COLUMBIA, Md. — Twelve affordable housing and community development nonprofits along the Gulf Coast were recently awarded $540,000 in grants from Enterprise Community Partners (Enterprise) to strengthen organizational capacity, expand resident services, promote homeownership, and advance affordable housing and community development.
The grants are supported through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Section 4 program. The funding allows community development corporations and community housing development organizations to build capacity to carry out a wide range of work to benefit households with low incomes and address urgent community needs.
“Nonprofits are the backbone of the communities where they work, particularly in this challenging economy. These resources help organizations build the capacity of staff, enhance operations and access additional resources needed to respond to growing community needs and carry out their important work into the future,” said Michelle Whetten, Enterprise VP and Gulf Coast market leader.
Five grantees from Louisiana, three from Mississippi and four from Texas are using the grants over the next two years to accomplish a variety of projects.
In Louisiana, the funds will go to:
- Urban Restoration Enhancement Corporation, of Baton Rouge, to start a new program called Lock and Key Club, to help their clients repair their credit to ultimately find and purchase a home
- People’s Housing+, of New Orleans, to support its homebuying program that educates, coaches and guides potential homeowners through the entire home-purchase process
- Sankofa Community Development Corporation, of New Orleans, to develop an affordable and resilient housing plan for the historic Lower Ninth Ward
- Jericho Road Episcopal Housing, of New Orleans, to fund a housing sustainability coordinator to support the organization’s financial coaching program and housing sustainability program
- Project Build a Future, of Lake Charles, to support and enhance the organization’s disaster response and continuity of operations plans
