News
Park, Senior Housing Transforms Durham Neighborhood
(Duke Today - June 29, 2010 - Lindsay Naylor)
Leaders from the city, state, Duke University, Self-Help and other partners gathered to celebrate the grand opening of Maplewood Square, an affordable housing apartment for local seniors that grew out of Duke's Southwest Central Durham Quality of Life Project.
Where can they go?
(The Herald-Sun - June 29,2010 - Dawn Baumgartner-Vaughan)
DURHAM -- It may take a village to raise a child, but it takes three nonprofits, a university, a city and dozens of other financiers, community groups and volunteers to raise an affordable apartment complex for senior citizens.
Habitat, Midway Celebrate Start of New Housing
(The Pilot - June 9, 2010 - Hannah Sharpe)
Residents of Midway are excited about the prospect of new neighbors moving in and breathing new life into their community.
On Saturday, the Midway Community Association and Habitat for Humanity of the NC Sandhills held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for Victory Lane, the road that will lead into the new 22-home Midway Gardens neighborhood.
Bay Sunday: MicroBranch
(KPIX CBS5 - May 2, 2010 - Sue Kwon)
Sue Kwon interviews Haydee Moreno, Micro Branch Director. Micro Branch is a new, Self-Help banking project that assists those living from paycheck to paycheck.
Micro Branch In San Jose Offers Bank Alternative
(KPIX CBS 5 - April 15, 2010 - Sue Kwon)
An estimated 30 million people in the United States don't have a bank
account. It's a problem because often those living paycheck to paycheck
lose money with check cashing services and lose out on opportunities to
save.
But, there is a new banking model designed to help those communities.
It's called Micro Branch, with the first opening in East San Jose.
Self-Help helps, but only those who help themselves
(The Mecklenburg Times - March 25, 2010 - Bea Quirk)
About two years ago, Jacqueline Hargette wanted to open a day care center, but her lack of business experience and weak credit history meant no bank would grant her a startup loan.
Her accountant recommended she turn to the Center for Community Self-Help, a nonprofit that for 25 years has helped strengthen low-income Charlotte communities by lending to people and businesses.
Geithner at Golden Belt
(The Herald-Sun - February 19, 2010 - Monica Chen)
DURHAM -- U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner came to town Thursday, toured local businesses, spoke about the need for continued federal support for economic growth and announced an expansion of New Markets Tax Credits, a federal program that has helped attract investors to distressed communities.
Microlending, huge impact
(The Herald Sun - January 14, 2010)
Americans weathering the Great Recession can be forgiven an instinctive flinch when they hear the words "bank acquisition" these days.
Durham credit union grows
(The News & Observer - January 12, 2010 - Alan Wolf)
A Durham-based credit union founded to help low-income and minority borrowers is expanding in North Carolina and California during the downturn.
Read more
See also The Durham Herald-Sun and CUNA News Now
El Futuro now part of Self-Help Federal Credit Union
(The Porterville Recorder - January 5, 2010 - Sarah De Crescenzo)
On Tuesday, El Futuro Credit Union became Community Trust Credit Union in a merger connecting the Porterville institution with a growing network of Valley credit unions focused on assisting the financial needs of low-income communities.
Program Fights Foreclosure Crisis - Self-Help Nonprofit Succeeds In Peachtree Hills
(WSOCTV - December 30, 2009)
CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- A bold plan seems to be working for a Charlotte neighborhood. Peachtree Hills may have been one of the area neighborhoods hardest-hit by the foreclosure crisis.A nonprofit group called Self-Help started buying foreclosed homes in the neighborhood in April 2008. They found people who wanted the houses and then helped those buyers get mortgages they could afford.
Read more and watch the report
NC Credit Unions Figure Prominently in National Dora Maxwell, Louise Herring Awards
(NC Credit Union League - December 7, 2009)
The national Dora Maxwell & Louise Herring Awards announced by CUNA have a definite Tarheel flavor! NC, Indiana and Michigan each featured four winners in the national results, which were announced on Friday. Latino Community Credit Union lead the way, winning the national Dora Maxwell Award in the $50 - $100 million asset category.
Other NC credit unions honored include:
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Self-Help Credit Union, Second Place, Dora Maxwell Social Responsibility Award, $200 - $500 million asset category.
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Members Credit Union, Honorable Mention, Louise Herring Philosophy in Action Award, $50 - $250 million asset category.
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State Employees' Credit Union, Second Place, Louise Herring Award, $250+ million asset category.
Read more about Latino Community Credit Union's award here
A little help: Microlending can provide a business boost
(The Business Journal of the Greater Triad Area - December 4, 2009 - Matt Evans)
As a second-generation home builder specializing in new construction in the midst of an epic housing downturn, Doug Jones, of Doug Jones Building Corp. in Greensboro, knew very well what he needed to do earlier this year. He just wasn’t sure how he could afford to do it.
Self-Help Using Lease-Purchase to Help Home Buyers and Stabilize Communities
(Community Developments - Fall 2009 - Vanita Kalra)
Self-Help's Vanita Kalra details our Lease-Purchase project in the fall issue of the OCC's Community Affairs Newsletter. The article appears on page 17 of the pdf linked below.
