily housing developers.

The Nonprofit Resource Center
Established by California lawyers, this site is designed for managers, board members and volunteers of nonprofit and tax-exempt organizations, as well as people who are considering forming nonprofit organization. It tries to offer a one-stop Directory of Internet Resources for Nonprofits.

The Rural Alliance for NeighborWorks
A special coalition of organizations within the national NeighborWorks® network targeting low-income housing and community development in rural areas. This site is one of the services offered by the national network, the national Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation and Neighborhood Housing Services of America. The site links to a newsletter, members in 15 states, and periodic training programs in the areas of leadership and management, affordable housing, community building, construction and production management, economic development, community planning, community development lending and homeownership.

Habitat for Humanity International
A faith-based housing program at work in all 50 states and 63 other countries to mobilize volunteers to end substandard housing in local areas. Site has search engine to locate program affiliates in your area that you can join to help out, a directory of special events, and information on college campus programs, international volunteer opportunities, environmentally-friendly building, donating funds and/or building materials, and applying for a Habitat home.

Housing Assistance Council
National nonprofit created to increase the availability of decent and affordable housing for low-income people in rural areas. Headquartered in Washington D.C., with field offices in GA, NM, CA and MO, HAC provides many services for local, state, and national organizations (not individuals), including loans, publications, technical assistance, training and special projects. Convenes periodic intensive training workshops around the country, plus the annual National Rural Housing Coalition conference in Washington D.C. The site has a comprehensive list of annotated links to advocacy and policy analysis, fund raising, government agencies, technical assistance providers, private lenders, research sources, telecommunications, and other links including listservs and HUD's Policy, Development & Research section.

National Low Income Housing Coalition/Low Income Housing Information Service
A national organization especially concerned about low-income renters and tenants of public housing. Committed to education, organizing and advocacy, including faith-based housing programs. The NLIHC site contains publications and an e-mail, fax an internet network with forums for discussion. It also maintains a summary of pending legislation with a link to Thomas' legislation finder; a calendar of national, state and local low-income housing events; links to statewide housing coalitions, to members of congressional committees on housing authorizations and appropriations, and an exhaustive un-annotated list of national and local housing organizations, policy and advocacy groups, government agencies, banking and financing sites, data sources, and other lists of links.

Enterprise Foundation
Though its programs focus on 1,200 community based nonprofits in 17 metropolitan areas across the country, the foundation's site offers products, tools, best-practices guides, resources and bi-weekly updates on policy and federal funding information that can be very useful to practitioners of affordable housing and community development in rural areas.

National Congress for Community Economic Development
The trade association and advocate for more than 3,600 community development corporations across America. The site includes: (1) information on federal legislation, funding, budget and award programs; (2) online shopping links supporting NCCED; (3) local success stories; (4) advisories on policy conferences and training workshops; and (5) links to newsletter and general information about the community development industry.