NeighborWorks America receives largest HUD grant to provide and offer training for comprehensive housing counseling

Washington, D.C. – (RealEstateRama) — For the 14th consecutive year, NeighborWorks America has received funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to bolster its training and professional development certification program.

Out of $47 million in HUD 2018 fiscal year housing counseling grants, NeighborWorks America received $3 million — for the third year in a row, the largest award of all grantees — for its role as a grantmaker and facilitator for participating nonprofits in its national network, enabling them to provide their residents comprehensive housing counseling services. It also was awarded $1.1 million as one of four national organizations funded to train and certify additional housing counselors. With the help of the fiscal year 2017 HUD counseling grant, for example, 9,978 individuals were educated or otherwise served by recipients of NeighborWorks support.

With this new round of funding, NeighborWorks will offer more than 1,000 scholarships so that professionals with nonprofits can participate in its regional and national in-person and online training. These grants also allow NeighborWorks to continue to offer a diverse catalog of training and certification programs focusing on such specialty areas as pre-purchase education, post-purchase coaching, foreclosure intervention, rental housing, disaster recovery, financial capability and reverse mortgages. A special emphasis on preparing counselors for the HUD housing counselor certification exam is planned.

The 2018 NeighborWorks America at Home survey found that many individuals need counselors and coaches to help them assess how to achieve their goal of homeownership. In particular, the survey found, millennials and people of color were confused about how to qualify for a mortgage. A majority (73 percent) described the process as complicated.

The NeighborWorks Center for Homeownership Education and Counseling (NCHEC) provides training and certification in to thousands of professionals each year. In addition, NCHEC works with a broad cross-section of industry leaders, to spearhead the ongoing refinement and implementation of the National Industry Standards for Homeownership Education and Counseling, thus supporting consistent and reliable services to consumers.
About NeighborWorks America
For 40 years, Neighborhood Reinvestment Corp., a national, nonpartisan nonprofit known as NeighborWorks America, has strived to make every community a place of opportunity. Our network of excellence includes more than 245 members in every state, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. NeighborWorks America offers grant funding, peer-exchange, technical assistance, evaluation tools and access to training, as the nation’s leading trainer of housing and community development professionals. NeighborWorks network organizations provide residents in their communities with affordable homes, owned and rented; financial counseling and coaching; community building through resident engagement; and collaboration in the areas of health, employment and education. In the last five years, our organizations have generated more than $34 billion in investment across the country.