For three decades, Self-Help has been a leader in expanding the availability of mortgage lending to underserved populations by creating and protecting ownership and economic opportunity for people of color, women, rural residents, and low-wealth families and communities.
Now this North Carolina–based community development lender and real estate developer is showing nonprofit organizations and lenders across the nation a strategy to help those who can’t qualify for conventional mortgage loans. Self-Help helps aspiring homebuyers with a lease-purchase program that allows them to live in homes they want to own, while they develop the financial requirements to buy them.
Brother Ray Rolling Hills/Southside activist
(The Indy Week - November 25, 2009 - Samiha Khanna)
The sun is shining. Balmy rays beam down on sidewalks in the Southside, a historic neighborhood near downtown Durham. Volunteer Ray Eurquhart paces inside the Southside Community Outreach Center on Enterprise Street and peers out the windows.
Interview: Martin Eakes
(The Card Game - FRONTLINE - November 24, 2009)
Eakes is the co-founder and CEO of the Self-Help Credit Union in North Carolina, an organization that caters to individuals and families underserved by traditional financial institutions. He is also the CEO of the Center for Responsible Lending, a research and policy organization with the goal of stopping predatory lending practices. This is the edited transcript of interviews conducted on June 23 and Aug. 19, 2009.
Read the transcript and watch the video here
Read the transcript and watch the video from PBS NEWSHOUR about military debt protection, which includes excerpts from the FRONTLINE interview above.
Cape Fear Credit Union opens their newest branch office in Brunswick County
(Cape Fear Business News - November 16, 2009)
Leland, NC – Cape Fear Credit Union has selected the Brunswick County town of Leland as the location for its new branch. The branch expansion adds a second full-service location to the 30 year-old Wilmington, NC-based operation of Cape Fear Credit Union.
Let's build it together
(The Durham Herald-Sun - November 9, 2009 - Dawn Baumgartner Vaughan)
DURHAM -- Durham's West End neighborhoods have a brand new city playground, erected in one day through a collaboration of several city, community and university groups.
Carolina Mountains Credit Union merges with Self-Help Credit Union
(Self-Help Press Release - November 1, 2009)
Penrose, NC - Since its founding in 1974, the mission of Carolina Mountains Credit Union (CMCU) has been to "Help members control and direct their financial well-being." On November 1, 2009, CMCU takes an important step toward sustaining that mission by merging with Durham-based Self-Help Credit Union.
Martin Eakes, National Leader in Responsible Lending, Receives Prestigious Ned Gramlich Lifetime Achievement Award for Responsible Lending
(Opportunity Finance Network Press Release - October 29, 2009)
Charlotte, NC - Opportunity Finance Network (OFN) announced today that Martin Eakes, a nationally recognized expert on community development finance serving low-income people and communities, received the third annual Ned Gramlich Lifetime Achievement Award for Responsible Lending. Named in memory of the late Federal Reserve Board Governor Edward (Ned) Gramlich, the Award honors a lifetime of achievement in responsible financial services. Gramlich served as a Board Member of OFN after leaving the Federal Reserve Board.
Read more
To view his entire acceptance speech, please visit our YouTube Channel
Let's all help responsible people get needed loans
(Sonoma Valley Sun and just joan.online - October 23, 2009 - Joan Huguenard)
Imagine policy initiatives designed to support access to responsible and fair financial services for low-income families. Hold onto your hats, wonderful readers, as we explore a campaign to provide direct, responsible, financial services to 200,000 under-banked households in our great state of California.
Read more from the Sonoma Valley Sun or on the author's website
Community Trust merger makes it an even better place to invest
(The Modesto Bee - October 10, 2009 - Business Profile)
The recent financial crisis and related volatility in the banking sector have many people re-evaluating their financial relationships, realizing that where they choose to put their money can be as important as the money itself. Joining a credit union is a good choice to consider.
Golden LEAF Loan Program at Self-Help Announced
(Golden LEAF Foundation Press Release - October 8, 2009)
ROCKY MOUNT, N.C. - October 8, 2009 - Lt. Gov. Walter Dalton today joined Golden LEAF, the North Carolina Rural Economic Development Center and the Center for Community Self-Help in announcing the creation of the Golden LEAF Loan Program and the Rural Center Loan Program, which will provide loans to help businesses access capital during tough economic times.
Chatham County Cooperative Helps Environment with Loan from Self-Help Credit Union
(North Carolina Credit Union League - September 22, 2009)
Like many cooperatives, Piedmont Biofuels in Pittsboro started very modestly. The seven-year-old cooperative started with just one member, and literally made biodiesel in Mason jars. In the years since, Piedmont Biofuels has grown to 500 members and uses a sophisticated reactor system to produce thousands of gallons of fuel each month.
Neuse Charter expands
(The Herald - September 2, 2009 - Andrew Kenney)
Self-Help borrower and 2008-2009 School of Distinction featured in The Herald.
SELMA - The county's lone charter school opened its doors to more than 300 students this year. With 100 new students and two more grades on the rolls, Neuse Charter School is fast outgrowing its facilities in just its third academic year.
Banks as Heroes
(The American Prospect - August 10, 2009 - Adam Serwer)
ShoreBank and Self-Help featured in The American Prospect.
Community-development banks show what financial institutions can do when they have the right motivation and the right mission.
