Nehemiah: Making the American Dream possible for first-time homeowners

From CBS News: The Nehemiah project began in the 1980s building privately-owned homes on land that nobody wanted in East Brooklyn and sold the homes at prices that were affordable to working class families. Church and community organizers mobilized local politicians to sell the land for almost nothing and provide subsidies for community members and raise money that could be used for loans. The program has built 6,500 homes and created an estimated $1.5 billion of wealth for first time Black and Latino homeowners.

Click here to read the original story.

Issue Areas:

Housing, Land Use, Sustainable Development

Impact Areas:

Distributed Trust and Power, Equity

Actors:

BIPOC Communities, Lending, Banking, and Financial Institutions

Communities Served:

BIPOC Communities, Communities Experiencing Economic Hardship

Strategies:

Collective Action, Easing Economic Burdens for Individuals, Redefining Land / Land Ownership

Success Factors:

Building Distribution Systems, Eliminating Barriers, Embracing the Power of Relationships, Leveling the Playing Field, Meeting People Where They Are At, Overcoming the Big Challenges

Geographic Region:

North America

Countries:

United Kingdom

Date:

September 11, 2022

More Resources:

With no upfront costs, this innovative financing tool makes energy efficiency affordable to all

From Nate Berg / ENSIA: North Carolina’s Roanoke Electric Cooperative is helping members bring down energy costs. Because the energy costs in this area is due to a lack of energy efficiency, the cooperative offers tariffed on-billing to help homes...

Conversation with Eli Moore

Eli Moore is Director of the Community Power and Policy Partnerships Program (formerly the California Community Partnerships Program) at the Othering & Belonging Institute. Over the last twenty years, Eli has facilitated numerous participatory action research processes and published various...

Conversation with Karina Víquez

Karina Viquez is the Program Director of the Certificate in Regenerative Entrepreneurship at the University for International Cooperation (UCI) in Costa Rica. She has over 10 years of experience playing key roles in impact learning, regenerative program design, development project...

Conversation with Beth Sawin

Elizabeth Sawin is the Director of Multisolving Institute. Beth is an expert on multisolving actions that address equity, climate change health, well-being, and economic vitality as integrated issues. She developed the concept after studying bright spots around the world where...

How does a 4-day work week work in Singapore?

From Bruce Lim and Ronald Goh / Yahoo News: Businesses in Singapore are experimenting with 4-day work weeks, showing benefits for employees and employers. Read the original story here. Read other articles about employee-focused wellbeing initiatives.

...

Portland group works to make wealth redistribution a reality through real estate

From Tiffany Camhi / OPB: Volunteers of the PDX Housing Solidarity Project are working to redistribute generational wealth through homeownership in Portland. The project connects people with ample resources to Black and Indigenous homebuyers and helps facilitate cash gifts, no-interest...