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Front Porch Investments
1120 S. 101st St. Suite 320 Omaha, NE 68124
www.frontporchinvestments.org
Twitter: https://twitter.com/frontporchinv ~ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/front-porch-investments/
Meridith Dillon
Executive Director
meridith@omahafoundation.org
+1 (402) 990-1527
Yes
Meridith Dillon, Executive Director, has a passion for place-making and works to promote community development through public policy, advocacy, and community engagement. Prior to leading Front Porch Investments, Meridith served as a Program Associate in Community Development Initiatives at The Sherwood Foundation, where she focused on affordable housing, transit, and neighborhood development. She has worked towards addressing equitable access to opportunity and completed the first Regional Assessment of Fair Housing for the Omaha-Council Bluffs municipal area, as well as helped to implement the Housing Affordability assessment released in Spring of 2021 for the Greater Omaha Metropolitan Area. Naomi Hattaway, Director of Communications and Community Initiatives, is passionate about community building, diversity, and accessibility in online and physical spaces, and is equally driven by a vision of adequate affordable housing so folks can thrive, not just survive, in the places they call home. Naomi previously served in executive leadership at Habitat for Humanity of Omaha, and consulted with nonprofits and organizations on inclusive program design, mutual aid and housing solutions. In addition to recently leading the COVID-19 eviction prevention and rental assistance program, and the 2020-2021 Winter Plan non-congregate shelter efforts in Omaha, Naomi is a licensed Realtor, and recently ran for Omaha City Council in West Omaha. Tess Houser, Awards Administrator, is passionate about community progress and believes in the power of authentic relationships and resource sharing to bring about lasting change. Committed to the advocacy of access, equity, and community voice, Tess seeks to be a resource to others, connecting them with opportunities to advance their missions and celebrate their work, both personally and professionally. Tess has expansive experience in the nonprofit and arts sectors, including roles at the Omaha Community Foundation, as well as Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts. Tess holds a Bachelor of Arts in Studio Arts and a minor in art history from the University of Nebraska Omaha, is a graduate of the Rising Leaders Institute, and has volunteered for the Nebraska Arts Council and Omaha Community Foundation as a grants reviewer. Eva Roberts, Director of Policy and Strategy, has made a career of creating opportunities for children, families, and communities to thrive. She is committed to upstream systems change and partnerships to achieve lasting impact. She has broad experience in government and the social sector and recently completed an MBA with a focus on strategy, partnership, and organizational effectiveness. Prior to joining Front Porch Investments, Eva worked for eight years at the Buffett Early Childhood Fund, in several child-serving nonprofits in Phoenix, and in the Arizona Governor’s Office for Children, Youth and Families. She is a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA), a graduate of Leadership Omaha, a Fund for Omaha reviewer, and a member of the Leadership Omaha Curriculum Committee. Front Porch partners with Impact Development Fund, a nonprofit CDFI (Community Development Financial Institution) to originate, service, and monitor all loans.
See attached organizational chart
Experience in allocating loan capital for housing: Front Porch Investments held an Innovation Round of funding in March of 2022. This round was a precursor to the launch of the Development and Preservation Fund, meant to test the market and the assumptions about development needs identified in the Assessment of Housing Affordability, Needs, & Priorities, as well as our internal processes and procedures. During the two-week round, Front Porch received $49.6M in requests for loans and grants. It was clear that there was a significant need for short and long-term capital in the community. Front Porch ultimately awarded over $7M in loans and grants, including $5.8M in loans to for-profit and non-profit developers at 1% and 2% fixed interest rates respectively. Five loans were short-term (less than 3 years), and two loans were long-term (18 years, with 25-year amortization period). Over $1.5M was awarded in grant funding. Project impacts included the potential for catalyzing over 700 units of mixed income and affordable housing, providing loans to emerging developers, including black developers in their inaugural projects in North Omaha, and a grant to leverage public-private investment in mixed income housing in South Omaha. In August, Front Porch launched the first round of the Development and Preservation Fund, which addresses the current and future affordable housing need in the Greater Omaha area by providing access to capital through short-term and long-term loans and catalytic