Safe at Home
(The New York Times - August 3, 2009 - Dalton Conley)
The financial crisis has given rise to all sorts of wrongheaded ideas, among which is the notion that we should not subsidize the “losers” who can’t make their mortgage payments. In fact, the solution to our troubles is not to restrict homeownership, but to expand it.
Advocate for poor picked for D.C. post
(The News & Observer - June 30, 2009 - John Murawski)
Eric Stein started out making loans to promote home ownership among poor people in this state. In the process he became an activist fighting shady lending practices to the low-income people he was trying to help.
Now Stein, 47, has parlayed his experience fighting mortgage scams and other lending abuses into a high-profile position in the Obama administration.
Communtiy Trust and Self-Help credit unions merge
(The Modesto Bee - June 23, 2009 - J.N. Sbranti)
Modesto's Community Trust Credit Union, which was founded in 1961 by Tri Valley Growers, has merged with Self-Help Federal Credit Union.
The not-for-profit financial organizations call the merger "a proactive step by both credit unions to capitalize on their relative strengths."
Federation Welcomes New Board, Transitions Leadership
(Press Release - June 22, 2009 - National Federation of Community Development Credit Unions)
Self-Help CFO, Randy Chambers, elected chairman of National Federation of CDCUs.
Last week, during its recent 35th Annual Conference on Serving the Underserved, the National Federation of Community Development Credit Unions (Federation) held elections for its Board of Directors. The elections resulted in a new director in two of the Federation’s regions, and re-election of incumbents in the remaining two regions and in the at-large (nationwide) category.
Self-Help Credit Union wins Dora Maxwell Award
(North Carolina News - June 16, 2009 - North Carolina Credit Union League)
Self-Help Credit Union earned statewide recognition for community service at the 74th Annual Meeting of the North Carolina Credit Union League in Pinehurst. The credit union won the Dora Maxwell Social Responsibility Award at a special banquet held Monday evening, June 15th.
Federation Hails Fair Mortgage Initiative
(Press Release - June 12, 2009 – National Federation of Community Development Credit Unions)
The Fair Mortgage Collaborative (FMC), a joint effort of major national nonprofits, community lenders, foundations, and advocacy organizations was publicly launched at a press event in Washington, DC on June 10 at the offices of the National Council of La Raza. The National Federation of Community Development Credit Unions (Federation), a co-founder and executive committee member of the collaborative, hailed the launch as an important step forward in “providing low- and moderate-income and minority homeowners and homebuyers access to mortgages with the consumers’ best interests at its heart and a fair rate of compensation.”
Money Talks: 504 Loan Program
(The State of Things, WUNC - May 21, 2009 - Frank Stasio and Susan Davis)
Featuring Self-Help Borrower Ashtae Products and the Director of Self-Help's 504 Loan Program, Charlie Cleary.
Money begets money. In an economy like ours, this axiom has meant that those who have money start with a business advantage over those who don’t. On today’s program we’ll talk about one program that tries to address that problem: the Small Business Administration’s 504 loan program. It’s part of our monthly series “Money Talks,” which explains and examines various mechanisms of the economy.
KIPP Pride High sends every senior to college
(WRAL - May 9, 2009 - Beau Minnick)
Self-Help Borrower, KIPP Gaston College Preparatory, celebrates its first graduating class and 100% college acceptance.
The faculty of KIPP Pride High School has the right to boast: All 48 seniors are graduating this year – and all are going onto college.
See also:
Bob Herbert writes about KIPP Gaston College Preparatory in the New York Times.
Coverage on UNC-TV of KIPP's Signing Day
YouTube clip of Michael Wotorson (Executive Director of Campaign for High School Equity) references seniors at KIPP Gaston College Preparatory in testimony before congress.
Freelon's winning streak extends with D.C. project
Self-Help borrower, The Freelon Group, in the news.
DURHAM - Local architect Philip Freelon has just scored a plum project in Washington, a city whose bricks and mortar tell the history of a country.
But this man, who has helped define and redefine many an urban landscape, traces his inspiration to a quiet moment many years ago in the woods with his grandfather.
See also:
Architects Chosen for Black History Museum (The New York Times)
Durham architect chosen for Smithsonian project (The News & Observer)
The Freelon Group (Borrower Success Stories, Self-Help)
Charter schools’ biggest crisis: A place to call home
(The Christian Science Monitor - March 9, 2009 - Mary Wiltenburg)
Self-Help borrower featured in The Christian Science Monitor:
A Georgia public charter school is crammed into a rented church, while a school building nearby stands empty.
Self-Help’s Jane Ellis offers more information about Charter Schools and finding the right facility here.
Martin Eakes' Statement on Plan to Address the Housing Crisis
CEO, Center for Responsible Lending
February 18, 2009
Washington, D.C. –- The housing plan announced today represents a huge step forward for the entire country, and includes responsible and effective actions to reduce the massive foreclosures that triggered today’s economic crisis. It represents an essential and overdue investment in correcting the results of bad lending and poor risk management. And it will benefit households from across the economic spectrum, providing new hope for a future with stronger communities and a stronger economy.
