Affordable Housing Nonprofit in Semifinals
Come December, with a little luck, Homewise Inc. could be $2.75 million richer.
The Santa Fe-based affordable housing nonprofit has been selected as a semifinalist for the “Wachovia NEXT Awards for Opportunity Finance.” Funded by the Wachovia Foundation and the MacArthur Foundation, the accolade is one of the largest financial rewards available for organizations serving low-income individuals.
“This is kind of like the Oscars for affordable housing groups,” Homewise executive director Mike Loftin said. “There are other recognition programs out there, but this is the one you want. This is the big one.”
Homewise is up against three other organizations in the category for groups with $10 million to $50 million in assets “dedicated to investing.” Six other groups, with assets over $50 million, will compete for a $5.5 million award.
Contenders are from around the country, including California, Arkansas and New York. Homewise is the only nonprofit from the Southwest.
The affordable housing nonprofit was chosen as a semifinalist based on its innovation, management and “great track record,” according to Mark Pinsky, CEO of Philadelphiabased Opportunity Finance Network, the nonprofit facilitating the awards.
“At the heart of it, they’re an outstanding organization. They’re an outstanding lender,” he said.
Loftin decided to enter the competition after taking a look at last year’s winners and realizing Homewise could be competitive.
“We think we really know how to help people buy and sustain a home,” he said.
Those efforts include a program that loans people 20 percent of the purchase price of a dwelling — the average cost of a Homewise client’s house was $170,000 last year — which allows them to forgo mortgage insurance. That, in turn, creates a sizable monthly savings for the fledgling homeowners, Loftin said.
Founded in 1986, it’s playing an increasingly large role in Santa Fe real estate. One of its most recent announced ventures, dubbed Desert Sage, is an 80-unit still-unbuilt green housing development off Richards Avenue that will offer below-market prices.
The organization currently has about $35.8 million in assets, mostly mortgages, according to Loftin.
The Wachovia NEXT Awards field were to be whittled down to two finalists in each category on Monday, and winners will be selected in September by a committee including representatives from the Wachovia, MacArthur and Annie E. Casey Foundations.
That information will be kept quiet until the Opportunity Finance Network’s annual conference in December, which happens to be in Albuquerque this year.
“The idea is that the awardee is ready to take the influx of capital and take a giant leap forward in what they can achieve,” Pinsky said.
For Homewise, the $2.5 million will “give us more capital in order to make the loans we want,” Loftin said.
It could also spread the word about Homewise programs to other affordable housing nonprofits looking for new models, as well as companies, foundations and other groups looking to invest or donate money, Loftin said.
“Because it’s kind of the Oscars of the field, I think it really opens up a lot of doors,” he said.
How Homewise Helps
Through Homewise Inc., during fiscal year 2007-08: 190 families bought homes. 389 households received some sort of home improvement. 355 households participated in the organization’s Homebuyer Education program. 156 households participated in its Financial Fitness program.
— Source: Homewise Inc.