grantmaking. The D&P Fund provides a strategic and sustainable approach to accelerating affordable housing production, preserving existing affordable housing, fostering innovations to lower the cost of housing, increasing housing supports that improve housing stability, and increasing developer capacity. Experience with public/private partnership and ARPA funding: In July, the Omaha City Council approved a partnership with Front Porch to award $20 million of American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds toward affordable housing. The City’s $20 million commitment was leveraged with an additional $20 million of private funds secured by Front Porch. Funds will be allocated as first as short-term loans and later as grants to increase affordable and mixed income housing through: • Development of rental and for-sale affordable housing options in Omaha • Preservation of existing affordable housing units • Acquisition, site remediation/preparation, and pre-development of properties for affordable housing projects • Homebuyer supports to include down payment assistance for individuals and families with lower incomes To receive and distribute these funds, Front Porch has worked diligently to provide the infrastructure necessary to allocate, monitor, and report on ARPA funding. The organization is familiar with the processes required to pass an audit of these funds and has hired an external auditor to support this process. Experience in collaborative partnership: From the establishment of our organization, Front Porch has identified and acted upon our primary goal, to increase funding, innovation, and strategic partnerships in support of affordable housing across the Greater Omaha metro area. The organization leverages public-private partnerships to collaborate across stakeholders and strengthen the urban housing ecosystem. We have worked in numerous partnerships over the last year to achieve many goals including advocacy and policy and statewide and local housing strategies. This spirit of partnership and collaboration continued with the creation of the ARPA funding partnership with the City of Omaha, which was supported by 12 local nonprofit agencies. In addition, Front Porch is partnering on an additional request for LB1024 funds with the Q Street Corridor Economic Recovery Partnership. We have been meeting with South Omaha organizations over the last month to create a partnership to support economic opportunity and transformative change in South Omaha.
Greenlining Fund Mortgage Program and Property Tax Relief Pilot
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12799000.0
Service/program
Through its nascent Greenlining Fund (“The Fund”), Front Porch Investments (“Front Porch”) will support homeownership through a “purchase to payoff” model. The Fund aims to increase homeownership, support current homeowners, and pilot displacement prevention strategies for formerly redlined census tracts in partnership with community residents. The “purchase” phase will support first mortgages at a time when interest rates are rapidly increasing, providing an opportunity for interested and eligible residents to achieve homeownership. The “payoff” phase includes home equity loans and property tax relief to ensure long-time residents can remain in their homes. This effort reinvests and directs resources to support homeownership in neighborhoods that have experienced historical disinvestment from redlining or other systemic disadvantages. While redlining left long-lasting effects, Eastern Omaha (both North and South) is enjoying a renaissance, promising increased opportunity and quality of life. However, such investment also threatens to displace many longtime residents. This proposal will fund programs to increase homeownership rates and support housing stability for formerly redlined census tracts in alignment with qualified census tracts. Through partnership with housing supportive nonprofits, Front Porch will market 2% fixed interest mortgages to increase opportunities for homeownership and provide property tax relief through an exploratory pilot program. Program partners and detailed eligibility criteria will be determined by a Community Advisory Committee (“CAC”) of South and North Omaha neighborhood residents, bringing a strong equity lens to this effort. Through the initial 33 -month pilot, we will document and learn from opportunities to scale this work beyond the initial targeted neighborhoods. Success will be measured not solely by number of closed loans, but also how many households are reached with marketing and loan product information, and number of pre-applications completed by interested homeowners. In addition, the property tax relief pilot will provide stabilizing support for some of our community’s most vulnerable residents. The pilot will also provide essential data for the CAC in future decision-making in displacement prevention strategies. This data will also support the local and statewide housing advocates participating in a Statewide Housing Plan, including the evaluation of current programs to create better access and more efficiency.