Reasons to Raise the Roof on Charter Schools
(The News & Observer - February 1, 2009 - Jane Ellis)
Since its enactment in 1997, North Carolina's public charter school law has maintained a 100-school cap on the number of charters allowed statewide. In recent years the number of such schools in operation across the state has been bumping up against the 100 mark, preventing the opening of new charter schools.
Southside forges community ties in renewal push
(The Durham News - January 3, 2009 - Jim Wise)
The Southside/Rolling Hills steering committee has defined the project area as Fayetteville Street west to the American Tobacco Trail and from Hillside and Lakewood avenues south to Linwood Avenue.
In that area are Rolling Hills, the old Whitted Junior High building (the original Hillside High School) and much of the Southside neighborhood.
Home loans to the poor good policy, UNC says
(The News & Observer - December 18, 2008 - David Ranii)
Home ownership has social benefits in addition to economic ones, according to a study by researchers at UNC-Chapel Hill.
Fighting for the little guy
(The Salisbury Post - December 10, 2008 - Scott Mooneyham)
RALEIGH —- In this job, you don't come across too many saints. Actually, in this job, you come to believe there is no such thing.
Maybe there isn't. But one person who I've come across who might merit at least a little consideration is Martin Eakes.
'I feel we need to give back': Local gourmet foods store not just in business of selling goods
(The Herald-Sun - December 10, 2008 - Monica Chen)
Self-Help Borrower in the news:
DURHAM -- Jennings Brody and her staff at Parker and Otis cooked Thanksgiving meals for 46 people a few weeks ago.
They roasted chickens, mashed potatoes, made gravy and pumpkin bread at
the restaurant/gourmet foods store on Duke Street, and then loaded it
all into containers and gave it away.
Self-Help CEO, Martin Eakes, to be honored with 2009 Inspire Award
Martin Eakes bet his career on a contrarian notion: poor people can be better at borrowing money than the rich. His Durham, North Carolina, community credit union, Self-Help, serves a clientele of classic credit risks—low-income families, single mothers. The loss rate for Self-Help’s so-called “toxic” borrowers? Less than 1 percent.
Chatham loan fund launched
(Chatham Journal - November 25, 2008)
Pittsboro, NC – The Chatham County Economic Development Corporation (CCEDC) and The Center for Community Self-Help are pleased to announce the establishment of the Chatham Loan Fund to help finance loans to entrepreneurs in Chatham County. The revolving loan fund is capitalized, in part, by Chatham County government.
Need a loan?
(WUNC - November 18, 2008 - Leoneda Inge)
Have you tried to get a loan lately? It may be especially tough if you're a small business owner. And if community banks and credit unions weren't your friend before - it might be smart to find one now. Leoneda Inge reports on how these local institutions are picking up the slack in the credit crunch.
Martin Eakes: Spin and 'outright lies' on cause of economic crisis
(The Herald-Sun - October 18, 2008 - Martin Eakes)
During times of economic chaos, there is often a tendency to rewrite
history. Today, while nearly everyone agrees that reckless subprime
loans started this financial crisis, the questions of how and why these
loans were made have triggered a frenzy of finger-pointing.
Unfortunately, too many fingers are pointing in the wrong direction.
Community Development Institutions Offer Small-Firm Funding
(Small Business on washingtonpost.com - October 15, 2008 - Sharon McLoone)
While discussions about the nation's economic growth are often focused on big business, small businesses keep the nation diversified, act as an innovation engine and employ just over half of the private sector workforce.
Peachtree Hills targeted for rehab
(Charlotte Observer - October 2, 2008 - Julia Oliver)
In a show of hope amid dour economic news, city officials and fair housing advocates celebrated a program Monday that they believe will boost one neighborhood ravaged by the mortgage crisis.
CDFIs Offer Responsible Alternative to Predatory Lenders
(SocialFunds.com - September 26, 2008 - Robert Kropp)
Community development financial institutions provide housing loans to underserved markets, yet
maintain profitability and low net charge-offs. Part II of a three-part series on the credit
crisis.
Give homeowners access to courts
(The Herald-Sun - September 25, 2008 - Martin Eakes)
The following edited statement was given Tuesday
by Martin Eakes, founder and head of Self Help and CEO of the Center
for Responsible Lending, both with headquarters in Durham.
Statement of Martin Eakes: CEO of Self-Help and the Center for Responsible Lending
September 10, 2008
Today Martin Eakes, CEO of Self-Help and the Center for Responsible Lending, issued the following statement in response to the government's decision to take control of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac:
"Avoiding foreclosures that don't need to happen is our country's best hope for economic recovery. Now that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have the full backing of the U.S. government, they have the flexibility required to implement mortgage modifications quickly, systematically and fairly. The need for meaningful, large-scale modifications is urgent; preventing foreclosures should be the test by which we measure the government's response to the housing crisis."
Self-Help Federal Credit Union
Self-Help Federal Credit Union has been granted a federal charter by the National Credit Union Administration. The new credit union expands Self-Help’s mission by increasing access to responsible and affordable financial services, initially in California.
Self-Help Federal Credit Union is a federally insured credit union affiliate of Self-Help, whose mission is creating and protecting ownership and economic opportunity for people of color, women, rural residents and low-wealth families and communities. We have served low-income individuals and communities since 1980 by making home loans and commercial loans, developing affordable housing and commercial real estate.
