PRESSRELEASE
• 531 North Maple Avenue • Cookeville, Tennessee 38501-2747 • 931 526 9665 • Fax:208 246 5238 hullpark@twlakes.net
For Immediate Release
Date: June 6, 2000
Contact: Carl Wright
Phone: 931 526 9665
E-mail: hullpark@twlakes.net
Housing Assistance Council press release with listing of 26 organizations funded is at:
http://www.ruralhome.org/rcbi/index.htm
Visions Five Receives Housing Grant
Cookeville, Tennessee—Rural families and elderly and disabled residents in north central Tennessee will receive more much needed housing aid, thanks to a capacity building partnership between Visions Five Community Development Corporation of Cookeville, The Enterprise Foundation, and the Housing Assistance Council. Visions Five has just been awarded a grant of $18,500 for core operating support under the Rural Capacity Building Initiative of the Enterprise Foundation and HAC.
Carl Wright, chief executive officer of Visions Five, stated, "We've received much larger grants than this one but we have never gotten one that thrilled us more. This grant opens some very large and important doors to us. The Enterprise Foundation and the Housing Assistance Council are among the largest and most sophisticated private funding sources for affordable housing in the nation. They have unparalleled expertise in the whole field of affordable housing and we will be able to gain access to that expertise much more readily because of this grant."
"We have been working on structuring a proposal for a supportive or assisted living facility for low income elderly residents for a while," said Frank Williams of Jackson County, chairman of Visions Five. "This important grant will be an important boost to us in developing and obtaining funding for that project. A whole new chapter in the development of our organization begins with this grant."
The Rural Capacity Building Initiative is a two-year project that combines Enterprise's technology tools and online services with HAC's depth and outreach in rural communities and works to bolster local expertise.
"Building capacity may sound vague, but it's an essential part of enabling communities to address their own housing needs," explained HAC Executive Director Moises Loza. "This initiative strengthens locally based rural nonprofit organizations. That means they can be even more effective at what they already do best, improving housing for residents in their communities."
"This partnership allows our organizations to bring their collective strengths to the needs of the low income, rural communities," said Bart Harvey, The Enterprise Foundation CEO. "Enterprise's experience and technology tools complement HAC's rural experience and presence to benefit hundreds of rural communities and the families who live there."
A national nonprofit corporation headquartered in Washington, DC and founded in 1971, the Housing Assistance Council helps local organizations build affordable homes in rural America by providing below-market financing, technical assistance, research, training, and information services. HAC's programs focus on local solutions, empowerment of the poor, reduced dependency, and self-help strategies. HAC's website, www.ruralhome.org, offers extensive information about rural housing.
The Enterprise Foundation rebuilds communities. Working with partners and a network of more than 1,200 nonprofit organizations across the country, Enterprise provides low-income people with affordable housing, safer streets, and access to jobs and child care. Enterprise has raised and committed more than $3 billion in loans, grants, and equity and became the first nonprofit organization in the nation to build or renovate 100,000 homes. Enterprise's website, www.enterprisefoundation.org, provides a wide array of practical online products, services and information for community development groups.
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