This funding request includes the capitalization of the home mortgage and home equity programs and activities to be completed in a period of 33 months. The Fund itself will operate in perpetuity, or until it is no longer needed. Month 1-6 • Marketing via news outlets, radio, social media, public libraries, and at in person events in the Omaha area in both English and Spanish • Outreach to local nonprofit partners willing to distribute flyers with program information • Work in partnership with nonprofit partners to identify and prepare homebuyers for the application process • Compiling a list of local contractors and subcontractors to provide to homeowners for home repair • Compiling a list of additional community resources (City and Nonprofit programs) which includes income limits and program restrictions to share with any potential homeowners who show interest in the loan program but may not qualify or want to apply for a variety of reasons • Onboarding of the CAC Month 3-33 (intentional overlap with marketing campaign and outreach) Open program for applications (QCTs in formerly redlined Census Tracts) • Process applications • Close on approximately 1-2 loans per month over a period of 30 months (ensure all funds dispersed by June 2026)
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Fundamental Change (i.e., a proposal that will continue to elevate North or South Omaha's presence and perception within the region, significantly improving the lives of area residents through physical development) Long-Lasting Economic Growth (i.e., a proposal that will foster gainful employment opportunities and financial investment in the area, leading to the creation of generational wealth and widespread economic vitality in North and South Omaha) Transformational (i.e., a proposal that will help energize, recharge, or spur significant and favorable advancements in North or South Omaha's function or appearance)
Policy (i.e., develop or improve context-sensitive education, finance, health, training, zoning, etc.) Sustainable Community (i.e., create or enhance housing, services, education, civic uses, recreation, etc.)
Front Porch will launch its Greenlining Fund in early 2023 to prevent displacement and maintain and increase homeownership in areas of previous redlining and disinvestment. Front Porch is committed to centering voices of community members in how these funds are prioritized and allocated. The Greenlining Fund will be guided by the expertise and participation of a Community Advisory Committee (CAC). These community residents will have an equal vote to the Front Porch Board and staff regarding the development and activities of the Greenlining Fund. See the attached Greenling Fund Addendum for more detail. The Greenlining Fund will support homeownership and stability through a “purchase to payoff” model of multiple strategies to increase home ownership, from down payment assistance and low-interest mortgages to home equity loans, debt consolidation, and property tax relief. This effort reinvests and directs resources support homeownership in neighborhoods that experienced historical disinvestment from redlining or other systemic disadvantages. Greenlining Fund Mortgage Program: ARPA will capitalize the Greenlining Fund for the purpose of providing 20-25 mortgages to families between 80-120% AMI in QCTs within North and South Omaha at a 2% fixed interest. The goal of the program is to provide more equitable avenues to qualifying families beyond their credit score. Rising interest rates and out of state, cash offers make this support more important than ever. ARPA funds would provide approximately 36 mortgages at a maximum purchase price of $275,000 for families at or below 150% of the area median income, in line with parameters for the State of Nebraska’s Middle Income Workforce Housing Investment Fund (MWHF). Other MWHF housing may not be accessible due to mortgage rates. Front Porch is in conversation with multiple partners building homes through the MWHF including Canopy South and others interested in potential partnership once funds have been secured. ARPA funds will help ensure that prospective homebuyers who may have been discouraged by rising mortgage rates have an opportunity to purchase a home that does not leave them housing burdened. As mortgages are repaid, the funds will continue to revolve permanently. Front Porch partners with Impact Development Fund (IDF Bio is included in attachments), a nonprofit CDFI with decades of experience in providing loans for affordable housing programs. IDF partners with Front Porch to originate, monitor and service the loans as well as providing monthly reporting on all loan payments. This mortgage program within the Greenling Fund, will target first-time homeowners, purchasing homes provided through the MWHF in the Omaha area. Front Porch will partner with nonprofit and for-profit developers who are building homes, to ensure that they have qualified buyers. As the funds revolve, reinvestment will continue to focus on first-time homebuyers in Qualified Census Tracts for income ranges identified as the highest need by the CAC. This revolving loan fund provides long-lasting transformation and economic growth as a sustainable investment in formerly redlined census tracts. Funds allocated to this program will stay in the revolving Greenling Fund as they are repaid. Greenlining Fund Property Tax Relief: ARPA funds will also support a property tax relief pilot for homeowners in formerly redlined census tracts, including use of the homestead exemption and potentially expanding eligibility to homeowners who were impacted by COVID. The activities, research, data, and outcomes from this pilot will support economic recovery and provide valuable data for the administrators of the program, future outreach and support initiatives, and potential advocacy for policy change.