Prudent lender prevails amid crisis
(The News & Observer - August 16, 2008 - Jim Wise)
One year into the credit crunch and mortgage meltdown, a Durham financial institution that banks on neighborhoods at risk is still doing business as usual.
More time for students to grow
(The Charlotte Observer - August 11, 2008 - Nancy Wang)
Self-Help borrower gets ready to start a new school year.
While other students soak up the last days of summer, about 180 fifth- and sixth-graders are getting a jump ahead today, starting classes at a school that has generated national buzz for its effectiveness.
DGDC opens downtown homes to public view
(Goldsboro News-Argus - July 23, 2008 - Anessa Myers)
Self-Help collaborative work in Goldsboro, NC.
Downtown Goldsboro Development Corp. will unveil three newly finished, affordable homes on the 400 block of South John Street today beginning at 4 p.m.
The open houses will be hosted by the DGDC along with the city of Goldsboro, Preservation North Carolina, Rebuilding Broken Places CDC and Self-Help.
Champion of change: Leroy McClure
(The Dallas Morning News - June 22, 2008)
Self-Help borrower featured in The Dallas Morning News.
Where do old grocery stores go to die? Nowhere, unfortunately. They remain in place, battered and abandoned hulks, daily reminders to passers-by that their neighborhood is on a slow road to decay.
The lucky ones find new lives. Health clubs, government buildings, office suites. Sadly, in the southern half of Dallas, too few do. Some are torn down. Others remain in place, empty and waiting.
Latino Credit Union founder honored
(The Charlotte Observer - June 12, 2008 - Christina Rexrode)
The N.C. Credit Union League on Monday honored John Herrera for his leadership in the industry. Herrera is a founder of the Latino Community Credit Union, which was launched in Durham in 2000 and has branches throughout the state, including Charlotte. The credit union calls itself “the first bilingual, multicultural financial institution in North Carolina that provides all of its services … without discriminating in pricing.” Herrera is vice president of Latino/Hispanic affairs for the Center for Community Self-Help and serves on numerous boards, including Carrboro's Board of Aldermen.
WCCU kicks off new beginning
(The Wilson Times - June 7, 2008 - Laura Keeter)
A crowd celebrated the grand opening of the Wilson Community Credit Union Tuesday under a white tent eating Parker's Barbecue.
City, Chamber, WCCU, and Self-Help representatives cut the ribbon to the new facility, valued at about $1 million, on an existing lot at the corner of Westwood Avenue and Madison Drive.
15 Minutes Martin Eakes
(Stanford Social Innovation Review - Summer 2008 - Eric Nee)
Managing Editor Eric Nee spoke with Self-Help’s founder and CEO, Martin Eakes, about the subprime loan crisis and its impact on the poor.
Read more (PDF) also available here
On Gilbert Street, a dream comes full circle
(News & Record - May 25, 2008 - Lorraine Ahearn)
At her spanking new home, where the carpet still smelled of Scotchgard and she hadn't hung the first picture on her pristine walls, Dora DuBose already found squatters last week.
Up in the eaves of her front porch on Gilbert Street, a once-blighted and forgotten block of Southside, she could hear them. Two robin hatchlings were chirping for their mother, who winged back to the nest directly, worm wriggling in her beak.
Read more (PDF)
Karate center wins contest
(The Wilson Times - May 24, 2008 - Laura Keeter)
Two Self-Help borrowers win business plan competition.
A Wilson business won first place in a Regional Business Plan Writing Competition.
Tang Soo Do Karate Center, a family-oriented martial arts school at
1800-F Parkwood Blvd., was presented the award of $1,000 Thursday at a
meeting of the Upper Coastal Plain Rural Entrepreneurial Network. The
meeting was held at the Upper Coastal Plain Business Development Center
on Nash Street.
Self-Help plans to buy foreclosed homes
(CUNA News Now - May 8, 2008)
A community development organization affiliated with Self-Help CU in Durham, N.C., is working to stabilize a troubled Charlotte neighborhood, Peachtree Hills, by purchasing, improving, and re-selling its foreclosed homes.
New Credit Union open to all in Wilson
(The Wilson Times - April 26, 2008 - Laura Keeter)
If you live in Wilson County, work in Wilson County, or go to church or school in Wilson County, you are qualified to be a member of the Wilson Community Credit Union, a division of Self Help Credit Union.
Self-Help receives award for Innovative Financing
April 25, 2008
Self-Help, along with three other lenders, was honored by Triangle Commercial Real Estate Women with their 10th Annual Champion Award for "Most Innovative Financing Program."
Self-Help was recognized for its role in financing Empire Properties' Heilig-Levine historic rehabilitation in downtown Raleigh. The rehabilitation of the 50,000 square-foot space is an important contribution to both historic preservation and the revitalization of downtown Raleigh. The project included North Carolina's first LEED certified tenant up fit for Cherokee Investment Partners. Other tenants include Central Parking System, Sellars Beauty Salon, Riviera, a Mediterranean restaurant and lounge; and North Carolina State University College of Design’s downtown studio.
Self-Help provided a $7.95 million loan through its New Markets Tax Credit program that enabled the developers to succeed in this project. Other funding partners who helped this project succeed include Suntrust, Paragon Bank, Magnet Bank and CityScape Capital.
