2009 Wachovia NEXT Award for Opportunity Finance honors innovation and responsible lending

Concord, NH - For the second straight year, the New Hampshire Community Loan Fund (Community Loan Fund) is a finalist for one of the nation’s largest and most prestigious awards for responsible lending in the financial services industry.

The Community Loan Fund was selected as a finalist for a Wachovia NEXT Award for Opportunity Finance because its innovative approach to manufactured housing mortgage financing has the potential to improve mortgage financing in that sector across the United States. The award comes with a five-million-dollar loan and a half-million-dollar grant, to help organizations take their success to the next level.

The awardees will be announced prior to a celebration October 28 in Charlotte, N.C., during Opportunity Finance Network’s (OFN’s) 25th Annual Conference.

“We’re honored to again be recognized as an organization that is creating ways to widen the economic winners’ circle,” said Alan Cantor, Community Loan Fund Vice President for Philanthropy. “The lack of fair, fixed-rate mortgages prevents most owners of manufactured houses from enjoying the full value of their homes. That’s wrong, and with great local and national partners, we’re working to change that system.”

For more than a quarter-century, the Community Loan Fund has pioneered the concept of cooperative resident ownership of manufactured housing parks. In helping homeowners buy and manage the land beneath their homes, the Community Loan Fund found that predatory mortgages still prevented them from building equity in what was, for many, their largest investment.

In response, it created a home loan program to demonstrate that conventional mortgage lending worked in resident-owned communities, to attract lenders, and to create a stable and dependable source of credit for owners of manufactured homes. A year ago, the Community Loan Fund launched a pilot program with St. Mary’s Bank, Merrimack County Savings Bank and Fannie Mae to offer traditional, single-family mortgage loans to homebuyers in NH’s resident-owned communities. 

The Wachovia NEXT Awards for Opportunity Finance is run and funded through the Opportunity Finance Network (OFN) by The Wachovia Foundation and the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. The awards recognize excellence among financial institutions that responsibly serve low-income and low-wealth people and communities, and were established to spotlight how Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) increasingly benefit our nation’s economy.

CDFIs are market-based, private-sector financial intermediaries that create opportunities for low-wealth and low-income individuals and institutions, and spark growth in hard-to-serve markets across the nation.

“Now more than ever, we are pleased to honor and recognize the outstanding achievements of the semi-finalists and finalists of the Wachovia NEXT Awards for Opportunity Finance. They are true heroes. Even in this difficult time, these opportunity finance institutions are leaders who remain focused on finance that produces positive changes and significant impact in those markets that need it most,” said Mark Pinsky, CEO of the Philadelphia-based OFN, the leading national network of high-performance CDFIs.

“This year’s finalists will define what it means to be NEXT,” said Mike Rizer, Executive Vice President, Community Development, for the Wachovia Foundation. “Wachovia, a Wells Fargo Company, is proud to continue its long-standing support for the opportunity finance industry with our investment in the Wachovia NEXT Awards for Opportunity Finance, which will help families and communities in underserved communities achieve financial independence through access to credit.”

Competing with the Community Loan Fund for the $5.5-million award is the Corporation for Supportive Housing, a New York organization that creates permanent housing with human services to prevent and end homelessness – selected for being a pioneer in the supportive housing market by leveraging innovative policy work and financing.

In the $2.75-million category are the Federation of Appalachian Housing Enterprises, Inc., the largest provider of community investment capital in highly distressed Central Appalachia – chosen for its innovation and bold strategy in eliminating substandard housing conditions prevalent in the Central Appalachian region – and Shorebank Enterprise Cascadia, which provides a wide range of loan products to support its economic, social and environmental objectives.

“The Opportunity Finance industry’s track record gives us confidence and hope, even at this time of serious economic challenges,” added Debra Schwartz, director of program-related investments for the MacArthur Foundation. “We hope that these game-changing awards will educate all who participate in our country’s financial and credit markets about the pivotal role of CDFIs and the valuable contributions they’re poised to make in the years ahead.”

More information about the Wachovia NEXT Awards is available at www.nextawards.org. To arrange to interview Mark Pinsky, CEO of the Opportunity Finance Network, the Wachovia NEXT Award finalists, semi-finalists, and spokespeople from the Wachovia and MacArthur Foundations, please contact CoCo Chang at (212) 245-0510 or jcoco@pro-mediacommunications.com.

ABOUT THE COMMUNITY LOAN FUND

The Community Loan Fund is a non-profit financial organization that turns investments from individuals and institutions into fixed-rate loans and education that create opportunity and transform the lives of people with low and moderate incomes across New Hampshire. We collaborate with a wide range of business, nonprofit and government partners to provide the financing and support people need to own homes, have quality jobs and child care, and become financially independent.

Established in 1983, the Community Loan Fund was one of the first Community Development Financial Institutions in the nation, and has received industry awards and recognition for social impact, financial strength and performance. For more information, visit www.theloanfund.org or call (800) 432-4110.

ABOUT THE AWARDS

The Wachovia Foundation made a $16.75-million grant and the MacArthur Foundation made a $25-million low-cost, long-term loan to Opportunity Finance Network to fund the Wachovia NEXT Awards for Opportunity Finance, inaugurated in 2007. Each year from 2007 through 2011, the Wachovia NEXT Awards for Opportunity Finance will include:

A $5.5-million program-related investment (low-cost loan) and unrestricted grant award to an outstanding, high-potential CDFI with more than $50 million in assets dedicated to lending or investing;

A $2.75-million program-related investment and unrestricted grant award to an outstanding, high-potential CDFI with $10-$50 million in assets dedicated to lending or investing, and

Four $25,000 unrestricted grant awards to CDFIs of any size that have demonstrated excellence in Innovation, Advocacy, Financing, and Community Impact.

The two awardees for the multi-million dollar prizes will be CDFIs with a history of outstanding accomplishment, a bold and compelling vision, extraordinary future potential for growth, innovation and impact, and a high degree of readiness to use and leverage a large, flexible investment successfully.

ABOUT THE GROUPS BEHIND THE AWARDS

Opportunity Finance Network (OFN) is the leading network of private financial intermediaries that delivers both sound financial returns and real opportunities for low-wealth people and communities in the U.S. OFN Members originated more than $19.8 billion in financing in non-conforming urban, rural, and Native communities through 2007, and generated or maintained 191,381 jobs; 43,050 businesses and microenterprises; 577,736 housing units; and, 9,552 community facility projects. More information is available at: www.opportunityfinance.net.

The Wachovia Foundation is a private foundation that provides grants to eligible 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organizations in two primary focus areas (education and community development, with an expanded focus on projects that promote environmental initiatives) and two secondary areas (health and human services, and arts and culture). The Foundation’s mission is to build strong and vibrant communities, improve the quality of life and make a positive difference. More information is available at: www.wachovia.com/wachoviafoundation.

The MacArthur Foundation supports creative people and effective institutions committed to building a more just, verdant, and peaceful world. In addition to selecting the MacArthur Fellows, the Foundation works to defend human rights, advance global conservation and security, make cities better places, and understand how technology is affecting children and society. MacArthur has been a leading supporter of the Opportunity Finance field since the early 1980s, investing nearly $250 million in approximately 100 groups nationwide. More information is available at: www.macfound.org.