North Omaha has many single family homes but ensuring that residents of qualified census tracts have access to funds to purchase these homes is critical to maximizing this strength. In addition, the North Omaha engagement identified the the imbalance of renter-occupied to owner-occupied households as a threat of displacement. The Greenlining Fund’s mortgage program and property tax relief pilot are displacement prevention strategies that would help address these threats and provide data to help support future public and private investments. Relevant North Omaha SWOT findings: Strengths: Plethora of vacant buildings/lots to be activated, culture and character are integrated in the neighborhoods, location, single-family housing stock, potential for housing development Weaknesses: Economic investment does not recycle within the community, entities buying housing stock, absentee and out-of-state landlords and prospectors, housing affordability, redlining, risk of unintended consequences i.e. gentrification/ inequitable investment, absolutely no displacement policies in place to achieve growth while ensuring longtime residents can partake in that “increased quality of life” Threats: Aging infrastructure is a barrier for attracting investments and maintaining quality of life, external/remote land ownership, development without displacement, gentrification-property taxes going up, predatory landlords Opportunities: Vacant land along corridor, great opportunity for development with minimal physical displacement, transportation potential, housing affordability, multi-family and single family, mixed income housing, developer opportunities, existing financial streams reinvested back into communities, public-private partnerships creating community investment/momentum and support Needs and Actions: Safe, quality, affordable housing, accessible housing opportunities for all income levels, affordable housing for working people, create wealth and ownership, leverage investment to ensure benefits stay in North Omaha, support existing residents without displacement The South Omaha visioning sessions and other recent community engagement such as the Forever North Study and Southside Terrace Neighborhood Redevelopment Plan revealed strengths around neighborhood pride and culture, concerns around aging housing stock and displacement, a desire for opportunities to reactivate vacant properties, the ability and capacity to leverage current resources, and the need for more financial resources and community ownership. Relevant South Omaha SWOT findings: Strengths: Area pride and history/culture, strong desire to improve the life of their family, diverse hard-working population, potential to help provide assistance to maintain and provide “pride” in ownership Weaknesses: Housing questions, age of homes, rental vs. owned, predatory, need more info on housing, absent landlords, landlords/owners who do not take care of their property Threats: Systemic racism, poverty, redlining, property ownership by actual homeowners Opportunities: Diverse community could expand corporate opportunities, multi-lingual workforce population in proximity, flexibility to meet community where they are to increase buy-in and trust, affordable housing, mixed income housing, economic support Needs and Actions: affordable housing options, mixed income housing, new housing, mixed income housing, workforce housing, ownership of development results in local people / business/and landowners, programs for maintaining existing buildings/properties pride of ownership, investment at all levels The Greenlining Fund addresses these concerns and opportunities by making capital available for homeownership and helping current homeowners remain in their homes through property tax relief. The permanent revolving mortgage fund will provide a new, permanent resource for potential homeowners to leverage their own resources alongside public investment.
According to the Omaha Economic Recovery website, the purpose of the “Recovery Grant Program is to foster desirable transformation, fundamental change, and long-lasting economic growth in the communities of North and South Omaha.” The proposed Greenlining Fund programs for North and South Omaha, address both the shared values and desires of the residents to build upon neighborhood pride and ownership of single-family homes, displacement concerns, and need for resources to support reinvestment. The Greenlining Fund programs provide an opportunity for approximately 20 qualified homebuyers to gain access to capital at low interest rates to access home ownership, and for hundreds of current homeowners to stay in their homes, preventing displacement and economic burdens through property tax relief. These programs will leverage current assets in the community, without financially burdening families. Additionally, the funds will provide a new and permanent resource for homebuyers in the community to leverage either their annual income via wealth creation through homeownership, or to remove property tax burdens to individuals and families with low and fixed incomes. These programs and resources also align with the strategic priorities identified by the Treasury Department’s guidance for the use of ARPA dollars. According to the Treasury Department’s guidance for the use of ARPA dollars, “Recognizing these imperatives, the SLFRF program provides vital resources for state, local, and Tribal governments to respond to the pandemic and its economic effects and to replace revenue lost due to the public health emergency, preventing cuts to government services. Specifically, the ARPA provides that SLFRF funds may be used for activities including: In addition to programs and services, the final rule clarifies that recipients may use funds for capital expenditures that support an eligible COVID-19 public health or economic response. For example, recipients may build certain affordable housing, childcare facilities, schools, hospitals, and other projects consistent with the requirements in this final rule and the Supplementary Information. In addition, the final rule presumes that an expanded set of households and communities are “impacted” or “disproportionately impacted” by the pandemic, thereby allowing recipients to provide responses to a broad set of households and entities without requiring additional analysis. Further, the final rule provides a broader set of enumerated eligible uses available for these communities as part of COVID-19 public health and economic response, including making affordable housing, childcare, and early learning services eligible in all impacted communities and making certain community development and neighborhood revitalization activities eligible for disproportionately impacted communities.” Residents in Qualified Census Tracts in North and South Omaha had some of the highest rates of COVID-19 in all of Nebraska. The financial impacts to individuals and families due to issues like reduced hours and wages, as well as the need to stay home with children when schools were not open created significant challenges to housing stability. This request provides needed capital focused on accessing and maintaining affordable housing to disproportionately impacted communities.
