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~ Issue 1, 2009
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<br />-:~ganizatio~,~~, ~l ~~, , ,.~ ~~ ~ted social,enterpnses;of everycategory°~and
<br />description., u;ue co.tne fragmented°nature,of the nonprofit sector,
<br />efeterminmg;the total, number..of:.social enterprises: is a challenge.
<br />According to th,e Directory_ of Social Enterprises,:an pnline database,
<br />sponsored' fly Community- Wealth Ventures, Inc., and the Social:
<br />Enterprise Alliance, there are 28 social enterprises in .the Ninth..
<br />Federal Reserve District. The actual total may be much higher.
<br />The directory,'s listings include construction companies, retail
<br />shops, manufacturers, restaurants, and wholesalers. See below for
<br />a sampling of Ninth District enterprises that appear on the list.
<br />Child Care Resources !-- Child Care Training
<br />Missoula, Mont. A provider of certification train-
<br />www.childcareresources.org ing for child care professionals.
<br />Focus: Provides advocacy and
<br />support for child and youth
<br />development programs.
<br />The Green Institute H Reuse Center,
<br />Minneapolis Deconstruction Services
<br />www.greeninstitute.org A retail business that sells sal-
<br />Focus: Promotes eco-friendly vaged building materials,
<br />policies and technologies to including hardwood flooring,
<br />improve communities and the lumber, siding, and fixtures.
<br />environment.
<br />Project for Pride in Living ~-- PPL Shop
<br />Minneapolis A thrift store that sells home
<br />www.ppl-inc.org and office furniture, building
<br />Focus: Promotes community materials, and catalog surplus
<br />and economic development by items.
<br />providing employment training,
<br />affordable housing, and human
<br />services.
<br />Ventures Unlimited, Inc. ~-- Just for the Birds, Inc.
<br />Hayward, Wis. `A;rnahufacturer of bird feeders
<br />www.justforthebirds.org and supplies, including suet
<br />Focus: Provides job-placement balls, birdhouses, and humming-
<br />services and life-skills training for bird and oriole feeders.
<br />developmentally disabled adults.
<br />West CAP (West Central ~"- Ideal Auto
<br />Wisconsin Community Action A used car dealership that sells
<br />Agency, Inc.) cars to West CAP program par-
<br />Glenwood City Wis. ticipants, affiliated agencies,
<br />www.westcap.org and the general public.
<br />Focus: Promotes self-sufficiency-
<br />and economic stability by devel-
<br />- oping the social and economic-
<br />assets of low-income families
<br />and communities.
<br />To search the Directory of Social Enterprises, visit www.communitywealth.com
<br />Community developers in Minnesota
<br />face the foreclosure crisis
<br />Continued from page 5
<br />had on families, neighborhoods, and com-
<br />munities in the Twin Cities region and
<br />throughout Minnesota. (For more on the
<br />MFPC, visit www.ci.minneapolis.mn.us/
<br />foreclosure.)
<br />The council's early efforts included ramp-
<br />ing up foreclosure prevention counseling and
<br />making investments in pilot programs.
<br />Interventions and pilot programs already
<br />under way include the following.
<br />• The Greater Minnesota Housing Fund,
<br />Minnesota Home Ownership Center, Family
<br />Housing Fund, and Minnesota Housing have
<br />developed a collaborative statewide funding
<br />plan to increase foreclosure prevention coun-
<br />seling services, outreach, and tenant assis-
<br />tance. According to its developers, the plan
<br />will prevent nearly 5,700 foreclosures by the
<br />end of 2008 at a counseling cost of $425 per
<br />household. The intervention will save over
<br />$2.4 million based on average foreclosure
<br />costs to the homeowner and lender (estimat-
<br />ed at roughly $57,000 per household).