It matters how your money is used when it’s not in your hands
(Sonoma Valley Sun - April 24, 2008 - Joan Huguenard)
Long-time Self-Help depositor writes article about Self-Help:
When you put money in a bank, you expect to write checks or withdraw your money later. Most people never think about what happens to that money in the meantime, and possibly assume it’s just sitting in a vault there on the premises.
An idea to help residents 'hang on'
(The Charlotte Observer - April 6, 2008 - Julia Oliver)
A nonprofit group wants to buy as many as 25 vacant houses to help build homeownership in Peachtree Hills, a Charlotte neighborhood that is one of the worst-hit by the foreclosure crisis.
Read More (PDF)
Affordable Housing internship program launched.
(Design Influence - Spring 2008)
Architecture students Imran Aukhil and Wendy Legerton had the experience of a lifetime during the summer of 2007. They worked as architecture interns addressing affordable housing issues at Self-Help, a nationally recognized Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) based in Durham, N.C.
Read More (PDF)
Hand-up, not Handout: Thad Moore (’74) leads a humanitarian organization that helps those in need help themselves.
(Wake Forest Magazine - March, 2008 - Kim McGrath)
Ever wonder what it’s like to get up in the morning and know that your job will be to provide a home to a single mom, create jobs by providing financial support to a local small business venture, or revitalize a downtown community? Thad Moore (’74) can tell you. He’s been doing it for more than 25 years with the Center for Community Self-Help in Durham, NC.
Read More (PDF)
City houses on schedule
(Goldsboro News-Argus - February, 2008 - Anessa Myers)
Three of the homes being constructed as part of a downtown revitalization effort in the 400 block of South John Street are getting closer to being ready for families, city officials say.
The houses aren't completed yet, but they should be by the first week in June, Downtown Goldsboro Develop-ment Director Julie Thompson said.
And the city and Self-Help are trying to make the financial stress of buying a home a little easier by providing incentives such as payments as low as $575 a month and available down payment assistance up to $35,000.
Self-Help & Partners Receive Awards for Historic Renovation and Economic Development Plan
Self-Help and several partners were presented with two awards at the recent North Carolina Main Street 2008 Conference. The conference is organized each year by the Department of Commerce's Division of Community Assistance, which runs the NC Main Street Center.
An "Award of Merit" for "Best Historic Rehabilitation Project" was presented to Self-Help and Dunn & Dalton Architects for the Historic People's Bank Building in downtown Rocky Mount. The People's Bank Building was constructed in 1918 in Beaux Arts style as the home of the Bank of Rocky Mount. It served the community for more than 60 years, but by the 1990s had been abandoned for several years. Self-Help purchased the bank in 1999, and began its renovation in 2005. It is currently home to the Edgecombe Community College Workforce Development and Training Program, the Golden Leaf Foundation and several small nonprofits.
An "Award of Merit" for "Best Economic Development Incentive Plan" was given to Self-Help, Preservation NC, the Downtown Goldsboro Development Corporation, and the City of Goldsboro for the Comprehensive Historic Neighborhood Revitalization Plan. The plan outlines a variety of strategies to revitalize the neighborhoods surrounding downtown, in order to improve the housing stock through new construction and historic preservation, meet the community's housing needs, increase the tax base, and attract further investment. In addition to contributing to the plan's development, Self-Help is now helping implement it by building affordable housing on vacant lots in the heart of Goldsboro's historic district.
Stanford Social Innovation Review Highlights Self-Help:
Cultivate your Ecosystem
(Stanford Social Innovation Review - Winter 2008 - Paul N. Bloom and Gregory Dees)
Social entrepreneurs not only must understand the broad environment in which they work, but also must shape those environments to support their goals, when feasible. Borrowing insights from the field of ecology, the authors offer an ecosystems framework to help social entrepreneurs create long-lasting and significant social change.
Self-Help Featured in Politico.com Story:
Subprime Guru Drives Debate
(Politico.com - January 16, 2008 - Victoria McGrane)
DURHAM, N.C. — The main intellectual engine driving Democratic responses to the housing crisis isn’t headquartered in a flashy Washington think tank or K Street suite, but rather in a restored cream-and-brick building on Durham’s idle West Main Street...
N.C. Community Development Initiative receives
$10 million investment from State Farm Insurance
KANNAPOLIS — Self-Help partner, The N.C. Community Development Initiative, received a historic $10 million investment today from State Farm Insurance Company, an influx of money that will boost the group’s already-growing capacity to fund affordable-housing developments and other programs for low-income residents throughout North Carolina.
Read More (PDF)
Independent Weekly Honors El Futuro, Self-Help Borrower, with Citizen Award
Honoring those whose acts of conscience and sacrifice benefit our community.
El Futuro: Helping to heal minds, building confianza with Latinos
(The Independent Weekly - November 21, 2007 - Matt Saladaña)
As a "white boy from Arkansas" who attended high school in the late '80s and early '90s, Luke Smith heard some then-unconventional wisdom from his father: "You're going to learn that, boy, because everybody's going to be speaking it one day."