While this project does not directly create jobs, numerous studies show the impact of employee satisfaction and job retention when the wage earner is not housing burdened or has support to maintain their affordable housing. Additionally, without an adequate supply of affordable housing in the region, the greater economy continues to be placed at a disadvantage in attracting new workers. A secondary benefit from this project that speaks to economic impact are the benefits realized from reduced foreclosure risk. While not studied yet in our community, the direct costs of foreclosures can negatively impact government bodies including the absence of property taxes and other revenues from fees and utilities. Source: The Role of Affordable Housing in Creating Jobs and Stimulating Local Economic Development: A Review of the Literature, Center for Housing Policy (2011)
Several community plans in North and South Omaha (including the LB1024 Visioning Session, the North Omaha Village Revitalization Plan, Village Square Development Plan, Forever North Plan, and the Southside Terrace/Indian Hills Neighborhood Plan) address a need for access to affordable housing, concerns with impacts of disinvestment and the associated stigma, acknowledgement of community culture and pride, and desire to utilize the strengths of current residents to build safe, vibrant, and thriving neighborhoods. The Greenlining Fund supports an increased opportunities for homeownership for residents currently renting in the identified census tracts. Many middle-income families living in North and South Omaha faced similar challenges to families across the Metro area over the last two years when trying to buy a home. Families who prepared for homeownership and were qualified buyers, were pushed out of the market by bidding wars, cash offers, and outside investors. Now that the market is slowing, interest rates are rising rapidly, pushing homeownership beyond reach for those same residents. The revolving mortgage loan fund will provide a tool for residents of North and South Omaha to stay in their neighborhoods, grow wealth through homeownership, and continue to contribute to their neighborhoods. Homeownership provides housing stability and economic benefits for individuals and families, but also economic and community stability for neighborhoods. Investing in the Greenlining Fund is also an investment towards the success of the Community Advisory Committee. These dollars will allow residents to create and implement a strategy to support housing stability and displacement prevention in their neighborhoods. The property tax relief pilot will provide both current support for existing homeowners and a foundation for future investments in displacement prevention tools. The hundreds of millions of dollars this public investment will bring to North and South Omaha will indeed be transformative. Ensuring that residents already invested in neighborhoods are not displaced because of rising property taxes is a key component for the long-term success of this community reinvestment strategy.
According to the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), “Social determinants of health (SDOH), are conditions in the places where people live, learn, work, and play that affect a wide range of health risks and outcomes.” Neighborhoods and the built environment are one of the five key components of SDOH. Over the last decade, the CDC and other health advocates have continued to provide research on how improvements in neighborhoods, including the built environment, also lead to improvements in health outcomes and quality of life for individuals and families. Establishing a revolving loan program for mortgages through the Greenlining Fund provides access to capital for homeownership and wealth creation. Property tax relief provides support to current homeowners to improve their financial health. Increasing and maintaining high rates of homeownership strengthens neighborhoods. Access to financial resources to create housing stability leads to improvements in quality of life and transformational change, both for the built environment and for the individuals and families living in North and South Omaha. In addition to providing a tool for economic recovery for individuals and families who are current homeowners, investing in homeownership is also a tool for economic recovery and business attraction. There are numerous articles and peer review journals that show the relationship between increased rates of homeownership in low-income neighborhoods leading to more affordable grocery stores, repair shops, and public transportation. Rates of homeownership also are a major factor in business site-selection. Investing in home ownership in North and South Omaha, and future investments in additional qualified census tracts that will be created through this revolving fund and property tax relief, will have a significant impact on the economic recovery of Eastern Omaha.