<br />• With help from the Family Housing Fund,
<br />DBNHS in St. Paul and the Greater
<br />Metropolitan Housing Corporation in
<br />Minneapolis have developed a contract for
<br />deed program that is designed to enable
<br />renters to become homeowners in three to
<br />five years. The contract for deed is 'designed
<br />to assist individuals who want to be home-
<br />owners but are not yet ready fora conven-
<br />tional loan product.
<br />• Through its Building Sustainable Commun-
<br />ities initiative, Local Initiatives Support
<br />Corporation (LISC) has been working in
<br />Duluth and the Twin Cities to engage com-
<br />munities affected by foreclosures and vacant
<br />properties. The goal is to ensure that the
<br />work being done to address the issue is con-
<br />nected to and not isolated from other com-
<br />munity development issues. (For more on
<br />the Building Sustainable Communities ini-
<br />tiative, see the sidebar on page 5.)
<br />A framework for recovery
<br />In recent months, the MFPC has turned its
<br />attention toward neighborhood recovery.
<br />Council members have designed a recovery
<br />framework that identifies neighborhood-
<br />focused strategies and pilot efforts for com-
<br />bating the rising number of vacant and
<br />boarded homes. The framework-which is
<br />an evolving, collaborative document-also
<br />identifies ways to meet homeowners' needs
<br />for capital and credit to stave off foreclosures.
<br />The framework's developers recognized that
<br />prevention and workouts are critical strate-
<br />gies for stemming the flow of foreclosures
<br />and promoting community recovery.
<br />The recovery framework has five key
<br />principles:
<br />• Strategies must be oriented toward providing
<br />.incentives that reactivate and redirect the mar-
<br />ketplace. Reactivating refers to getting conven-
<br />tional lenders to lend to creditworthy borrow-
<br />ers in areas affected by foreclosures, while redi-
<br />recting refers to getting private investors to act
<br />with the community's well-being in mind.
<br />• Government and nonprofit institutions have
<br />instrumental roles: providing clear and consis-
<br />tent signals to the marketplace regarding what
<br />public resources are available to developers and
<br />what the expectations are, in terms of commu-
<br />nity standards for property management and
<br />maintenance; taking the lead on "research and
<br />development" of new credit products; and fill-
<br />ing-gaps in markets that are not profitable for,
<br />or of interest to, the private sector.
<br />• Unique community circumstances will
<br />require a commonly available set of tools
<br />and resources, which can be applied locally.
<br />• Strategies must look to the future and
<br />build on likely future economic and demo-
<br />graphic trends.
<br />• Urgent, yet sustained, effort is needed.
<br />Drawing from these principles, the frame-
<br />work has three main recovery goals:
<br />• Prevent 10,000 foreclosures. The MFPC has
<br />identified two main tools for reaching this
<br />goal. The first is to provide foreclosure coun-
<br />seling and the second is to develop refinanc-
<br />ing loan products and/or provide incentives
<br />for private market refinancing.
<br />• Assist 2,850 homebuyers with acquiring
<br />mortgages and homeownership counseling.
<br />There remains a need for loan products for
<br />prospective homebuyers, particularly in
<br />neighborhoods where there are concentra-
<br />tions of foreclosures and vacant properties.
<br />Pre- and post-purchase counseling and
<br />rehab guidance should also. be made avail-
<br />able to the homebuyers.
<br />• Acquire 4,500 homes, make appropriate
<br />improvements to them, and place them back
<br />onto the private market To support dis-
<br />tressed neighborhoods, the MFPC has set a
<br />goal of acquiring and rehabilitating the
<br />homes through a partnership among public
<br />agencies and nonprofit and for-profit devel-
<br />opers. Disposition may take a variety of
<br />forms-including selling homes to owner-
<br />occupants or converting them to quality,
<br />scattered-site rental-allowing fora con-
<br />trolled release of properties back onto the
<br />marketplace as localized neighborhood
<br />housing markets begin to improve.
<br />Perhaps most important, the neighbor
<br />Continued on page 8
<br />Visit us at www.minneapolisfed.org
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