Smith's father was referring to Spanish, the language—and accompanying culture—his son would later embrace as executive director of El Futuro, a nonprofit mental health center dedicated to treating the state's underserved, and largely uninsured, Latino population. In 2004, Smith founded the center, based in Carrboro, to pool the efforts of therapists and psychiatrists who were versed in the language and culture of area Latinos, many of whom had never sought treatment for serious addictions and psychiatric illnesses.
Democratic Capitalism
Amy Domini Cites Self-Help in ODE Magazine
(Ode Magazine - December, 2007 - Amy Domini)
Last year, when Muhammad Yunus won the Nobel Peace Prize, millions of people around the world learned of the miracles that banks serving the poor could deliver. It was a well-deserved honour for Yunus, and a great reminder of what microloans and other slight tweaks to “business as usual” can mean to hundreds of thousands of disenfranchised people.
Partnership to bring affordable
housing -- and new families -- to Goldsboro.
Goldsboro will unveil John Street project
(Goldsboro News-Argus - November 22, 2007)
Three families might soon be able to move into new homes on John Street -- as part of the city's downtown development project.
The Downtown Goldsboro Development Corp. joined with Preservation North Carolina, the city of Goldsboro and Self-Help to bring affordable housing -- and new families -- to Goldsboro.
City officials will break ground at 1:30 p.m. on Nov. 29 on the first of three homes at 400, 404 and 406 S. John St., which will be priced from $92,000 to $104,000.
DGDC Director Julie Thompson said she is excited to get the hammers moving.
These Tough Lending Laws Could Travel
North Carolina's progressive protection laws for borrowers may become a nationwide model
(BusinessWeek - November 2, 2007 - Anessa Myers)
North Carolina has not had the same subprime grief as Nevada or Colorado. Nor is it known for the high-octane activism of California or New York. Yet as Washington lawmakers hash out how to deal with millions of potential foreclosures, North Carolina's predatory-lending laws are shaping the debate.
Real-estate Developer Blends Energy-efficiency, Affordability
(Daily Tar Heel - October 30, 2007 - Harrison Jobe, Staff Writer)
DURHAM - Self-Help, a community development lender and real-estate developer in low-income markets, celebrated the groundbreaking of a new energy-efficient home Monday on Kent Street.
The construction of the new home is based on a design developed by five N.C. State University students who won the 2007 N.C. Sustainable Building Design Competition.
The competition is in its 10th year, said Tracy Dixon, project manager for Advanced Energy, a Raleigh-based nonprofit providing innovative solutions to energy issues.
Self-Help receives 2007 L. Vincent Lowe, Jr. Business Award for Rehabilitation of Historic Buildings Throughout North Carolina
October, 2007
The award recognized Self-Help's history of outstanding rehabilitation of historic buildings throughout North Carolina. The Lowe award is North Carolina's highest preservation award in recognition of a business showing vision and creativity in promoting the protection of the state's architectural resources.
Since 1992, Self-Help has renovated ten historic buildings totaling over 250,000 square feet; the vast majority of this space is leased to small businesses, nonprofit organizations, educational institutions and government offices. Cities in which Self-Help has rehabilitated historic buildings are: Asheville, Charlotte, Sanford, Durham, Rocky Mount, Greenville, Wilson, Fayetteville, and Wilmington.
Over the next year, the real estate team plans to begin rehabilitation of the historic Piedmont Buggy Factory (Bearskin Mill) in Monroe, NC, the Old U.S. Post Office in Rocky Mount , NC and to build three new single-family homes in a nationally and locally registered historic district in Goldsboro.
Self-Help has made $60 million in loans to significant projects in North Carolina such as the American Tobacco Historic District in Durham, Revolution Mills in Greensboro and the Heilig-Levine furniture store rehabilitation in Raleigh. elf-Help also supports the adaptive re-use of historic buildings through its new markets tax credit lending.
The Lowe Award was presented at Preservation North Carolina's annual conference on October 25 -27 at the State Capitol.
Video: Martin Eakes on Subprime Lending, Social Justice, and Self Help
Kenan-Flagler Business School, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Self-Help and the Center for Community Capital to Conduct Research on CDFIs and Home Mortgage Finance
Self-Help and the Center for Community Capital have been selected to participate in The CDFI Fund’s Policy Research Initiative. The two organizations working together, received a grant to conduct research about the role CDFIs play in home mortgage finance. The study will investigate the market that CDFIs serve with mortgage financing. Additionally, the study will compare the mortgage financing done by CDFIs to that done by other types of lenders including prime and subprime in terms of who is served and how the loans perform over time. The research will be completed in June 2008.
Martin Eakes, Self-Help CEO, Provides
A look from N.C. at the Debt Crisis
(The News & Observer - September 4, 2007 - , Staff Writer)
Martin Eakes has long been a champion of the little guy.
Eakes, co-founder and chief executive of Self-Help, the nonprofit community lender in Durham, has pushed to provide financing for people with low income so that they might get a slice of the American dream. And he has worked to protect them. He was one of the most vocal advocates in the 1990s of efforts to thwart predatory lenders in this state.
New Book FORCES FOR GOOD Explores What Makes Great Nonprofits Great
Self-Help was identified as one of the 12 highest-impact nonprofits in a survey of nearly 3,000 nonprofit CEOs and 60 in-depth interviews. The new book, FORCES FOR GOOD: The Six Practices of High-Impact Nonprofits, features the research and findings of long-time nonprofit consultants Leslie Crutchfield and Heather McLeod Grant. The authors uncovered six powerful practices used by these high-impact nonprofits. The book, published by Jossey-Bass, was released on October 26, 2007.