Our proposal builds upon precedent funds in other communities including: • Detroit Home Mortgage provides second mortgages to cover appraisal gaps • Chicago's BNAH Program provides purchase assistance grants covering appraisal gaps • Westside Future Fund (GA) provides anti-displacement grants to cover property tax increases • BirdSEED Down Payment Grants (Washington, DC) supports BIPOC first-time homeowners with down payment assistance • Own It (Madison, WI) provides grassroots fundraising for down payment assistance for Black first-time homebuyers Of these precedent funds, only one focuses specifically on property tax relief, creating an opportunity for Front Porch to lead in this area, not just in the Midwest but in the nation. Although the philanthropic and corporate organizations in the Greater Omaha Area have provided significant investments to individuals and families through nonprofit partners for decades, very few investments have been made that leverage current community resources alongside of these charitable donations. Community-aligned investment, pairing current resources with charitable support to programs like revolving loans, has been used in cities across the county to achieve sustainable investments with long-lasting impacts. Omaha is ready and Front Porch has specifically been created, to provide an opportunity for community-aligned investments through loan funds. The Greenlining Fund brings innovation not only to Omaha. To our knowledge, it may be one of the most innovative funds to support reinvestment in formerly disinvested communities across the entire country. The Greenlining Fund is built on the concept of housing justice, prioritizing the voices of historically excluded black, indigenous, and people of color. The Fund provides an opportunity for intentional reinvestment and wealth creation through homeownership, and prioritizing displacement prevention strategies including property tax relief. This relatively small investment will create a permanent tool for access to homeownership and property tax relief to help ensure that community revitalization through LB1024 does not leave out, or displace, the individuals and families currently living in formerly redlined and qualified census tracts.
Front Porch will collect data through our loan origination, monitoring, and reporting on how many loans are originated, and at what amounts, for this program. As a part of the underwriting process, we will have data on the household income of individuals and families that receive the loans, and a history of their payment on the loans. In addition, the property tax relief fund will pilot the expansion of the homestead exemption, to reach additional homeowners with low and fixed incomes. Collection of data on homeowners who identify as veterans or disabled, who would be served through this pilot, will provide needed information for future policy recommendations to expand the homestead exemption program across the State.
Front Porch partners with Impact Development Fund, a nonprofit CDFI (Community Development Financial Institution) to originate, service, and monitor the loans. The two organizations will be responsible for measuring these outcomes. Front Porch staff dedicated to the Greenlining Fund will track investments through the property tax relief pilot. Front Porch will provide all reporting required for ARPA as requested by the Economic Recovery Committee.
Yes, this request designates $9.1M (at minimum) in low-interest mortgages to homebuyers in North and South Omaha qualifying census tracts from the Greenlining Fund. Front Porch will be making a secondary investment to all future loan servicing and monitoring (post Dec 2026). Future origination and servicing fees will be covered in full by Front Porch. This future investment by Front Porch has already been secured through philanthropic support. Front Porch is currently fundraising and applying for funding from local banks, local and national philanthropic organizations, and through additional ARPA requests to build the Greenlining Fund to a $100M Fund over the next five years. Capitalizing the mortgage loan fund with grant dollars will ensure that the funds are available to be recycled repeatedly in qualified North and South Omaha Census Tracts. A one-time contribution to Front Porch will result in ongoing investments to the community. Information collected through the pilot program will also provide data for advocating for future private public investments at a local and state level. This includes the potential for homestead expansion and the creation of an anti-displacement prevention fund. This grant to the Greenlining Fund would serve as an opportunity to leverage additional private matching funds. Front Porch has a successful history of matching public and private dollars and using commitments from public partnership to establish private investment.
Yes
We will continue partnerships with the previously referenced community organizations, as well as the following organizations to propose partnership: • With partners such as the Eastern Nebraska Office on Aging, Intercultural Senior Center, neighborhood association leaders, language access advocates, and other organizations, Front Porch will provide workshops for residents living in formerly redlined neighborhoods on how to qualify for and access the property tax relief made available through the Homestead Exemption • With partners such as Legal Aid of Nebraska and other organizations, Front Porch will provide free legal clinics for residents living in formerly redlined neighborhoods to assist with title clearing and transfer of deed at death to promote wealth transfer and the building of generational wealth • In partnership with the Douglas County Assessor’s Office, Front Porch will fully subsidize the property taxes for homeowners meeting the Greenlining Fund eligibility criteria determined by the CAC to prevent displacement, encouraging housing stability and wealth creation • Development and implementation of the CAC, comprised of people from the community these funds will benefit. CAC members will determine geographic focus, develop eligibility criteria for property tax subsidies, and select program implementation partners. • Partnership with nonprofit developers such as Canopy South and additional MWHF recipients as they complete newly constructed homes for sale through the program. Partnerships with for-profit developers, especially new and emerging developers like those from Spark’s Developer Academy.
No
Qualified Census tracts identified as priorities for the Economic Recovery Act and that also qualify as formerly redlined include the following: Census Tracts 29, 32, 33, 20, 12, 24, 21, 22, 53, 16, 11, 7, 8, 31
Within one or more QCTs
This funding request is based on estimated numbers of households that can be served in specific qualified census tracts. The estimates are based on conservative numbers that can be achieved during the anticipated period of eligibility. We selected a number that would also ensure a pilot large enough to collect data that will be used to support future decisions for the Greenlining Fund’s CAC. We did not include additional costs that were deemed eligible by the Treasury guidelines for uses such as the difference in the current loan rate versus a reduced rate or staff time. The nature of the revolving loan fund will ensure that these funds are recycled and used over and over again for the same purposes in qualified census tracts in North and South Omaha.
Most of the grant funds requested will capitalize the mortgage loan fund (cost of the loans) and initial costs to generate and monitor the loans and reporting, as well as resources for loan loss reserves (an eligible expense per the Treasury). Additional funding will support the property tax relief pilot. The majority of the pilot funds will go to assistance for identified residents. The pilot also includes research and data collection and reporting for the creation of anti-displacement property tax relief program. Our request also includes funding to support marketing and outreach as well as translation and interpretation services as needed for both the mortgage program and property tax relief pilot.
Yes
The capitalization of the loan fund for low-interest mortgages is a sustainable investment in the program, as the small percentage of interest helps to support the fund indefinitely. Front Porch did not seek funds for staffing either of these programs. We currently have operating funds to cover these expenses and ensure that the long-term fund management fees are covered. Front Porch is grateful to be a current recipient of ARPA funding from both Douglas County and the City of Omaha in support of other Front Porch initiatives. We have processes and procedures in place in order to follow Federal Guidelines for the disbursement, monitoring, and reporting on all ARPA funds. As a supporting organization of the Omaha Community Foundation (OCF), we receive administrative support from a full team of accounting specialists at the OCF. We have hired an independent auditor to support all other ARPA awards and will use the same auditor to support any awards received through this application.
Front Porch has seeded the Greenlining Fund with resources previously secured from private philanthropic organizations. We are also in the process of creating a capitalization strategy to reach our goal of $100M by leveraging private and corporate funding, as well as equity products from the banking industry via Community Reinvestment Act funds. Once the pilot has been launched, we will seek additional investment and funding through sustainability initiatives such as community funding match efforts with faith partners, rotary clubs, area Chambers of Commerce, various partners in the real estate industry, giving circles, etc.
We are in early conversations with both banking partners and private foundations to match these funds for the launch of the Greenlining Fund. We will not know the status of any current requests until early 2023.
The capital for mortgages is the most critical part of this request. As noted in the application, it’s also the only way these ARPA funds can be captured past 2026 and recycled in the community as a truly transformative investment.
We could easily scale this proposal to provide even more mortgages to more families, capturing a greater number of ARPA resources to be used in the community past 2026.
Our current contribution to this funding request includes full time staff and fund management fees after the first 3 years of the mortgages. These fees, averaging $75,000, for a 30-year mortgage would include over $1.2M of investment. It will also include all loan loss reserves for loans that are not repaid above those designated through this request. Although a portion of these fees and expenses will be covered by the interest rates of the mortgages, all additional fees will be paid by seed funding and additional philanthropic contributions provided through Front Porch Investments.
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Organizational Chart Proposal Budget/Sources and Uses