Learn more at: www.forcesforgood.net
Purchase the book at your local retailer or at: www.amazon.com, www.barnesandnoble.com, or http://800ceoread.com
Self-Help Charter School Borrower in the News
(The News & Observer - August 26, 2007 -
, Staff Writer)
Families' commitment makes Selma charter school hum
Parent involvement is a prerequisite at Johnston County's first charter school
SELMA - Tabatha Koziarz has faced bigger back-to-school preoccupations lately than whether her third-grade daughter's bookbag is packed on day one.
At Neuse Charter School, which opens Monday with grades K through 5 in Selma, families are required to volunteer for the school at least four hours a month. Many parents -- and children -- have already surpassed that minimum. Koziarz, for instance, has put in 17 hours some days this month.
Ford Publication Features Self-Help Secondary Market program
The Ford Foundation's 2007 report on Building Financial Assets included an informative article on the impact of Self-Help's Secondary Market program in expanding the availability of non-traditional home loans made by conventional lenders. The program is a partnership between lenders, the Ford Foundation, Fannie Mae, and Self-Help. Read More
Sisters Win National Award
(Fayetteville Observer - April 25, 2007 - Melissa Willett)
Two
Lumberton sisters were named National Small Business Persons of the
Year on Tuesday during the Small Business Administration’s conference
in Washington.
SBA Honors Nation's Top Entrepreneurs
(Inc.com - April 24, 2007 - Angus Loten)
Two American Indian sisters who launched a homegrown health-care business in Lumberton, N.C., were named national Small Business Persons of the Year at a gala awards ceremony on Tuesday in Washington.
Read MoreCredit Union Grand Opening Sends a Positive Signal
Self-Help marked a deepening of its commitment to rural economic development, and a firm investment in an economically distressed region of North Carolina, with the recent grand opening of the new Scotland Community Credit Union.
The grand opening and ribbon cutting ceremony brought officials of the City of Laurinburg and Scotland County together with local business owners, area residents, and credit union members on March 29, 2007. Now centrally located in the business and financial district of downtown Laurinburg, the former private home turned signature branch office promises to raise the visibility of this long-running credit union. Scotland Community Credit Union was chartered in 1964. Today, SCCU serves approximately 3200 area residents including employees of one of the county’s largest textile factories. This ethnically diverse region of southern North Carolina is home to Native Americans, African-Americans, Scottish/Irish descendents, and a growing population of Latino immigrants. Self-Help’s commercial real estate team utilized local architects and builders to restore and remodel the 3,000 sq. ft. 1920s era building, and the surrounding grounds. Scotland Community Credit Union merged with Self-Help Credit Union in January 2005.
Mother leads by example: Home Loan Borrower Featured in Fayetteville Observer
(Fayetteville Observer - January 13, 2007)
By Jennifer Plotnick, Staff writer
Liza Denis gets up early each morning. While her children are waking up, she drives a school bus of special needs children to school.Back home, she helps her four children finish getting ready for the day.
Once they’re in day care and school, Denis straps on a backpack and heads to Fayetteville Technical Community College for two courses.
After that, it’s back to her afternoon bus route.
Denis tries to squeeze in a little studying before her children get home.
Once they arrive, the most important aspect of the day begins: spending quality time with them and helping them with homework.
Read MoreSelf-Help Opens New Oakland, CA Office
In September 2006, Self-Help opened an office in Oakland CA to complement its presence in North Carolina and Washington DC. The California office will focus on developing and deploying new and creative financial strategies and products to serve the needs of low income individuals and families. We will support existing economic development efforts and organizations by increasing access to, and reducing the cost of, capital. We will leverage the extensive experience and success of our national secondary market mortgage product for single family home ownership, creating new products and services that can increase availability of capital for more facets of the economic development marketplace. As with our other offices, we will apply a combination of economic development activity and policy work in support of wealth creation and economic opportunity. To do this, we look forward to collaborating with other organizations providing direct lending services in the region, as well with our colleagues in the California office of the Center for Responsible Lending. For more information about our activities in California, please email us for more information or call 510-379-5540.
Self-Help Purchases Historic Downtown Rocky Mount Post Office
The Rocky Mount Telegram profiled this example of Self-Help's commitment to downtown revitalization and the preservation of historic buildings.
Cape Fear Credit Union
Self-Help Merges With A Third Full Service Credit Union
On July 1, 2006, Cape Fear Credit Union merged with Self-Help Credit Union. Cape Fear Credit Union is based in Wilmington, North Carolina, serves approximately 3,000 members throughout eastern North Carolina’s Brunswick and New Hanover counties, and was chartered in 1979. (learn more about Cape Fear Credit Union)
Martin Eakes Receives 2005 “Tar Heel of the Year” Honor
Each year, the Raleigh News & Observer newspaper taps one North Carolinian to profile as its “Tar Heel of the Year.” For 2005, that recognition goes to North Carolina native and Self-Help founder and CEO, Martin Eakes.
Read the full text of the Sunday, December 18, 2005 front page article.
